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
Surely what a man does when he is taken off guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is. If there are rats in a cellar, you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats; it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me ill tempered; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that a person's true character is revealed in unexpected situations.
C. S. Lewis emphasizes that moments of surprise or provocation expose our genuine nature. Just as rats reveal themselves in an unexpectedly opened cellar, our true temperaments and behaviors come to light when we are caught off guard. These sudden reactions do not create our true selves but uncover what already exists within us, demonstrating the importance of self-awareness and understanding our reactions to various stimuli.
Themes
CharacterTruthSelf-AwarenessProvocationNature
In practice
Example use cases
During a team-building workshop to discuss personal growth.
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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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