C.S. Lewis: A Master with Words

One of my favorite authors and theologians, C.S. Lewis first captured my heart with The Chronicles of Narnia (now one of my all time favorite series); and his many books about faith are currently sitting on my to-be-read pile (an immense and insurmountable tower at this point) but one of the these days years I will get around to them as well.

I was recently scrolling through some 'C.S. Lewis Quotes' and found each one to be so in depth and true-to-the-heart that it was hard to find just one for my particular project. In light of that small struggle I figured I could share them on my little ole' blog, so here they are. I hope they inspire, encourage, and most of all make you think and consider new perspectives.

"Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.”
["On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature" (1966)]

“Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different...”
["Prince Caspian” (1951)]

"Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained." 
["God In The Dock” (1970)]

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
[“The Problem of Pain”]

"Of all the bad men, religious bad men are the worst." 
[“Reflections on the Psalms” (1964)]

"If a man thinks he is not conceited, he is very conceited indeed."
[“Mere Christianity" (1952)]

“There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him.” 
[“The Great Divorce” (1945)]

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." 
[“Chicken Soup for the Soul" (1993)]

“All get what they want; they do not always like it.”
[“The Magician's Nephew” (1955)]

"Thirst was made for water; inquiry for truth."
[ “C.S. Lewis: An examined life” (2007)]

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important." 
[“God In The Dock” (1970)]

"Forgiveness does not mean excusing"
[“Fern Seed and Elephants” (1967)]

 "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less."
[“Mere Christianity" (1952)]

"Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose." 
[“The Four Loves” (1960)]

“I sometimes wonder if all pleasures are not substitutes for joy.” 
[“Mere Christianity” (1952)]

"Love is something more stern and splendid than mere kindness."
[“The Problem of Pain”]

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
[“Mere Christianity” (1952)]

“Nothing you have not given away will ever really be yours.” 
[“Mere Christianity” (1952)]

“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
[“The Magician's Nephew” (1955)]

"Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy." 
[“Mere Christianity” (1952)]

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
[“Mere Christianity”]

“I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.”
[“Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis” (2006)]

 "In our own case we accept excuses too easily; in other people's, we do not accept them easily enough." 
[“The Weight of Glory” (1949)]

"We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with him. He walks everywhere incognito." 
[“Letters to Malcolm” (1964)]

"Faith in Christ is the only thing to save you from despair." 
[“The Joyful Christian” (1977)]

 "Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man." 
[“Mere Christianity” (1952)]

"Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."
[“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” (1950)]

There are only 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." 
[“The Great Divorce” (1945)]

"Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive." 
[“Mere Christianity” (1952)]

"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." 
[“Is Theology Poetry” (1945)]

"To love at all is to be vulnerable" 
[“The Four Loves” (1960)]

"Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods." 
[“Mere Christianity” (1952)]

"Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having." 
[“Mere Christianity” (1952)]

"We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it's there for emergencies, but he hopes he'll never have to use it."
[“The Problem of Pain” (1940)]

"It is not your business to succeed, but to do right; when you have done so, the rest lies with God."
[“Yours, Jack: Spiritual Direction from C.S. Lewis” (2008)]

 "When you are arguing against God you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all." 
[“Mere Christianity” (1952)] 

“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.”
[“The Problem of Pain” (1940)]

"If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity."
[“God In The Dock” (1970)]

"Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you do, and you will presently come to love him."
[“Mere Christianity” (1952)]

~*~