QuoteProject
He wondered how he could ever have thought of the planets, even of the Earth, as islands of life and reality floating in a deadly void. Now with a certainty which never after deserted him, he saw the planets - as mere holes or gaps in the living heaven - excluded and rejected wastes of heavy matter and murky air, formed not by addition to, but by subtraction from, the surrounding brightness.
C. S. Lewis
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote suggests a profound shift in perspective about the nature of existence, comparing planets to voids in an otherwise vibrant universe.

C. S. Lewis reflects on a transformative realization regarding the nature of planets, emphasizing that what we perceive as solid bodies like Earth are actually insignificant gaps in a vast, living cosmos. This passage conveys the idea that reality is filled with life and vibrancy, and that our world is merely a brief interruption in the overwhelming brightness of existence. Lewis's contemplation hints at deeper philosophical questions about life, existence, and our place in the universe.

Themes

PlanetsExistenceVoidRealityPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

During a lecture about the universe's mysteries, this quote could illustrate the beauty of exploring beyond our known existence.

More from C. S. Lewis

A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery.
C. S. LewisRead
I enjoyed my breakfast this morning, and I think that was a good thing and do not think it was condemned by God. But I do not think myself a good man for enjoying it.
C. S. LewisRead
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
C. S. LewisRead
Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
C. S. LewisRead
I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
C. S. LewisRead
The instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man's self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred
C. S. LewisRead

Similar quotes

Society is the picnic certain individuals leave early, the party they fail to enjoy, the musical comedy they find not worth the price of admission.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
Endless praise and adoration, limitless abnegation and abjection of self; a celestial North Korea.
Christopher HitchensRead
The law of the Creator, which invests every human being with an inalienable title to freedom, cannot be repealed by any interior law which asserts that man is property.
Salmon P. ChaseRead
The fundamental character of our faith means an extensive diversity is required not only within local community, but between communities.
Stanley HauerwasRead
No matter how many toys we amass we leave them behind when we die, just as we leave a broken environment, an economy that only benefits the richest, and a legacy of empowering greed over goodness. It is now time to commit to following a new path.
John PerkinsRead
Rights are best guarded when each person and group guards for others those rights they wish guarded for themselves.
Jeffrey R. HollandRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.