Authors of Influence 1: Selected Quotes by C.S. Lewis
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By C.S. Lewis:
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The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics
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A Year with C. S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works
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C. S. Lewis Signature Classics: Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, A Grief Observed, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and The Great Divorce (Boxed Set)
Price: $44.52
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C.S. Lewis: Readings for Meditation and Reflection
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Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis - Box Set
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List Price: $39.95 |
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The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950 - 1963
Price: $19.44
List Price: $42.95 |
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Simply C. S. Lewis: A Beginner's Guide to the Life and Works of C. S. Lewis
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Jack: A Life of C. S. Lewis
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C. S. Lewis' Letters to Children
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Essential C. S. Lewis (C.S. Lewis Classics)
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C.S. Lewis is one of those authors I was aware of, but basically intellectually danced around. As a kid, I may even have read his The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and honestly, thought of him as something of the progenitor of the Harry Potter book series author.
Of course, he is much more than that. I am only now beginning to explore his poetry and other writings detailing a conception of a God. He is a writer of great subtlety and of course was a major intellectual influence on literature, philosophy, and theology during the period he was writing.
The following quotes, culled from the internet and books, I find especially intriguing and of interest for contemplation in themselves:
We are all fallen creatures and all very hard to live with.
Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about
originality will
ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without
caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times
out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
A man can no more
diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a
lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the
walls of his cell.
Eros will have naked bodies; Friendship naked personalities.
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It
has no
survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to
survival.
A man who is eating
or lying with his wife or preparing to go to sleep
in humility, thankfulness and temperance, is, by Christian standards, in
an infinitely higher state than one who is listening to Bach or reading
Plato in a state of pride.
Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather
to make man a more clever devil.
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth
and you get neither.
Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.
There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, "All right, then, have it your way.
Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same
story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of
us to see.
He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after
it hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart.
You play the hand you're dealt. I think the game's
worthwhile.
This moment contains all moments.
The very man who has argued you down, will sometimes be found, years later, to have been influenced by what you said.
Literary Critisism on C.S. Lewis
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An Experiment in Criticism (Canto)
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C. S. Lewis: A Guide to His Theology (Blackwell Brief Histories of Religion)
Price: $18.45
List Price: $22.95 |
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The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3: Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy, 1950 - 1963
Price: $19.44
List Price: $42.95 |
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C. S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: Science and the Supernatural in the Space Trilogy
Price: $13.97
List Price: $27.95 |
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Comments
As have I! LOL. Always a pleasure to talk to you.
'Even in literature and Art....ever having noticed it'. That was so true. Thx for sharing such great thoughts.
Hi, Anjali- Thanks for reading them. Yes, I'm always discovering authors I should have probably read a while ago.
Lita- "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival" and the other about education...devil are too good. Excellent quotes. Thumbs up for a great hub. I love collecting quotes and I would surely jot down some of these :-) "The very man who has argued you down, will sometimes be found, years later, to have been influenced by what you said" Btw just as an after thought do you think the preceding quote would be true for nickny few years down the line reminding him about you...LOL
CW! How nice to see out and about again, :) You must be busy with the new life. Yes. That is one of my favorites of the bunch, too. There are a massive amount of C.S. Lewis brainy quotes out there. I had to cull through them.
Hmm. I don't know about that last part you just added. I am no longer one of his fans, :).
Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality willever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (withoutcaring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine timesout of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
I knew someone had to have thought of this before!!!!
TMG
Typical TMG response! :) Oh, well. I know the inner you is an optimist waiting to break out! lol
"I think the game's worthwhile." I agree. Thanks for the Hub!
Thanks, Patty! I agree. First time I have seen you at one of my hubs--I must be moving up in the world, lol!
That was supposed to be a Secret. LOL
I read "The Screwtape Letters" when I was a kid and still a practicing Christian. Lewis's version of Christianity, as I recall, is relatively mild and unobnoxious.
TMG-
(Sorry!) Maybe 'tis more obvious than you think, tho. :) That's OK--I'll pretend you are cynical, still--I'm sure I'll have more occasions.
Ralph-
Yeah, I'm finding Christianity doesn't have to be obnoxious. Could even be interesting (?) I'm influenced by many philosophies of being, in reality.
Hi Lita! I sent the one about originality to a feelow hubber, who spoke of originality in a very original hub :-)
For me, this one, all the way: "You play the hand you're dealt. I think the game's worthwhile."
Great man, great quotes, thanks for the hub! :-)
Thanks, Elena. And I agree. Glad if somebody gets anything beneficial from anything I've written, or, in this case, put together. ! :)
Lita,
I am quite the Lewis fan, Lita, and have found his writing to be informative, persuasive and inspirtational ... and something very rare ... transformational. It has that rare quality of actually changing the person who reads it for the better. Thanks for this!
