103. C.S. LEWIS: To love at all
C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) was an Irish author most famous for the Chronicles of Narnia series. He was also a noted poet, critic and served as professor of English Literature at Oxford for 29 years. An atheist as a young man, Lewis would later would find his faith and go on to become one of the most important Christian authors of the 20th Century. I loved the Narnia books as a child and it’s interesting to find out now that the plot and characters were inspired by the Bible. Aslan was Jesus? Cool. Maybe if they recited the Narnia books in Church I would have paid more attention.
The full version of this quote, taken from Lewis’s book, The Four Loves, reads:
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.”
- The official C.S. Lewis website.
- Thanks to Vanessa, Karen and Ethan for submitting this quote.
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Whoohoo,
I was always so short before of suggesting a Lewis quote in a mail.
I’m so happy you finnally did one!
I really hope it’s not the last one. Maybe I’ll pick one to suggest someday.
I’m acutally reading the “Weigth of Glory” this week…
I wish one could edit one’s comments… this was clearly written in a state of overexcitement without regard to syntax
And your point is….? His overexcitement should be seen as a compliment, not as a detriment because his grammar structures on the internet were less than stellar. Correct grammar usage is certainly important in everyday life, but let’s be honest–this is the internet, not a grammar class. Colloquialisms and excited writing are perfectly acceptable. I wish one could exhibit kindness before unnecessary snarky criticism in one’s comments…
It’s the same guy, mate.
*giggles*
I second the giggles, I am actually laughing right now. A grammar nazi incapable of looking at the author of something. Sometimes, the author is half the content, man.
And yes, I was excited. Altough I think Lewis doesn’t appreciate his words taken out of the context of his christian morals, I still like him as an author and altough it’s hard to admit; teacher.
So let’s be excited over stuff that tickles us… also consider for many here English is a second language, usually not an obstacle, but being tired and excited makes one sound foolish in every language one has acquired.
PS: Also funny that the bloke wants to make a point for it being ok not to write everything to a perfect literary stanard and yet uses pretty pompous words to do so….
I’m so happy to see this quote here! Such a playful and lovely take on it. Thanks for this one
Aw, what’s wrong with a little vulnerability? To love is to suffer, but in my opinion, it’s worth it!
In my experience, suffering is the only way of valuing your life, it makes happiness a possibility.
I don’t agree with you there. Suffering isn’t the value of your life. The end of suffering, should at best teach you the value of your own life. A means to end your suffering due to the realization of your worth.
To love, is not to suffer. But to love, one must love oneself and hence know thy own worth. To end suffering at its best way, means that you have little else to do, then to love.
The Buddha speaks…
To emotionally depend is to suffer. Too many people can’t make the difference between emotional codependance and love. Many people think they love, but they don’t. They’re simply dependent. Frederik is right, to love is not to suffer.
Gavin , i really respect your choices for the themes of your cartoons.
What a lovely way to represent the quote! This one is adorable!
I love it
Perfect for Valentine’s!!! Thx
Great choice for Valentine’s day! Thank you, as always you do great work to go with the quotes!
I absolutely love this one!!
Awwwwww!! Straight to my heart. ?
This is wonderful! I really enjoyed reading this.
I like your version of the quote MUCH better, Gavin. Everything’s better without someone preaching their views of ‘damnation’ and ‘hellfire’.
Great job, as always.
Sorry to rain on your parade but I’m Irish (and a Literature major) and I’ve never heard C.S. Lewis referred to as an Irish author. He was never even mentioned in all of the Irish Literature classes I took. He is seen as a British author by the Irish because of how he mostly lived his whole life in England and has academically no roots in the Irish literary tradition. In addition, he was born in Belfast which is a very contentious area of nationality.
Belfast – is it or is it not in the geographical nation of Ireland?
how is it even possible that you could ignore the beauty of the illustration and quote and choose to find such a trivial detail to fault?
> Implying they ignored it.
Not everyone is all mushy mushy and let their mind be overtaken by emotions.
I’m sorry but I’m Irish as well and I’m FROM Belfast I can tell you now that C.S Lewis was an Irish author. Just because he wasn’t mentioned in the “Irish Literature classes you took” does NOT mean that he is any less Irish than you or me. Considering you are entitled to both British and Irish nationalities if you are from Belfast or anywhere else in the North.
Also C.S Lewis’ own biography is called “My Irish life” so it really shows how much your Literature classes have taught you. Jesus Christ.
Love it !! Just what I needed this week to pass on to my son to mend his wounded heart. Thanks heaps Gavin
Brilliant like always, Gav! You never fail to brighten up an otherwise dreary day. Thank you!
