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
Good and evil both increase at compound interest.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Both good actions and evil actions grow exponentially over time.
C. S. Lewis's quote suggests that the consequences of both good and evil deeds compound over time, much like compound interest. This implies that the effects of our actions can increase dramatically, reinforcing the idea that our choices have significant, lasting impacts in the world.
Themes
GoodEvilCompound InterestChoicesConsequences
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on morality, one might use the quote to highlight the long-term effects of our actions.
More from C. S. Lewis
All quotes →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.
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Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
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Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
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I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
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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
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What if we choose not to do the things we are supposed to do? The principal gain is a sense of an authentic act - and an authentic life. It may be a short one, but it is an authentic one, and that's a lot better than those short lives full of boredom. The principal loss is security. Another is respect from the community. But you gain the respect of another community, the one that is worth having the respect of.
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Some judge of authors' names, not works, and then Nor praise nor blame the writings, but the men.
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He had learned the worst lesson that life can teach - that it makes no sense.
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Each memory is like a paper flower stowed up a magician's sleeve: invisible one moment and then so substantial and florid the next I cannot imagine how it stayed hidden all this time. And like those paper flowers, once they've been let loose in the world, the memories are impossible to tuck away again.
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