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
No, I don’t wish I knew Heaven was like the picture in my Great Divorce, because, if we knew that, we should know it was no better. The good things even of this world are far too good ever to be reached by imagination. Even the common orange, you know: no one could have imagined it before he tasted it. How much less Heaven.
Interpretation
What this quote means
C.S. Lewis suggests that the reality of good experiences surpasses our imagination, indicating that true joy can only be understood through experience.
In this quote, C.S. Lewis reflects on the limitations of human imagination when it comes to envisioning true goodness, particularly in relation to Heaven. He asserts that even the simplest pleasures in this world, like tasting an orange, provide experiences that surpass our ability to conceive them beforehand. Thus, if we could fully envision Heaven, it would not seem as extraordinary because our imagination cannot fully encapsulate the sublime experiences awaiting us.
Themes
HeavenImaginationExperienceJoyGoodness
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon about the afterlife, one might use this quote to highlight the limitations of our human understanding of eternal bliss.
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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