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C. S. Lewis Quotes

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Famous C. S. Lewis Quotes

“Emeth speaking of Aslan, "Beloved, said the Glorious One, unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek...And since then, O Kings and Ladies, I have been wandering to find him and my happiness is so great that it even weakens me like a wound. And this is the marvel of marvels, that he called me Beloved, me who am but as a dog”

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Author:C. S. Lewis
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“If you asked twenty good men to-day what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied, Love - You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative ideal of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point.”

IfsMenHas BeensImportantChristianTermVirtueHappenedLove YouHighestNegativeIdealsImportanceTwentiesGood ThingsCarrieGood ManSuggestionsNineteenAbstinenceUnselfishness
Author:C. S. Lewis
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“But what would have been the good?" Aslan said nothing. "You mean," said Lucy rather faintly, "that it would have turned out all right – somehow? But how? Please, Aslan! Am I not to know?" "To know what would have happened, child?" said Aslan. "No. Nobody is ever told that." "Oh dear," said Lucy. "But anyone can find out what will happen," said Aslan. "If you go back to the others now, and wake them up; and tell them you have seen me again; and that you must all get up at once and follow me – what will happen? There is only one way of finding out.”

IfsKnowsWayMeanChildrenHas BeensSaidHappensHappenedPleaseFindingsDearGet UpOne WayFollow MeLucy
Book:The Chronicles of Narnia Vol II: Prince Caspian
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“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? The words compelle intrare, compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of man, and His compulsion is our liberation.”

MenHas BeensEyeChanceStruggleDivineUnderstoodMercyDepthLiberationHis EyesWickedGatesAdoreCompulsionKickingKinderSoftnessResentfulHardnessProdigalsWicked ManDivine Mercy
Author:C. S. Lewis
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“Death and resurrection are what the story is about and had we but eyes to see it, this has been hinted on every page, met us, in some disguise, at every turn, and even been muttered in conversations between such minor characters (if they are minor characters) as the vegetables.”

IfsHas BeensCharacterStoriesEyeTurnsMetsConversationPagesVegetablesResurrectionMinorsDisguiseMinor Characters
Book:Miracles: A Preliminary Study
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“Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will not be raised again if it submits to death. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. Flesh and blood cannot come to the Mountains [heaven]. Not because they are too rank, but because they are too weak. What is a Lizard compared with a stallion? Lust is a poor, weak, whimpering whispering thing compared with that richness and energy of desire which will arise when lust has been killed.”

IfsHas BeensBodySpiritualDesireEnergyHeavenNaturalPoorBloodGoes OnMountainWeakRaisedFleshLustAriseSubmitLowestRichnessWhisperingFlesh And BloodLizardsStallions
Author:C. S. Lewis
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“The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by ‘the veil of familiarity.’ The child enjoys his cold meat, otherwise dull to him, by pretending it is buffalo, just killed with his own bow and arrow. And the child is wise. The real meat comes back to him more savory for having been dipped in a story…by putting bread, gold, horse, apple, or the very roads into a myth, we do not retreat from reality: we rediscover it.”

KnowsChildrenHas BeensRealStoriesRealityValuesEnjoyRichWiseColdGoldHorseMythBreadMeatApplesDullSignificancePretendingBowsRetreatVeilsArrowsFamiliarityBuffaloSavoryBows And Arrows
Book:Image and Imagination
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“How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints.”

Has BeensDifferentSaintTyrantsConqueror
Book:Mere Christianity: a revised and enlarged edition, with a new introduction, of the three books, The case for Christianity, Christian behaviour, and Beyond personality
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“The New Testament writers speak as if Christ's achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He is the 'first fruits,' the pioneer of life,' He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so.”

IfsMenFirstsKindHas BeensDifferentDoneWholeUniverseSpeakChristDoorsEventsKingsMetsAchievementFruitLife ChangingRisingResurrectionLockedBeatenTestamentNew TestamentPioneersChrists Resurrection
Book:Joyful Christian
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“All the things that have ever deeply possessed your soul have been but hints of it, tantalizing glimpses, promises never quite fulfilled, echoes that died away just as they caught your ear. But if it should really become manifest - if there ever came an echo that did not die away but swelled into the sound itself - you would know it. Beyond all possibility of doubt you would say 'Here at last is the thing I was made for.'”

IfsKnowsShouldHas BeensMadeSoulLastsDiesSoundDoubtPossibilityPromiseEarsDiedCaughtYour SoulManifestPossessedEchoesFulfilledGlimpseNever QuitHintsTantalizing
Author:C. S. Lewis
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“As long as you notice, and have to count the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance. A good shoe is a shoe you don't notice. Good reading becomes possible when you need not conciously think about eyes, or light, or print, or spelling. The perfect church service would be the one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God.”

ThinkingNeedsLongHas BeensLightWould BeEyeReadingChurchPerfectAttentionStepsDancingShoesPrintSpellingChurch ServiceGood ReadingGood Shoes
Book:Joyful Christian
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“Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor-that is the only way out of a "hole." This process of surrender-this movement full speed astern-is repentance.”

MenWayNeedsHas BeensProcessRealizingSinMovementReadyArmsCreaturesLaysSorryTrackSpeedImprovementSurrenderHolesFallenRepentanceRebelImperfectLaying Down
Author:C. S. Lewis
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