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.
On the back of Satan's neck is a nail scarred footprint.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that even the forces of evil are marked by the suffering of good, symbolizing hope in the face of darkness.
In this profound quote, C. S. Lewis uses the imagery of a nail-scarred footprint on the back of Satan's neck to illustrate a powerful idea: that evil is forever haunted by the suffering inflicted through good and sacrifice. It evokes the Christian narrative of redemption, suggesting that even the darkest forces cannot escape the impact of sacrifice and love, represented here by the scars of Christ. This imagery can lead to reflection on the nature of good and evil, and how even in despair, hope and light persist.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a sermon to illustrate the victory of good over evil.
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.
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
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
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Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.
How often are the perpetrators of hate-crimes discovered to be self-loathing? Valued individuals do not strike out against strangers.
I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong. If we will only allow that, as we progress, we remain unsure, we will leave opportunities for alternatives. We will not become enthusiastic for the fact, the knowledge, the absolute truth of the day, but remain always uncertain β¦ In order to make progress, one must leave the door to the unknown ajar.
So we reach into the raging chaos, and we cling to it, and we tell ourselves it has meaning, and that the world is good, and we are not evil, and we will all go home in the end.
To destroy guide-boards that point in the wrong direction . . . to drive the fiend of fear from the mind . . . is the task of the Freethinker.
Being human means there's a wall-builder in each of us. Our minds naturally divide the world into me and not-me, us and them. For thousands of years, our sages have taught that we're all one, yet we still divide wherever we look.