amor mundi: Today's Random Wilde

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.

jimf said...: "MY DEAR WORMWOOD,

. . .

A sensible human once said, 'If people knew how much ill-feeling
Unselfishness occasions, it would not be so often recommended from
the pulpit'; and again, 'She's the sort of woman who lives for
others -— you can always tell the others by their hunted expression'.
All this can be begun even in the period of courtship. A little real
selfishness on your patient's part is often of less value in the
long run, for securing his soul, than the first beginnings of that
elaborate and self-consciousness unselfishness which may one day blossom
into the sort of thing I have described.

. . .

Your affectionate uncle
SCREWTAPE"

-- C. S. Lewis, _The Screwtape Letters_
Letter XXVI; 11:53 AM

amor mundi