C.S. Lewis Quotes III

[Son of Adam]

"A continual looking forward to the eternal world is not a form
of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a
Christian is meant to do."

-- C. S. Lewis

[Catherine]

I really like this quote, it's probably me favorite quote of his.

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
C. S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

The Glory of God, and, as our only means of glorifying Him, the
salvation of human souls, is the real business of life.

-- C. S. Lewis

[crazycigirl]

God is not merely good, but goodness; goodness is not merely divine, but God. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"The first step toward humility is to realise that one is proud."

Mere Christianity

[crazycigirl]

Never, never pin your whole faith on any human being: not if he is the best and the wisest in the whole world. There are lots of nice things you can do with sand; but do not try building a house on it. ~C.S.Lewis

[Llama-Llama-Duck]

Yeah, I like the quote in my sig. :)

[crazycigirl]

...If anyone comes to me asking me to play bridge for money, I just say: "How much do you hope to win? Take it and go away. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"We can never know that a piece of writing is bad unless we have begun by trying to read it as if it were very good and ended by discovering that we were paying the author an undeserved compliment."

An Experiment in Criticism

[crazycigirl]

Nothing can deceive unless it bears a plausible resemblance to reality. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"Storge has a very homely face; much the same as many of those for whom we feel it."

The Four Loves

[Catherine]

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
C. S. Lewis

[crazycigirl]

Why is it that one can never think of the past without wanting to go back? ~C.S.Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"Hell is the only place outside of heaven where we can be safe from the dangers of love."

The Four Loves

[Catherine]

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
C. S. Lewis

[crazycigirl]

We are all fallen creatures and all very hard to live with. ~C.S.Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder."

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

[crazycigirl]

No one ever influenced Tolkien-you might as well try to influence a bander-snatch. We listened to his work, but could affect it only by encouragement. He has only two reactions to criticism; either he begins the whole work over again from the beginning or else takes no notice at all. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"I said glibly a moment ago that I would 'pay any price' to remove this doctrine [of Hell]. I lied. I could not pay one-thousandth part of the price that God has already paid to remove the -fact-."

The Problem of Pain

[crazycigirl]

Like a good chess player he [Satan] is always trying to manoeuvre you into a position where you can save your castle only by losing your bishop. ~C.S Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hearafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbour's glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken."

The Weight of Glory

[crazycigirl]

The proper aim of giving is to put the recipient in a state where he no longer needs our gift. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"A recovery of the old sense of sin is essential to Christianity. Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. Until we really feel this assumption of His to be true, though we are part of the world He came to save, we are not part of the audience to whom His words are addressed."

The Problem of Pain

[crazycigirl]

The hard sayings of our Lord are wholesome to those only who find them hard. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"Death opens a door out of a little, dark room (that's all the life we have known before it) into a great, real place where the true sun shines and we shall meet.

Till We Have Faces

[crazycigirl]

^^I like that one^^:)

There are, aren't there, only three things we can do about death: to desire it, to fear it, or to ignore it. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"One road leads home and a thousand roads lead into the wilderness.

The Pilgrim's Regress

[crazycigirl]

If War is ever lawful, then peace is sometimes sinful. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"The freedom of a creature must mean freedom to choose: and choice implies the existence of things to choose between."

The Problem of Pain

[crazycigirl]

Evil comes from the abuse of free will. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"Moral rules are directions for running the human machine. Every moral rule is there to prevent a breakdown, or a strain, or a friction, in the running of that machine."

Mere Christianity

[crazycigirl]

Obedience is the road to freedom, humility the road to pleasure, unity the road to personality. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"The proper aim of giving is to put the recipient in a state where he no longer needs our gift."

The Four Loves

[crazycigirl]

The limit of giving is to be the limit of our ability to give. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"When I first began to draw near to belief in God and even for some time after it had been given to me, I found a stumbling block in the demand so clamorously made by all religious people that we should praise God; still more in the suggestion that God Himself demanded it."

Reflections on the Psalms

[crazycigirl]

"When I first began to draw near to belief in God and even for some time after it had been given to me, I found a stumbling block in the demand so clamorously made by all religious people that we should praise God; still more in the suggestion that God Himself demanded it."

Reflections on the Psalms

Wow...that one just hit me hard for some reason. Anyway...

Our leisure, even our play, is a matter of serious concern. There is no neutral ground in the universe: ever square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan. ~C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder."

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

[crazycigirl]

When one has read a book, I think there is nothing so nice a discussing it with some one else-even though it sometimes produces rather fierce arguments.

The Letters of C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves

[Son of Adam]

"... Jill said, 'I bet we sleep well tonight,' for it had been a full day. Which just shows how little anyone knows what is going to happen to them next."

The Silver Chair

[crazycigirl]

What I like about experiance is that it is such an honest thing. You may take any number of wrong turnings; but keep your eyes open and you will not be allowed to go very far before the warning signs appear. You may have deceived yourself, but experiance is not trying to deceive you. The universe rings true wherever you fairly test it.

