The Quotable Lewis on War
War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has always been lived on the edge of a precipice. Human culture has always had to exist under the shadow of something infinitely more important than itself. If men had postponed the search for knowledge and beauty until they were secure, the search would never have begun. We are mistaken when we compare war with “normal life.” Life has never been normal…
What does war do to death? It certainly does not make it more frequent: 100 percent of us die, and the percentage cannot be increased… Does it increase our chances of painful death? I doubt it… Does it decrease our chances of dying at peace with God? I cannot believe it. If active service does not persuade a man to prepare for death, what conceivable concatenation of circumstances would?
- C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, “Learning in War Time” (1939) pp. 21-22, 31