Above all, do not attempt to use science (I mean, the real sciences) as a defense against Christianity. They will positively encourage him to think about realities he can’t touch and see.

— C.S. Lewis

A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.

— C.S. Lewis

A clever schoolboy's reaction to his reading is most naturally expressed by parody or imitation.

— C.S. Lewis

A concentrated mind and a sitting body make for better prayer than a kneeling body and a mind half asleep.

— C.S. Lewis

Adventures are never fun while you're having them.

— C.S. Lewis

... A few centuries earlier... humans still knew pretty well when a thing was proved and when it was not; and if it was proved they really believed it. They still connected thinking with doing and were prepared to alter their way of life as the result of a chain of reasoning. But what with the weekly press and other such weapons, we have largely altered that... Man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to having a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn't think of doctrines as primarily "true" or "false," but as "academic" or "practical," "outworn" or "contemporary," "conventional" or "ruthless." Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church. Don't waste time trying to make him think that materialism is true! Make him think it is strong or stark or courageous - that it is the philosophy of the future. That's the sort of thing he cares about.

— C.S. Lewis

Affliction is often that thing which prepares an ordinary person for some sort of extraordinary destiny.

— C.S. Lewis

A great deal of democratic enthusiasm descends from the ideas of people like Rousseau, who believed in democracy because they thought mankind so wise and good that everyone deserved a share in the government. The danger of defending democracy on those grounds is that they’re not true. . . I find that they’re not true without looking further than myself. I don’t deserve a share in governing a hen-roost, much less a nation. The real reason for democracy is: Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters.

— C.S. Lewis

Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth 'thrown in': aim at Earth and you will get neither.

— C.S. Lewis

All joy... emphasizes our pilgrim status; always reminds, beckons, awakens desire. Our best having are wanting.

— C.S. Lewis