We now have an intelligentsia which, though very
small, is very useful to the cause of Hell.”
-C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Townhall – A masterful piece of religious prose disguised as satire, C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters is a series of messages from senior devil Screwtape to his protégé Wormwood on how best to corrupt mortals. Originally released during World War II, its tight 175 pages provide charming, timeless wisdom.
In an addendum released shortly before the author’s death in 1963 – Screwtape Proposes a Toast – Lewis pivots from dispensing universal wisdom to directly criticizing social trends of his day, trends which have gone from mere whispers on college campuses 60 years ago to become orthodoxy with the power of law today. Reading it today, it feels like the author was more prophet than professor.
In the 15-page essay – full text available here – the devil Screwtape outlines how the term democracy can be warped into destroying excellence, first in the halls of education then to society at large to make sure everyone stays “equal.”
“Democracy is the word with which you must lead them by the nose,” Screwtape tells his fellow devils. “The basic principle of the new education is to be that dunces and idlers must not be made to feel inferior to intelligent and industrious pupils. That would be ‘undemocratic.’”Screwtape espouses the “significant benefits” of “ungrading” decades before Brown University ever led this race to the bottom, saying:
“At universities, examinations must be framed so that nearly all the students get good marks. Entrance examinations must be framed so that all, or nearly all, citizens can go to universities, whether they have any power (or wish) to profit by higher education or not.”Easy to see echoes of Screwtape in the demands of progressive demagogues, like when Bernie Sanders insisted that everyone should go to college so we have “the best-educated workforce in the world” – willfully ignoring that an education void of rigor has no value at all.
Much MORE
Professing themselves to be wise, they become fools
Evil is easy to figure out; it ALWAYS seeks the UTMOST extremes.
That is ALSO, its un-doing.
In the year of our Lord 2014???
Never mind MMXIV is the year it went into the public domain.
A fitting work for our time. “A nation without great men” “quick to snarl or whimper at the first sign of criticism.” I love it.
Just about anything C.S. Lewis wrote is worth reading—and re-reading. He is one of my favorite authors.
CS Lewis’s greatest novel That Hideous Strength had the NICE, The National Institute For Coordinated Experiments which could be a fictional template for all that’s going on in the world right now with the Covid flu and everything that has happened over the past year with the pandemic scare and it’s effect on everybody not just in America but the whole rest of the world as well. If you have never read That Hideous Strength you should, it is by far the best of his Space trilogy books which includes Out Of the Silent Planet and Perelandra. And it’s perhaps one of the greatest dystopian novels ever as well and a hoot to read. I love the other 2 books but That Hideous Strength is the best of his Space trilogy novels. My oldest daughter prefers Perelandra because of it’s retelling of the story of the garden of Eden on Venus. She thinks that That Hideous Strength is too dark but it’s not and it doesn’t pull any punches in its description of the NICE and its evil intentions for World domination.
@goff–
I love the Space Trilogy, too–That Hideous Strength used to be my favorite, and perhaps still is by a bit, but Perelandra has been growing on me for several years now. Each time I read it there’s more and more to be discovered. Extremely deep, theologically.
The penultimate chapter in That Hideous Strength, “Banquet at Belbury”, is an extraordinary piece of writing.
Oy veh—it’s “@geoff”, of course….my apologies.
The Unman in Perelandra seriously creeps my daughter out. And the chapter in That Hideous Strength Banquet At Bellbury where all the animals run amok and destroy the evil festivities going on in there I would agree is the indeed the best chapter in the book.
Lewis and Huxley left this realm on the same day in November of 1963. I see a novel in the similarities to July 4, 1826. Thinking men, perhaps debating for eternity? Then there’s that tragedy that happened in Dallas on the same day in November to a family that seems blessed and cursed all at the same time.
“We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” Abolition of Man
The government cannot keep smarter, more creative and motivated people from being more successful. They are like the virus that mutates as they will find a way to benefit from their current situation. The herd that lazily follows their great leaders will always lumber behind.
C.S. Lewis has been inspirational to many including myself, I’ve read most of his writings.
C.S. Lewis was very prophetic. His writings are timeless.
There is a fantastic Christian theatre company, Fellowship for Performing Arts, managed by Max McLean that have produced plays bases on “The Screwtape Letters” (I saw this awesome play), “The Great Divorce” and other notable works including a movie about Lewis in production.
They have virtual and stage presentations across the country.
See the website for FPA’s virtual Easter celebration this Sunday.
https://fpatheatre.com/ .
If Fellowship for Performing Arts is scheduled to come to a city near you, I definitely recommend you attend one of their productions. You won’t regret it. Great acting, very entertaining and well produced plays.