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
And he writhed inside at what seemed the cruelty and unfairness of the demand. He had not yet learned that if you do one good deed your reward usually is to do another and harder and better one.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that performing good deeds often leads to more challenging responsibilities and expectations.
C.S. Lewis is expressing the idea that the act of doing good is a catalyst for further moral obligations. The initial sense of unfairness in being asked to do good often masks the deeper truth that benevolence leads to a cycle of expectation where one good deed naturally invites more difficult challenges, thus cultivating one's character and virtues.
Themes
Good DeedsResponsibilityMoral ObligationsChallengesCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community service, one might use this quote to highlight the challenges that come with doing good work.
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.
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
Man's brain may be compared to an electric battery...a group of electric batteries will provide more energy than a single battery.
Napoleon HillRead
Observe due measure, for right timing is in all things the most important factor.
HesiodRead
Backlock, a poet blind from his birth, could describe visual objects with accuracy; Professor Sanderson, who was also blind, gave excellent lectures on color, and taught others the theory of ideas which they had and he had not. In the social sphere these gifted ones are mostly women; they can watch a world which they never saw, and estimate forces of which they have only heard. We call it intuition.
Thomas HardyRead
Songwriters might write cynical, world-wise lyrics and constantly talk about money, but most of us are downright naive when it comes to business.
Willie NelsonRead
It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.
Orson F. WhitneyRead
First you must learn to control your self. The rest follows. Blessed is he who knows himself and commands himself, for the world is his and love and happiness and peace walk with him wherever he goes.
Robert A. HeinleinRead