Talk:C. S. Lewis

Letter concerning Narnia adaptations
I found what is supposedly a letter from C.S. Lewis to the BBC calling a TV or movie adaptation using live actors or by Disney "blasphemy".

Blasphemy in Narnia

Should the text of this letter be added? I am slightly unsure of this letter's authenticity, maybe someone can help me check this? --Bakkster Man 20:27, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

It appears legit, but I think it is out of context and would probably be misleading (and, therefore, should not be added). His opposition was to (specifically) a fake Aslan which, he felt, would be blasphemous (due to Aslan's metaphorical reference to Christ). Though I have yet to see the new film, I have read several Lewis scholars who believe that he would have had no objection to its portrayal of Aslan. --MB

Unsourced quotes
Hi, guys, I'm reading now some of Lewis' essays I approve that unsourced qoutes All that is not eternal is eternally out of date. and '''It is hard to have patience with people who say 'There is no death' or 'Death doesn't matter.' There is death. And whatever is matters. And whatever happens has consequences, and it and they are irrevocable and irreversible. You might as well say that birth doesn`t matter.''' but still - I cannot identify which essay they were in. :-)

I think its from one of his papers in Scewtape proposes a toast.

Nope; it's from Mere Christianity; I've just finished reading it, and I remember that bit.

It's from A Grief Observed, at the end of the first chapter.

"Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny."

Lewis quote or not?
Is this a Lewis quote:

"Why love if losing hurts so much? We love to know that we are not alone."

If so, can we source it and add it?

It is good.

209.179.168.53 20:20, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

The Chronicles of Narnia were originally published in an order other than that listed on the main C. S. Lewis page
This is a serious pet peeve of mine. When originally released, the Chronicles of Narnia were NOT in chronological order, as they are now usually sold. Originally, the order was this:


 * 1)  The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
 * 2)  Prince Caspian
 * 3)  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
 * 4)  The Silver Chair
 * 5)  The Horse and His Boy
 * 6)  The Magician's Nephew
 * 7)  The Last Battle.

As you can see, most the list is arranged differently. While yes, the other arrangement of the books is in Narnia-time order, they really make better sense read in this sequence. And there is a nice symmetry in reading about Narnia's creation in The Magician's Nephew immediately before seeing its end in The Last Battle.

(Author's note: I was unsure of how to cite my reference on this, said reference being a 20-something year old copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, one of a box set I received as a child.  Its back cover clearly lists the books in the series in the order I gave... but I am unsure of what information from the copyright page to include so others can see my work.)


 * In my opinion, they can go in either order. One is by publication date, the other by story-chronology. C.S. Lewis even sanctioned the story-chronological order. It does make most sense to read it in story-chronological order, but it's slightly less fun that way, I think. Part of the fun of reading the Magician's Nephew is at the end when he mentions how the wardrobe came to be. Me, other than reading the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first, I read them all in story-chonological order. I'm glad I read the Lion first. Having the background is hardly necessary, other than the explanation of why Aslan had to die, maybe. D. F. Schmidt 04:43, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

Moving page?
Should the Chronicles of Narnia have their own page? Would this not be better than having them all on C.S. Lewis's page? After all, many people are not interested in C.S. Lewis's other works, and for anybody just wanting to see the Narnia quotes, they are difficult to find. I am a new user so maybe I don't understand what's going on here! Darth Newdar 12:21, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, as nobody has replied, I shall make a page called "The Chronicles of Narnia" in the next few days Darth Newdar 12:33, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Sounds like a good idea to me. It is a large enough sub-section for a separate article and, as you note, is a significant area of interest in itself. ~ Ningauble 15:50, 26 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I have done so. Please find the new page at The Chronicles of Narnia Darth Newdar 19:15, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

"I came into Christianity kicking and screaming"
From Dec 2005, until May 2009, the article C. S. Lewis, attributed the quote: "I came into Christianity kicking and screaming", to Lewis. I couldn't find a source for this quote, so I removed it. It may be the case that the quote is a mangled version of a quote from Surprised by Joy (p. 229), where Lewis, in discussing his conversion, likens himself to a


 * prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance to escape

I do find numerous occurrences of the original quote on the web, but It looks to me as if most of these come directly or indirectly from the Wikipedia article. Using Google Books, I find no occurrence of the original quote, although I do find references to "kicking and screaming" in quotes in reference to Lewis' conversion, but again I can't find it in any cited source.

The quote was added here, and to me, the wording used there suggests that the quote is a continuation of a passage containing the quotes "In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed"' and "the most reluctant convert of all time", (which in fact come earlier in the same passage as the "kicking, struggling" quote above.  This supports, I think, a mangled quote hypothesis.

Can anyone add anything to this?

Paul August 15:37, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Bold text in quotes
Hi, I'm a noob to wikiquotes and I've noticed that a lot of quotes have bold text highlighting what someone thinks is important. I'm not disagreeing with whether the bolded text is important or not, but I think it looks kind of tacky. Is this an accepted practice on wikiquotes or can I edit it? Perelandriansage 13:51, 9 April 2011 (UTC)
 * It is long accepted practice here — and though there are occasional disagreements or shifts in what people consider is most appropriate to place in bold, the practice has been maintained on most of the most prominent pages for authors and many works since 2003. ~ Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 14:07, 9 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks! I don't want to rush in and destroy what everyone else has been doing for a while Perelandriansage 15:42, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

Do you know the source of "Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn."
Hello, I am trying to source "Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn." Does anyone know where it was said or written? Any help you give me is greatly appreciated.
 * It appears, attributed to Lewis, but without citations to an original source as yet located, also in the forms "Experience: That most brutal of teachers, But you learn, do you ever learn." and "Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn — my God do you learn!" I have no further time for searching right now, but might do more investigation within a day or two. ~ Kalki (talk &middot; contributions) 20:01, 20 November 2011 (UTC) + tweaks

I've been doing some research on that particular quote and can't find any reliable source. It's everywhere online, always referencing it to Lewis, but never with explanation as to where he actually wrote or said it. The best lead I found was a similar quote that came from a film about CS Lewis, called Shadowlands, written by William Nicholson. Apparently, the quote manifests itself in the film as: "Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn fast." It's possible that this is where the quote came from, and never really from Lewis.

Does anyone else have any more information to confirm or deny this?

I found this reference when researching this quote: Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories (San Diego: Harvest Books, 2002)

This C.S. Lewis quote is attributted to him, is it real?
I see this quote attributed to C.S. Lewis all over the place. Did he really say it? If so what is the source of the quote?

"You play the hand you're dealt. I think the game's worthwhile."

Lewis (paraphrased) quote or not ?
A Priest referenced C.S. Lewis (to the following paraphrase) during a discussion we were having, yet I can't confirm it:

"Evil is allowing another to be sacrificed in order to maintain ones denial".

Can anyone help? I would much appreciate any input.

Evangelization quote
I've come across the following quote online but I couldn't find a source for it: 'A person must court a virgin differently than a divorcee. One welcomes the charming words; the other needs a demonstration of love to overcome inbuilt skepticism.' Does anyone know if it's real and if so where he said it? –– In fact, there's a similar line in 'De descriptione temporum': "A post-Christian man is not a Pagan; you might as well think that a married woman recovers her virginity by divorce."