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
Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary soul can desire.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that true fulfillment and value cannot be found for those who are only motivated by selfish gains.
C. S. Lewis's quote, 'Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary soul can desire,' implies that individuals who are primarily driven by materialistic or selfish motives will find no true satisfaction or spiritual reward. It encourages introspection about oneβs desires and motivations, emphasizing that genuine aspirations must transcend greed and personal gain for one to truly embrace intrinsic values, especially those associated with heavenly or ethereal ideals.
Themes
HeavenMercenarySoulDesireValuesSelfishness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a philosophy class to discuss the nature of desire.
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
So certainly, if we can tell evil stories to make people sick, we can also tell good myths that make them well.
Rainer Werner FassbinderRead
The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world.
Lao TzuRead
There are few people so stubborn in their atheism who, when danger is pressing in, will not acknowledge the divine power.
PlatoRead
The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.
Ezra Taft BensonRead
You can't help the poor by being one of them.
Abraham LincolnRead
We say that a girl with her doll anticipates the mother. It is more true, perhaps, that most mothers are still but children with playthings.
F. H. BradleyRead