Lewis Clive Staples - From the library of C.S. Lewis: selections from writers who influenced his spiritual journey

F ROM THE L IBRARY OF C. S. L EWIS
P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS
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Please note that some of the selections in this book have been condensed from the original work and in some cases wording has been slightly modernized.

Copyright 2004 by James S. Bell Jr.

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The Library of Congress cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
From the library of C. S. Lewis : selections from writers who influenced his spiritual journey / compiled by James Stuart Bell with Anthony Palmer Dawson; foreword by Lyle W. Dorsett.
p. cm. (A writers palette book)
A Shaw book.
Includes bibliographical references.
eISBN: 978-0-307-55170-2
1. Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 18981963Religion. 2. Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 18981963Sources. I. Bell, James S. II. Dawson, Anthony P. III. Series.
BX5199.L53F76 2004
230dc22

2004008998

v3.1

Jim Bell and Tony Dawson have compiled a selection of readings that will nourish the spiritual and intellectual hunger of healthy souls in several ways. First, these readings are in and of themselves a superb tonic to refresh the thirsty soul. Second, these selections reveal much about C. S. Lewiss inner life. Included here are samplings from the massive collection of authors whose writings shaped one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. Finally, these splendid readings serve as an introduction to a large group of writers whose works enriched Lewiss soul. I would expect many readers to discover for the first time some of the authors who profoundly shaped Professor Lewiss mind and heart. For people who are unfamiliar with many of the authors included here, this book will be the beginning of a delightful educational journey.

In brief, I have found this book to be at once a unique and rich selection of daily readings. It should have a wide audience and a long life.

Lyle W. Dorsett, professor of Christian Formation and Ministries, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois

Special thanks go to Professor Jerry Root, Lewis scholar at Wheaton College, for his keen insights into Lewis. We would also like to express our gratitude to Corey Thomas, Marjorie Lamp Mead, and the staff of the Marion E. Wade Center for their kind and invaluable assistance as we consulted books from C. S. Lewiss library. We also want to thank Anna Thiel for proofreading the manuscript; her careful attention to detail and insightful comments proved most helpful.

When I wrote my masters thesis on C. S. Lewis twenty-five years ago at University College Dublin, I thought there had already been an exhaustive study of possible spiritual and literary influences on this towering twentieth-century shaper of Christian thought. Yet still today, readers and scholars pour out a perpetual torrent of books, articles, and graduate theses, continuing to speculate on these same influences. This proves there is still much to be learned about the origins of Lewiss intellectual and spiritual backgrounds. Yet, except for the scholars doing the research, most of us are probably not familiar with these sources of his inspiration.

The Hound of heaven pursued the self-described most reluctant convert in England using the arguments of friends and other factors to draw him, but it was primarily the Christian wisdom of the ages that brought Lewis to his knees and caused him to grow spiritually. Lewis would agree with the statement that great thinkers stand on the shoulders of giants. His conversion to Christianity began by acknowledging respect for those writers he considered truly great (people like George MacDonald, G. K. Chesterton, Samuel Johnson, Edmund Spenser, and John Milton) in spite of the fact that they were Christians.

Lewis would later admit that without these and other profound spiritual influences he could not be the kind of Christian he was, nor could he have the impact on the world with his own writings that he did. If that is so, these writings should have intrinsic value for all of us, as well as help us better understand the spiritual formation of C. S. Lewis himself.

To truly understand Lewis and his works we need to get behind his role as Christian apologist to his interest in philosophy and literature, in reason and romanticism. Lewis was not a one-dimensional reader. His eclectic tastes ranged over a wide variety of genres and time periods. He was a fan of science fiction and fantasy writers as well as Aristotle, Shakespeare, and Augustine. In Lewiss world, myth and allegory mix with precise logic in philosophical debate. Scholars continue to explore how these influences fit together, but there is no magic formula; Lewis was a complex figure who didnt quite fit the trends of his own generation and is able to speak to the needs of each succeeding one.