Suprised by Joy

[Son of Adam]

"Everyone begins as a child by liking Weather. You learn the art of disliking it as you grow up. Haven't you ever noticed it on a snowy day? The grown-ups are all going about with long faces, but look at the children - and the dogs? THEY know what the snow's made for."

That Hideous Strength

[crazycigirl]

Actually it seems to me that one can hardly say anything either good enough or bad enough about life.

Letters of C.S. Lewis

[Son of Adam]

"What do people mean when they say 'I am not afraid of God because he is good?' Have they never been to a dentist?"

A Grief Observed

[crazycigirl]

Isn't it funny the way some combinations of words can give you-almost apart from their meaning-a thrill like music?

The Letters of C.S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves

[Son of Adam]

"In the Trinity Term of I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape?"

Surprised by Joy

[crazycigirl]

The American in the old story defined Faith as "the power of believing what we know to be untrue." Now I define Faith as the power of continuing to believe what we once honestly thought to be true until cogent reasons for honestly changing our minds are brought before us.

Christian Reflections, "Religion: Reality or Substitute?"

[Son of Adam]

"When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong, they need your prayers all the more, and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house."

Mere Christianity

[crazycigirl]

It is quite useless knocking at the door of heaven for earthly comfort; it's not the sort of comfort they supply there.

Letters of C.S. Lewis

[Jennifu]

I'm not sure if this has been posted before, but I just discovered this quote, and I love it. It describes perfectly one of the reasons why I love to read fiction.

"We seek an enlargement of our being. We want to be more than ourselves . . . We want to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as well as with our own . . . We demand windows."

[SongsofLife]

I'm not sure if this has been posted before, but I just discovered this quote, and I love it. It describes perfectly one of the reasons why I love to read fiction.

I like that quote. Thanks for posting it. I'm more of a non-fiction reader, and it seems to me this quote applies to lots of things in addition to literature.

[crazycigirl]

That is good. I'm also glad someone posted, this thread is kind of...dead.:(

The more "up to date" the book is, the sooner it will be dated.

Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer.

[SongsofLife]

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
C. S. Lewis

[crazycigirl]

Duty is always conditioned by evil.

Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer

[stharrybyundeservedgrace]

The thing is to keep your patient from seeking the enemy (God), for if he does, he will very nearly find the post defended.

[crazycigirl]

I am glad you all liked The Lion. A number of mothers, and still more, schoolmistresses, have decided that it is likely to frighten children, so it is not selling very well. But the real children like it, and I am astonished how some very young ones seem to understand it. I think it frightens some adults, but v. few children.

Letters of C.S. Lewis

[SongsofLife]

"Besides Being complicated, reality, in my experience, is usually odd." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

[ChildOfAslan7]

Friendship is unnecessary... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.

[crazycigirl]

Just a hurried line...to tell a story which puts the contrast between our feast of the Nativity and all this ghastly "Xmas" racket at its lowest. My brother heard a woman on a 'bus say, as the 'bus passed a church with a Crib outside it, "Oh Lor'! They bring religion into everything. Look- they're dragging it even into Christmas now!"

Letters to an American Lady

[Son of Adam]

Affection, as distinct from charity, is not a cause of lasting happiness. Left to its natural bent affection becomes in the end greedy, naggingly solicitous, jealous, exacting, timorous.

The Sermon and the Lunch (God in the Dock)

[subjectofthehighking]

Talking about a coma he revived from in July 1963:

"Tho' I am by no means unhappy I can't help feeling it was rather a pity I did revive in July. I mean, having been glided so painlessly up to the Gate is seems hard to have it shut in one's face and know that the whole process must some day be gone through again. . .Poor Lazarus!"

To another friend shortly before his death:

"When you die. . .look me up. . .It is all rather fun--solemn fun--isn't it."

[Son of Adam]

"...that is very like the problem of all of us: to dress our souls not for the electric lights of the present world but for the daylight of the next. The good dress is the one that will face that light. For that light will last longer."

The World's Last Night and Other Essays

[SongsofLife]

"The quality which had enchanted me in the imaginative works turned out to be the quality of the real universe, the divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic reality in which we all live."

--C. S. Lewis

[crazycigirl]

"All mortals tend to turn into the thing they are pretending to be."

The Screwtape Letters

[Olórin the Wise]

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

~C.S. Lewis

[Godsproject562]

"A continual looking forward to the eternal world is not a form
of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a
Christian is meant to do."

-- C. S. Lewis

wow love that quote

[Aravis_yanes]

"La mente humana es incapaz de inventar nuevos valores, ni siquiera un nuevo color primario" -C.S. Lewis

"The human mind is uncapable to create new values, not even a new primary color" -C. S. Lewis

[SongsofLife]

"He who surrenders himself without reservation to the temporal claims of a nation, or a party, or a class is rendering to Caesar that which, of all things, most emphatically belongs to God: himself." C.S. Lewis

[SongsofLife]

Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.
--C. S. Lewis