C.S. Lewis, a revered author and philosopher, continues to inspire with his profound wisdom encapsulated in his quotes. This article delves into the world of C.S. Lewis through various themes, showcasing his insightful views on life, love, friendship, faith, imagination, writing, reading, resilience, freedom, and morality. By examining twelve quotes under each theme, readers can gain a deeper understanding of Lewis's enduring impact on our thoughts and lives. His quotes not only reflect timeless truths but also encourage introspection and inspire action. This exploration of C.S. Lewis's words serves as a testament to his legacy and the continued relevance of his insights in today's world.
Life Quotes
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
"The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is."
"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing."
"True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less."
"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."
"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn."
"We are far too easily pleased."
"You can make anything by writing."
"We meet no ordinary people in our lives."
"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."
"Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different."
"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts."
Love Quotes
"To love at all is to be vulnerable."
"Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."
"Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives."
"Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not."
"When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place."
"Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you did."
"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'"
"I was not born to be free, I was born to adore and to obey."
"The heart never takes the place of the head: but it can, and should, obey it."
"He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters."
"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."
"Love is something more stern and splendid than mere kindness."
Friendship Quotes
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival."
"In friendship...we think we have chosen our peers. In reality, a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another... the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting—any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances."
"Eros will have naked bodies; Friendship naked personalities."
"The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are."
"The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends."
"We do not write to be understood; we write in order to understand."
"We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst."
"To see that a writer’s own experience, felt all right, can yield so much richness and nourishment to other people’s hearts is humbling—the right kind of humbling."
"That is one of the functions of art: illuminating the reader to other possible perspectives."
"Courage, dear heart."
"A man who will neither kneel nor laugh is not at ease."
"God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way."
Faith Quotes
"Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods."
"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."
"If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity."
"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."
"Now we cannot...discover our failure to keep God’s law except by trying our very hardest (and then failing). Unless we really try, whatever we say, there will always be in the back of our minds the idea that if we try harder next time we shall succeed in being completely good."
"We are mirrors whose brightness is wholly derived from the Sun that shines upon us."
"Do not let us mistake necessary evils for good."
"Let’s pray that the human race never escapes from Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere."
"Faith in Christ is the only thing to save you from despair."
"You must ask for God’s help. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again."
"All our wishes and hopes for the future are, in a sense, nonsense. We shall grow to such a size that the future does not matter."
"The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us."
Imagination Quotes
"Imagination is the organ of meaning."
"Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning."
"Those who read great literature broaden their capacity to see and understand human experience."
"We are what we believe we are."
"No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good."
"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."
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
"I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once."
"The more often I consciously record the truth, the less often do I consciously lie to myself."
"The Homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only...and that is to support the ultimate career."
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
"Writing is like a 'lust,' or like 'scratching when you itch.' Writing is fun and sometimes, depending upon the situation, can be passionate or something you savor very much."
Writing Quotes
"You can make anything by writing."
"A writer needs a pen, an artist needs a brush, but a filmmaker needs an army."
"The world does not need more Christian writers, but more good writers and composers who are Christians."
"When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him."
"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less."
"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts."
"To love at all is to be vulnerable."
"The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends."
"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'"
"I do not enjoy the books that I have really worked through."
"Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation."
"The more often we see the things around us—even the beautiful and wonderful things—the more they become invisible to us."
Reading Quotes
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
"We read to know we are not alone."
"In great literature, I become a thousand different men but still remain myself."
"I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once."
"I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once."
"No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good."
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it."
"The man who is contented with what he has done will never become famous for what he will do."
"Reading is one of the greatest forms of escape there is...and totally guilt-free hire someone else to worry about the ends for you!"
"We read to know that we are not alone."
"I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once."
Resilience Quotes
"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."
"Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny."
"To what will you look for help if you will not look to the mercy of God?"
"Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement."
"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear."
"I have learned now that while those who speak about one's miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more."
"When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place."
"Courage, dear heart."
"Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of."
"We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst."
"Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching."
Freedom Quotes
"I was not born to be free, I was born to adore and to obey."
"You cannot make men good by law; and without good men you cannot have a good society."
"An explanation of cause is not a justification by reason."
"You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you."
"You may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on God."
"We are mirrors whose brightness is wholly derived from the sun that shines upon us."
"Do not let us mistake necessary evils for good."
"We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad."
"The possibility of a ‘causal’ explanation of thought is now being dismissed. A system of thought is an abstraction."
"The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's ‘own,’ or ‘real’ life."
"It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us. It is the very sign of His presence."
"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."
Morality Quotes
"If you are continually changing your code of ethics, it is the safest way to remain a moral fraud."
"We do not come to God as bad people trying to become good people; we come as rebels to lay down our arms."
"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
"He who sows a thought reaps an action, he who sows an opinion reaps a deed. He who sows an action reaps a habit, he who sows a habit reaps a character, and he who sows a character reaps a destiny."
"We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us."
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
"Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you did."
"Before we can be forgiven, we must first see that we need forgiveness."
"You have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for one another."
"The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own,' or 'real' life."
"No one knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good."
"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."
Final words
The profound and thought-provoking quotes of C.S. Lewis continue to resonate with readers across generations. They serve as guiding lights in various areas of life, from love and faith to imagination and morality. This collection of quotes not only encapsulates Lewis's wisdom but also inspires readers to strive for greater understanding and personal growth. His eloquent articulation of complex ideas through simple yet compelling words is testament to his enduring influence as a writer and thinker. These quotes encourage us to reflect deeply, act wisely, and live purposefully, as we navigate the challenges and joys of life. As we engage with Lewis's timeless wisdom, we are reminded of the power of language to inspire, transform, and endure. Ultimately, his quotes serve as gentle reminders that although the world may change, the essential truths of the human experience remain the same, guiding us toward a more thoughtful and meaningful existence.