Great! Thanks so much.
Nice one! I just want to share video about exactly same topic – its Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability (http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html) from TED talks. I recomment it to anyone who like this cartoon. Regards
The classic alpha male always gets the fresh ‘heart’. The beta comes around to fix the battered heart, take care, and to provide for it.
Similar it is with the guys. The most popular girls always get the fresh ‘alpha’ hearts I guess.
Well the alpha looks bright, runs the fastest – but the true leader is the one that looks after those that fall behind (When I was in Gadna, I was the first to get in place – and our mefakedet said – “Who among you is the best?” I was filled with pride that I had finally finished first, and was sure I was going to be recognized. Instead, another guy, who looked a good deal more tired – he was carrying all of our water, was recognized – despite being the last in place.) That is what a “beta” person is – two in mind – yourself, and someone else. This is the root of homes, of our society, of all the great achievements of mankind. Yourself, and someone else in mind. The purpose of this earth is to stop a child walking into a car, to feed one who can’t, and to be a handhold for a friend who nearly slips and falls.
He was last because he realized no one had gotten the water and ran back to go get it.
Nice story. Good reminder
This is absolutely beautiful… Thank you for making it…
Hats off Gav!!
This is brilliant!
Thanks, this was very helpful…this was an eye opener
This reminds me of the Neil Gaiman quote from Sandman.
Which Neil Gaiman quote? I’m curious since I have read and also am deeply in love with the Sandman series.
Thanks everyone, I’ve made a special print available with the words removed:
http://society6.com/zenpencils/103-TO-LOVE-IS-TO-BE-VULNERABLE
Is there a print with the words??
My wife and I both went through bad relationships before we found each other. We just celebrated our tenth anniversary. This is us. Thank you, Gav!
Gav, I mentioned that already, but here’s a screenshot of what I see on your page – http://s9.postimage.org/uz846yrin/comic_pg.jpg
Both on Chrome and Firefox.
I miss your comics! Help!
Have you tried deleting your cache?
or refreshing the page?
Absolutely love it! Its so so so so so so so very good! N so damn true!
Brilliant job Gav!
I thank you for the messages that your comics put forth. They’ve brightened up a life at its bottom. Took me a while but I’ve read them all.
Absolutely amazing !!!
)
I can get instantly relate to your works
Thank You for sharing !
Related, Alan Watts waxes beautifully poetic in this short clip on “the Spectrum of Love”:
Spectrum of Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ECMZA2lvkg
“I’m gonna talk to you this evening on the subject of the spectrum of love. We know, that from time to time, there arrives among human beings people who seem to exude love as naturally as the sun gives out heat. Love is not something that is a sort of rare commodity, everybody has it. Existence is love. But, it’s like water flowing through a hose, it depends on which direction you point it. So everybody has the force running…the thing is, first of all, to get it moving.”
The full lecture can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm8S4ExJ8ss
awesome quote, Gav.. loved it
I love how a lot of this one isn’t “narrated” over. You see the story through the imagery, which is really sincere feeling.
I always liked “The Silver Chair” for being more philosophical than religious.
Love your work as always. Especially, 6 shots where the little girl protect her chest. She looks very real
Gav,
I’ve been reading every comic you post here and I must say that this one just beats every other thing you’ve done.. and not just because you’re a great artist but because you depicted the crux of the quote in all those frames where there are no words. I saw the strip yesterday but it struck me only now that you complete the quote accurately! Wunderbar!
Wow, you really nailed it this time! The comic actually brought a tear to my eye.
ahhhhh right in the feels!
Love the colors and texture, again. Looks like you add something new every time you publish a comic! Impressive.
Gav, this one will look GREAT in the calendar!
Pretty damn cool Gavin. Hope you have a happy Valentine’s Day
I really love your colour schemes and facial expressions. Every wobble of her lip and brow was perfectly placed to extend a powerful nonverbal message. You’re very talented!
Good to see a same-sex couple in the midst of the others!
Beautiful!
Damn you Gavin!!
I must’ve read this quote a million times, but it is only now that it made me cry.
Keep up the great work!
This is just in time for Valentine’s Day. Thanks.
Now if I can only hold off sharing it to the world until then. Won’t be easy but I’ll give it a shot…
It’s called Chronicles of Narnia, not Chronicles and Narnia. Not trying to be a jerk, but inaccuracy affects our credibility in all that we do.
