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
Pity was meant to be a spur that drives joy to help misery. But it can be used the wrong way round. It can be used for a kind of blackmailing. Those who choose misery can hold joy up to ransom, by pity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Pity can be a motivating force for compassion and joy, but it can also be misused to manipulate others.
In this quote, C. S. Lewis explores the dual nature of pity as both a positive and negative force. While it is intended to inspire kindness and support for those in misery, it can also be counterproductive, leading to manipulation where individuals may use their suffering to control or coerce others into feeling guilty or obligated to provide help, thereby turning a potentially uplifting emotion into a tool for emotional blackmail.
Themes
PityJoyMiseryManipulationCompassion
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about emotional intelligence, this quote can illustrate the complexity of feelings like pity and joy.
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
This thing called nationalism is a treasure that a country uses to try to develop and a nationality uses to try to survive. China has lost this treasure.
Sun Yat-SenRead
You go on being reincarnated until you reach the actual Truth. Heaven and Hell are just a state of mind. We are all here to become Christ-like. The actual world is an illusion.
George HarrisonRead
My good works, however wretched and imperfect, have been made better and perfected by Him Who is my Lord: He has rendered them meritorious. As to my evil deeds and my sins, He hid them at once. The eyes of those who saw them, He made even blind; and He has blotted them out of their memory.
Teresa Of AvilaRead
We are plain quiet folk, and I have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing, and uncomfortable things.
J. R. R. TolkienRead
No experimental result can ever kill a theory: any theory can be saved from counterinstances either by some auxiliary hypothesis or by a suitable reinterpretation of its terms.
Imre LakatosRead
PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.
Ambrose BierceRead