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
It is that of an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that the longing for something can often feel more valuable than the thing itself.
C. S. Lewis highlights the idea that the yearning for an unfulfilled desire can create a sense of importance and fulfillment that surpasses the satisfaction of obtaining the desire itself. This illustrates the complex nature of human desires where the chase or longing can be more profound than the actual achievement or possession, leading us to appreciate the journey rather than just the destination.
Themes
DesireSatisfactionLongingPhilosophyHuman Experience
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about the importance of pursuing dreams.
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
You cannot sift out the poor from the community. The poor are indispensable to the rich.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
What I do know is that disabled people shouldn't be responsible for curing non-disabled people of their ignorance.
Rose Ayling-EllisRead
To 'see both sides' of a problem is the surest way to prevent its complete solution. Because there are always more than two sides.
Idries ShahRead
Religious wars are not caused by the fact that there is more than one religion, but by the spirit of intolerance... the spread of which can only be regarded as the total eclipse of human reason.
Baron De MontesquieuRead
After all, what was the whole wide world but a place for people to yearn for their heart's impossible desires, for those desires to become entrenched in defiance of logic, plausibility, and even the passage of time, as eternal as polished marble.
Richard RussoRead
When treating with liars, even an honest man must lie.
George R. R. MartinRead