Equality, and Greatness

“ONE of the actual and certain consequences of the idea that all men are equal is immediately to produce very great men. I would say superior men, only that the hero thinks of himself as great, but not as superior. This has been hidden from us of late by a foolish worship of sinister and exceptional men, men without comrade-ship, or any infectious virtue. This type of Cæsar does exist. There is a great man who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the man who makes every man feel great.”

~G.K. Chesterton: Charles Dickens, Ch. 1─The Dickens Period.

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Tyranny, Sincerely

Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.

— C.S. Lewis, “The Humanitarian Theory of Punishment,” God in the Dock

Lost to Found

What’s lost is nothing to what’s found, and all the death that ever was, set next to life, would scarcely fill a cup.

— Frederick Buechner

Lies Dangerously

“I believe in God, but I detest theocracy. For every Government consists of mere men and is, strictly viewed, a makeshift; if it adds to its commands “Thus saith the Lord,” it lies, and lies dangerously.”

— C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock

As We Are…

“THE point is not that if we go on as we are we shall collide with some frightful fate. The point is rather that unless we make a magnificent effort, our frightful fate will be- to go on as we are.”

~G.K. Chesterton: “Daily News”, Feb. 24, 1906

Play the Man

“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”

― C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”

Love the One, Or Serve the Other…

… “If you don’t read good books you will read bad ones. If you don’t go on thinking rationally, you will think irrationally. If you reject aesthetic satisfactions you will fall into sensual satisfactions.”

– C.S. Lewis, from The Weight of Glory, and Learning in War-Time.