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 βI 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
Television is like the invention of indoor plumbing. It didn't change people's habits. It just kept them inside the house.
Alfred HitchcockRead
We can speak about the institution, but ultimately the bar is the group that both is in touch with the public on the one hand and understands the judicial institution on the other
Stephen BreyerRead
I used to watch the world as if it was a performance and I would realize that certain things that people did moved me, and certain things didn't move me, and I tried to analyze, even at that age, six and seven and eight, why I was moved by certain things they did
Alan ArkinRead
Life is a near-death experience.
George CarlinRead
You may not believe in magic but something very strange is happening at this very moment. Your head has dissolved into thin air and I can see the rhododendrons through your stomach. It's not that you are dead or anything dramatic like that, it is simply that you are fading away and I can't even remember your name.
Leonora CarringtonRead
What I propose, therefore, is very simple: it is nothing more than to think what we are doing
Hannah ArendtRead