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 his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A person's true character is revealed in unexpected situations.
This quote by C. S. Lewis suggests that the most authentic reflection of an individual's nature is displayed when they are caught off guard or in an unguarded moment. It implies that people's reactions in spontaneous circumstances often reveal their true selves, regardless of how they may present themselves in more controlled situations.
Themes
CharacterTruthAuthenticityReactionNature
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about integrity, one might cite this quote to emphasize the importance of true character.
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
Bastard Freedom waves Her fustian flag in mockery over slaves.
Thomas MooreRead
In our memories, there is a graveyard where we bury our dead. They all lie there together, the loved ones and the ones we hated, friends and foes and kin, with no distinction among them. We have to mourn every one of them, because our memories have made them as much a part of us as our bones or our skin. If we don't, we've no right to remember anything at all.
Steven BrustRead
INDIFFERENT, adj. Imperfectly sensible to distinctions among things.
Ambrose BierceRead
Whiteness in a racist, corporate-controlled society is like having the image of an American Express Cardstamped on one's face: immediately you are “universally accepted.”
Manning MarableRead
Life—the way it really is—is a battle not between good and bad, but between bad and worse
Joseph BrodskyRead
There is something precious in our being mysteries to ourselves, in our being unable ever to see through even the person who is closest to our heart and to reckon with him as though he were a logical proposition or a problem in accounting.
Rudolf BultmannRead