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
The man who truly and disinterestedly enjoys any one thing in the world, for its own sake, and without caring two-pence what other people say about it, is by that very fact forewarmed against some of our subtlest modes of attack.
Interpretation
True enjoyment comes from valuing things for their own sake rather than for public approval.
C.S. Lewis conveys that when a person finds joy in something purely and selflessly, disregarding external opinions, they build a resilience against criticism and societal pressures. This intrinsic appreciation secures them against negative influences and attacks that target their passions and interests.
In practice
In a motivational speech about pursuing one's dreams despite societal judgment.
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.
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
Don't join the book burners. Do not think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed.
Only a good-for-nothing is not interested in his past.
You see, now that trials have come, they have shown that I am NOT a nice child. I was afraid they would. Perhaps... that is what they were sent for... I suppose there MIGHT be good in things, even if we don't see it.
I was taught to strive not because there were any guarantees of success but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life.
When it feels like we need to choose between being right and being humble- pick both
One way leads to acquisition, the other leads to nirvana. Realising this a monk should take no pleasure in the respect of others, but should devote himself to solitude.
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