C.S. Lewis ( 10 of 145 )
Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.
Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.
Commemoration of Richard Rolle of Hampole, Writer, Hermit, Mystic, 1349 I have often, on my knees, been shocked to read more
Commemoration of Richard Rolle of Hampole, Writer, Hermit, Mystic, 1349 I have often, on my knees, been shocked to find what sort of thoughts I have, for a moment, been addressing to God; what infantile placations I was really offering, what claims I have really made, even what absurd adjustments or compromises I was, half-consciously, proposing. There is a Pagan, savage heart in me somewhere. For unfortunately the folly and idiot-cunning of Paganism seem to have far more power of surviving than its innocent or even beautiful elements. It is easy, once you have power, to silence the pipes, still the dances, disfigure the statues, and forget the stories; but not easy to kill the savage, the greedy, frightened creature now cringing, now blustering in one's soul.
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is read more
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
Which of the religions of the world gives to its followers the greatest happiness? While it lasts, the religion of read more
Which of the religions of the world gives to its followers the greatest happiness? While it lasts, the religion of worshiping oneself is best
Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is
Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is
Let's pray that the human race never escapes from Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere.
Let's pray that the human race never escapes from Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere.
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is read more
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world
Feast of Catherine of Siena, Mystic, Teacher, 1380 Can we believe that God ever modifies His action in read more
Feast of Catherine of Siena, Mystic, Teacher, 1380 Can we believe that God ever modifies His action in response to the suggestions of man? For infinite wisdom does not need telling what is best, and infinite goodness needs no urging to do it. But neither does God need any of those things that are done by finite agents, whether living or inanimate. He could, if He chose, repair our bodies miraculously without food; or give us food without the aid of farmers, bakers, and butchers; or knowledge without the aid of learned men; or convert the heathen without missionaries. Instead, He allows soils and weather and animals and the muscles, minds, and wills of men to cooperate in the execution of His will. "God", says Pascal, "instituted prayer in order to lend to His creatures the dignity of causality." But it is not only prayer; whenever we act at all, He lends us that dignity. It is not really stranger, nor less strange, that my prayers should affect the course of events than that my other actions should do so.
Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than read more
Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.
