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
Without sin, the universe is a Solemn Game: and there is no good game without rules.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that rules are essential for the existence of a meaningful existence or experience.
In this quote, C. S. Lewis reflects on the notion that the concept of sin is integral to understanding morality and the structure of the universe. He implies that just as a game requires rules to be engaging and purposeful, so too does the universe need moral frameworks that define right and wrong, thereby allowing for meaningful interactions and experiences within it.
Themes
UniverseSinRulesGameMoralityMeaning
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate on moral philosophy, this quote can illustrate the necessity of ethical frameworks.
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
I consider the doctrines of Jesus as delivered by himself to contain the outlines of the sublimest system of morality that has ever been taught but I hold in the most profound detestation and execration the corruptions of it which have been invented.
Thomas JeffersonRead
Communism is the final logic of the dehumanization of man.
Fulton J. SheenRead
Disbelief is more resistant than faith because it is sustained by the senses.
Gabriel Garcia MarquezRead
All interpretation or observation of reality is necessarily fiction. In this case, the problem is that man is a moral animal abandoned in an amoral universe and condemned to a finite existence with no other purpose than to perpetuate the natural cycle of the species. It is impossible to survive in a prolonged state of reality, at least for a human being. We spend a good part of our lives dreaming, especially when we're awake.
Carlos Ruiz ZafonRead
Even when repressed, inequality grows; only the man who is below the average in economic ability desires equality; those who are conscious of superior ability desire freedom, and in the end superior ability has its way.
Will DurantRead
We all dream dreams of unity, of purity; we all dream that there's an authoritative voice out there that will explain things, including ourselves.
Junot DiazRead