Quotessence
Home / Books / A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis

A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis

Book by C. S. Lewis · 50 quotes · Ifs, Religion, Men

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsReligionMenAtheismMereInspirationalChristianityAtheistThinkingWisdomWorldChristianGreat DivorceKnowsLongMadeNeedsSelfDoeEnds

A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis Quotes

“Good beats upon the damned incessantly as sound waves beat on the ears of the deaf, but they cannot receive it. Their fists are clenched, their teeth are clenched, their eyes fast shut. First they will not, in the end they cannot, open their hands for gifts, or their mouth for food, or their eyes to see.”

FirstsEndsHandsEyeSoundBeatsMouthsEarsWaveTeethFistsDeafIncessantlyGreat DivorceSound Waves
Book:A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis
Create image

“You can be good for the mere sake of goodness; you cannot be bad for the mere sake of badness. You can do a kind action when you are not feeling kind and when it gives you no pleasure, simply because kindness is right; but no one ever did a cruel action simply because cruelty is wrong - only because cruelty is pleasant or useful to him, In other words, badness cannot succeed even in being bad in the same way in which goodness is good. Goodness is, so to speak, itself: badness is only spoiled goodness. And there must be something good first before it can be spoiled.”

WayGivingFirstsKindFeelingsActionSpeakCan DoPleasureKindnessSucceedGoodnessMereSakeBe GoodCrueltyPleasantSpoiledBadnessBeing Bad
Book:A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis
Create image

“We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin. I have heard others, and I have heard myself, recounting cruelties and falsehoods committed in boyhood as if they were no concern of the present speaker's, and even with laughter. But mere time does nothing either to the fact or to the guilt of a sin. The guilt is washed out not by time but by repentance and the blood of Christ: if we have repented these early sins we should remember the price of our forgiveness and be humble.”

IfsShouldDoeFactsRememberChristSinHeardBloodStrangeLaughterIllusionConcernGuiltMereCommittedHumbleCrueltyRepentanceSpeakersFalsehoodBe HumbleBoyhood
Book:A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis
Create image

“The theory that thought is merely a movement in the brain is, in my opinion, nonsense; for if so, that theory itself would be merely a movement, an event among atoms, which may have speed and direction but of which it would be meaningless to use the words 'true' or 'false'.”

IfsMayUseWould BeReligionBrainOpinionAtheismEventsMovementTheorySpeedNonsenseMeaninglessAtomsTrue Or False
Book:A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis
Create image

“If Christianity was something we were making up, of course we could make it easier. But it is not. We cannot compete, in simplicity with people who are inventing religions. How could we? We are dealing with Fact. Of course anyone can be simple if he has no facts to bother about.”

PeopleIfsFactsCoursesSimpleChristianityEasierIslamSimplicityBotherCultInventingMaking Up
Book:A Mind Awake: An Anthology of C. S. Lewis
Create image