I’m reading Perelandra, one of C.S. Lewis’ trilogy of science fiction novels. It is a slow go, never you fear, in between action sequences there is a slog (don’t tell him or his ghost that i said that) of words. Every sentence could be one that you get hung up on thinking about. really.
I’m already devoted to Lewis, and so this is no problem for me, and i love getting hung up on things, generally speaking, so this is a glorious time to be alive.
first thing first: he doesn’t use the word greed to describe anything in this bit, so this is my paraphrasing lunacy. but greed is not the point anyhow.
- So, the main character is good, working on it. and has a native ability to stop himself from eating ALL the good things, he stops at one, for instance, because something in himself tells him to. a native knowledge of scarcity? a sense of sharing with the unseen? a sense of appreciation for the one? he does talk about the people who shout encore, wanting the same song AGAIN, and how to hear it again would actually ruin it. the joy and beauty is in the moment, not in the repetition on demand.
- let us think more about number one. Some of this, Lewis discusses, and some is mine. you do the parsing. (anything brilliant is his.) Money is the root of all evil, lets say it is foundationally true. Money just provides us with guarantees for repetition. You like the macaron? You can have it again! Every day if you want! You like the beach? You can live on one! Visit one every day, whatever. Money is all about repetition.
The notion of a self-limiting action being goodness, being a humanity-propeller? I love it. I’m lucky enough to have that ability about some things and it borders on pride. (which is complex, and ugly, and so may be another post on another day). If more people did, and acted, and were that way, we’d have less cabbage patch kids in the landfills, and fewer waterbottles in the ocean, and fewer super-sized things. and probably no hummers, because, for chrissakes, who needs a tank? - Just because words in a line make sense, does not mean that they are sensible.
- Sweet talk is not always sweet.
Thats my take on Perelandra today. Please come back next week when I make it through paragraph three.
-love love,
me.
I have a quarrel with anyone who says “money is the root of all evil.” C.S. Lewis did not grow up poor so he may not have encountered doing without food, shelter, basic medical care, etc. Money can make the difference between having those basics and not having them. He certainly had a well-developed sense of morality so came down on the right side of most moral issues. I would say that greed, needing money to control others or to feel superior are more negative than money per se. Money is a tool. Evil is more likely a result of a great twisting of a person, a depravity that injures and disgusts.