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
Friendship, then, like the other natural loves, is unable to save itself. In reality, because it is spiritual and therefore faces a subtler enemy, it must, even more wholeheartedly than they, invoke the divine protection if it hopes to remain sweet. For consider how narrow its true path is. Is must not become what the people call a "mutual admiration society"; yet if it is not full of mutual admiration, of Appreciative love, it is not Friendship at all.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Friendship requires divine protection and mutual appreciation to thrive amidst challenges.
C. S. Lewis emphasizes the fragile nature of friendship, highlighting that it requires more than just acknowledgment and admiration to thrive. True friendship is a divine connection that needs protection from superficiality and self-interest, and it thrives when both friends appreciate and support each other sincerely.
Themes
FriendshipMutual AdmirationSpiritualAppreciationProtection
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of deep, meaningful friendships.
More from C. S. Lewis
All quotes →I 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.
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Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
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Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
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I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
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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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