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
The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True happiness comes from a deep, voluntary connection with God and others.
C. S. Lewis expresses the idea that the happiness intended by God for his higher creatures is not just a superficial affection but a profound and voluntary unity with Him and with one another. This ecstasy of love transcends even the deepest earthly relationships, suggesting that true fulfillment and joy are found in these divine connections rather than in romantic love alone.
Themes
HappinessLoveUnityFreedomDelight
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon about unity and love in the community.
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.
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
Of all ghosts the ghosts of our old loves are the worst.
Arthur Conan DoyleRead
July 13, 1954 was the most tragic day of my life. I had lost my beloved Frida forever. To late now I realized that the most wonderful part of my life had been my love for Frida.
Diego RiveraRead
Love is a binding force, by which another is joined to me and cherished by myself.
Thomas AquinasRead
Don't be so anxious about it,' she laughed. 'I'm not used to being loved. I wouldn't know what to do; I never got the trick of it.' She looked down at him, shy and fatigued. 'So here we are. I told you years ago that I had the makings of Cinderella.' He took her hand; she drew it back instinctively and then replaced it in his. 'Beg your pardon. Not even used to being touched. But I'm not afraid of you, if you stay quiet and don't move suddenly.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
To love with the spirit is to pity, and he who pities most loves most.
Miguel De UnamunoRead
It's a cold bowl of chili when love lets you down.
Neil YoungRead