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
You cannot make men good by law: and without good men you cannot have a good society.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Laws alone cannot create morality; a society's goodness depends on the character of its individuals.
This quote by C. S. Lewis emphasizes the idea that while laws are important for governing behavior, they cannot instill goodness or morality in individuals. A society can only truly prosper and be considered 'good' if its members embody values of integrity and virtue, suggesting that personal moral character is paramount for a healthy community.
Themes
LawMoralitySocietyGoodnessCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about ethics and governance, this quote can highlight the limitations of legal systems in fostering virtue.
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
He existed a step or two to one side of the common world, largely out of sight, a shadow, all but invisible. Whatever he owned, either he could hoist it on his back and lug it along or he could walk away from it. Anonymity was the thing he loved most about the city, being a part of it and apart from it at the same time.
James SallisRead
In most cases we attach ourselves to in order to take revenge on life, to punish it, to signify we can do without it, that we have found something better, and we also attach ourselves to God in horror of men.
Emile M. CioranRead
We know it is impossible to go on finding, moving and wasting oil, leveling forests, paving land, dumping poisons, and multiplying our numbers. A new way of life, a new set of thoughts must be found.
Donella MeadowsRead
Losing too is still ours; and even forgetting still has a shape in the kingdom of transformation. When something's let go of, it circles; and though we are rarely the center of the circle, it draws around us its unbroken, marvelous curve.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
You bring me the deepest joy that can be felt by a man whose invincible belief is that Science and Peace will triumph over Ignorance and War, that nations will unite, not to destroy, but to build, and that the future will belong to those who will have done most for suffering humanity.
Louis PasteurRead
Impermanence is a principle of harmony. When we don't struggle against it, we are in harmony with reality.
Pema ChodronRead