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
We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin. But mere time does nothing either to the fact or to the guilt of a sin.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Time alone cannot erase sins or guilt; action and reflection are necessary for true redemption.
C. S. Lewis highlights the misconception that simply allowing time to pass can alleviate guilt or undo the wrongs we have committed. He argues that while time may change our perspectives, it does not inherently resolve the moral consequences of our actions, requiring a deeper engagement with our guilt and the nature of our sins for true forgiveness and growth.
Themes
SinGuiltTimeRedemptionPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on morality, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of addressing sin rather than waiting for time to heal.
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
Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.
H. G. WellsRead
To be poor does not mean you lack the means to extend charity to another. You may lack money or food, but you have the gift of friendship to overwhelm the loneliness that grips the lives of so many.
Stanley HauerwasRead
I don't want what I am saying to sound like a prophecy or anything like an analysis of modern society... these are only feelings I have, and I am the least speculative man on earth.
Michelangelo AntonioniRead
It is arguable that the success of business propaganda in persuading us, for so long, that we are free from propaganda is one of the most significant propaganda achievements of the twentieth century.
Alex CareyRead
Two months ago I had a nice apartment in Chicago. I had a good job. I had a son. When something happened to the Negroes in the South I said, `That's their business, not mine.' Now I know how wrong. I was. The murder of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all.
Mamie TillRead
Neither worse then nor better is a thing made by being praised.
Marcus AureliusRead