Thanks, BDazzler! I am of course, interested in the poetry & probably essays... He has quite a range of work.
Gathering and reading the quotes was interesting enough on its own.
Then may I recommend his book of Essays "God in the Docks" ... especially the essay "Work and Prayer."
Yes, you may. And thank you. I like the name, already, of "Work and Prayer."
Great stuff, Lita. Your Hubs are always fascinating!
Whether you agree with Lewis or not, he was certainly an inspirational man.
I like 'Men without chests,' a really interesting paper about the lack of morals caused by materialism. Well worth a read.
Thanks, Sufi! I had a feeling that you might be one to like C.S. Lewis, given the couple other things you have said you read. And what you suggest sounds right up my alley, :).
Great hub!
The quote education without values makes a man a more clever devil. I can relate to that. I have been trying to define the education system and lack of family and religious values, and this hits it on the nail.
Thanks, You have enlightened me!
Keep on hubbing!
yes, the game is all worthwhile - win or lose we all come out a winner in some way. thanks for sharing this Lita. Inspiring words to ponder on. :D
Eovery--Everybody's out today! I would say to you, given your response on Ralph's hub, that we possibly all have different interpretations of that quote, but thanks nonetheless... !!
Chris A.-- We all win! I say so. :)
Hi, I'm that fellow hubber that got told about your very interesting originality quote. I like it, it reminds me of the one about power. Those who seek it, aren't fit to have it, kind of thing. But if I seek originality, can I not have it then? The truth is a hard thing to find. That's not fair!
Freezepop-
I think that might be slightly postmodern of you, lol! And not sure what I think about that these days. I'd say seek your own truth--really seek, and 'originality' will find you. Which is basically a reiteration of what Lewis said.
(I don't think you have much to worrry about, :) )
Great hub! I feel I need to read more of his stuff - my mother has recommended it a couple of times, but so far I've only read the Narnia books.
Thanks, Londongirl. I'm really surprised at the response to the hub, frankly. There are so many writers out there I haven't read.--I feel this may become a series.
This is awesome. Just the other day I was thinking about writing a hub on the works of C.S. Lewis :) He's my second favorite author and I've already detailed quite a bit about my #1, Thoreau. But your hub is perfect, you have lots of his really good quotes. "Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil." That one's my favorite. Thanks for getting the word out on a great author :) Do you have a favorite Lewis book?
Lita- I have only read the lion, witch, and the wardrobe series, back when I was an innocent boy. he sent me on a fantastic voyage that I needed to go on, to get away from my environment. he's got a hell of mind to conceive of such ideas and worlds.
Benjimester-- Write your hub! I'm just discovering Lewis as an author, really, and am taking suggestions. You can check back with me a while later about a favorite book of his, :). Thanks for stopping by.
GT--I'm with you. That is the book I read as a kid, too. Where would we be without such books encountered at a young age? It's probably why we are all writers, Chinaski. :)
"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil."
How very true.
I only know Lewis from my days as a SciFi fanatic. That was a long time ago.
I have recently been downloading a lot of PDF books and I've been looking for C.S. Lewis. This hub will motivate me to redouble my efforts.
yeah, cs lewis is good, but i take issue comparing this guys stuff with harry potter. those books are moronic compared with Lion, Witch, and the wardrobe, and the whole series( i think there were 7 of them overall.)
Thanks, CWB-- I only now the Lion, Witch & Wardrobe from childhood. I assume you have another definition from the guy who liked that quote before, :). (I know it.)
Artful--Well, you notice I said I "intellectually danced around." Which is not putting ME in a good light, necessarily, not the author. :) Thanks.
The Narnia stories are among the most powerful and moving stories I've read or seen taking up that ageless, epic war between good and evil.
They share the rare atmosphere of legend with J.R.R. Tolkien.
If you haven't yet, see the movie Dragonheart. It shares the same shameless, unadulterated and possibly unfounded conviction that good will triumph over evil. It is, inexplicably, a faith I share. Such stories often cause me to weep unabashedly. The play between the dragon and the knight is priceless.
Good call CWB - All films and books that I love!
If you have not read the Phillip Pullman trilogy, 'His Dark Materials,' give it a try. They, not the infernal Harry Potter, are the true heirs to the Narnia books. Try the link in my previous comment for a nice little C.S. Lewis take on morality.
Enjoy!
Thanks, Sufi, thanks CWB! Sounds like you guys have a lot in common, actually, :)
Teresa McGurk says:
10 months ago
Love the one about breakfast! LOL. I have committed breakfast many times in my heart. . . .