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.
When I'm older I'll understand" said Lucy, " I am older and I don't think I want to understand", replied Edmund
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote explores the tension between the desire to understand complex truths and the discomfort that such understanding may bring.
In this exchange between Lucy and Edmund from C. S. Lewis, we see a profound reflection on the nature of understanding as one ages. While Lucy believes that age will bring clarity and understanding, Edmund counters with a realization that perhaps maturity comes with the acceptance that some truths may be best left unexamined, highlighting the complexity of human experience and the duality of knowledge—pursuing it while fearing the implications it may have on one's perspective and peace of mind.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a discussion on the complexities of growing older.
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.
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
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
Similar quotes
In nature there is a fundamental unity running through all the diversity we see about us. Religions are given to mankind so as to accelerate the process of realisation of fundamental unity.
A glimpse into the world proves that horror is nothing other than reality.
Don't lies eventually lead to the truth? And don't all my stories, true or false, tend toward the same conclusion? Don't they all have the same meaning? So what does it matter whether they are true or false if, in both cases, they are significant of what I have been and what I am? Sometimes it is easier to see clearly into the liar than into the man who tells the truth. Truth, like light, blinds. Falsehood, on the contrary, is a beautiful twilight that enhances every object.
A man who has no office to go, to I don't care who he is, is a trial of which you can have no conception.
Duplicity in matters of religion is not confined to Pakistan, but it hurts the most in societies where debate on religion is asphyxiated and preachers of hate have become keepers of faith.
That's all an angel is....an idea of God.