I saw this running around tumblr and I legit cried ;3; it’s exactly how I feel having had my heart broken 3 times in a row now, not as violently as in the first page, but people who didn’t feel as strong as me & broke it off after a period of dating, yea. One day I’ll find that person who will patch things up and take good care of it that time <3 This gives me hope!
nice can yu make something for my website related to coffee
I considered myself as a tough man but many of Your comics make me feel tears in my eyes. I hate You!
Just what I needed a day before Valentine’s Day! Thanks!
I especially love your ending: because right after Lewis says “Irredeemable,” you show that her deflated heart is still capable of redemption.
This is fantastic. Great drawings and the theme is so personal. My love to you for making this
The woman in your comic was my wife, many years ago. ^_^
Btw. Thank you for including the last line of the quote in the description.
I think it’s a unique gift of Lewis, to take logic rather than moral and use it to pry open one’s own little box that we call our “reason” in which everything makes sense, is perfectly reasonable, scientifically evaluable by our tiny mind and most of all fits our ignorant ego that is afraid of an actual reality we cannot grasp altought it would mean to deeper understand the beauty of everything.
As much as I am a sceptic and study sciences (and dislike religious stuff, altough Lewis never is religious somehow…) he always has me sitting and thinking, reevaluating my beliefs and non-beliefs…
Maybe he can do that so spot on because he too used to be an atheist… maybe he has a point… ah damn it, now I gotta be thinking stuff over again.
There is that one paragraph in Mere Christianity where he puts that dilemma oh so well, can’t remember it though.
You might prefer this : What hurt isn’t love, it’s dependance and aloneness. Locking your heart in a chest in no way makes you bitter, uncaring, unloving. It simply means that you don’t allow yourself to fall into an emotionally codependant relationship. See :
http://www.osho.com/magazine/tarot/TarotCardNew.cfm?All=Yes&Nr=54
Thanks for the reply!
Yet, I don’t think this is the underlying point.
While that link is a good observation of the of the human condition and the fact that we will, no matter how fulfilled we feel at a given point, ultimately long for “eternally” fulfilling relationship, which we simply cannot find in another human soul, who ironically tries to fill their void with what we don’t have and want to fulfill with them, that lives up to this longing.
I however believe that human relationship is good, teaches and humbles us and points to a greater truth, that everything at the base level, even matter (a manfestation of the relationship of balanced charges in subatmar particles if I understood this guy “http://deferentialgeometry.org/epe/” and my professor right), so everthiny else is based on right relationship.
And now altough he doesn’t necessarily reflect my opinion, I’ll be Lewis’ advocate and say that he would tell you, as he does in Mere Christianity that this points to who god is, the love between three persons. Not saying it’s true, just saying it’s noteworthy, and Lewis is a great mind.
Hey I just subscribed to your website after finding a couple of your comics on Imgur. I think you are an amazingly talented, and that you take such powerful quotes to a whole new meaning.
This made me cry. Thank you for making it.
To the hoepless romantic in us..very sweet cartoon man
The Four Loves is one of my favourite books ever… Here’s another reader hoping you’ll do more Lewis one day; I guess I should try and come up with some zenpencilable quotes from him.
Hi, I loved the idea, I took the picture and translate, and also posted on my page, I hope you liked and did not find a problem.
The link page: http://mozetto.deviantart.com/art/To-love-at-all-Amar-a-todos-355356684
Thanks! =)
Thanks, that’s Portuguese right?
my favorite so far.
Aquí otra lectora, gracias por tu arte inspirador.
I really REALLY disagree with this one. Locking your heart in a chest, i.e. not allowing yourself to fall in love with someone, doesn’t mean that you become a bitter, unhappy, unloving and uncaring monster. It simply means that you don’t let yourself fall in love with someone.
http://www.osho.com/magazine/tarot/TarotCardNew.cfm?All=Yes&Nr=54
“Real love comes not from trying to solve our neediness by depending on another, but by developing our own inner richness and maturity. Then we have so much love to give that we naturally draw lovers towards us.”
What you are describing there is dependance. It is not love. Love, REAL love, is selfless and doesn’t hurt. What hurts is being severed from something you emotionally depended on and sometimes, finding that the person you depended on to make you feel good is actually making you crave more by their actions (for example, when someone you emotionally depend on to feel loved does the opposite and stabs you).
This poster and quote are all nice and cute theory, but they don’t represent reality.
I think it’s the problem of the quote being taken out of context, and being illustrated the way it is – it’s a great illustration, but a bit one-sided nonetheless.
A Grief Observed, by the same author, is a very, very good real-life follow-up to all this theory.
Lovelly………………
Insanely, brilliant artwork. I love C.S. Lewis; great artwork, with a great quote.