Tuesday, November 26, 2013

C.S. Lewis Quote #4

The greatness of C.S. Lewis is measured by his words and the impact they had on many, many lives.  However Lewis was wary of greatness as evidenced in today's quote.  When reading these words of Lewis I thought of the many extremists functioning in our world today, as well as the terrible behaviour of many human leaders throughout history.  Humility is the essential balancing agent needed. 
It seems that there is a general rule in the moral universe which may be formulated "The higher, the more in danger." The "average sensual man" who is sometimes unfaithful to his wife, sometimes tipsy, always a little selfish, now and then (within the law) a trifle sharp in his deals, is certainly, by ordinary standards, a "lower" type than the man whose soul is filled with some great Cause, to which he will subordinate his appetites, his fortune, and even his safety. But it is our of the second man that something really fiendish can be made; and Inquisitor, a Member of the Committee of Public Safety. It is great men, potential saints, no little men, who become merciless fanatics. Those who are readiest to die for a cause may easily become those who are readiest to kill for it.
  from "Reflections on the Psalms"


The above picture is of the very typewriter that most of Lewis' books and letters were hammered out on - not by C.S. Lewis himself, but most often by his brother Warnie, who functioned as secretary, turning Lewis' handwritten manuscripts into typed pages.

P.S.  The Committee of Public Safety mentioned in the Lewis quote refers to a group that functioned within the French Revolution.

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