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
I believe, to be sure, that any man who reaches Heaven will find that what he abandoned (even in plucking out his right eye) has not been lost: that the kernel of what he was really seeking even in his most depraved wishes will be there, beyond expectation, waiting for him in 'the High Countries'.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that true fulfillment and purpose can be found, even after sacrificing or losing something valued.
C. S. Lewis reflects on the notion that individuals often seek fulfillment in their lives through various desires, even those that might lead to moral conflicts or depravity. He implies that those who make significant sacrifices in pursuit of a higher truth or goal will ultimately discover that what they truly sought—genuine fulfillment—will be waiting for them beyond their struggles and losses, in a more profound existence or state of being.
Themes
HeavenSacrificeFulfillmentPurposeDesire
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a discussion about personal growth after difficult choices.
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
We live in a world in which data convey authority. But authority has a way of descending to certitude, and certitude begets hubris.
Bret StephensRead
Comfort and luxury are usually the chief requirements of life for your ego - its top priorities tend to be accumulations, achievements, and the approval of others.
Wayne DyerRead
There has been an outpouring of anger and concern because of the actions of George Zimmerman, a private citizen who profiled a young boy and pursued him and tried to confront him, perhaps. But what George Zimmerman did is no different than what police officers do every day as a matter of standard operating procedure.
Michelle AlexanderRead
War contains so much folly, as well as wickedness, that much is to be hoped from the progress of reason.
James MadisonRead
Since only what is material is perceptible, knowable, nothing is known of the existence of God.
Karl MarxRead
The media are a corporate monopoly. They have the same point of view. The two parties are two factions of the business party. Most of the population doesn't even bother voting because it looks meaningless. They're marginalized and properly distracted. At least that's the goal.
Noam ChomskyRead