In Which C.S. Lewis Calls Me Out, Personally - Part 2

The second occasion where I felt personally called out by C.S. Lewis was through the character of The Fox in Till We Have Faces. I immediately fell in love with his character - the wizened, Greek, stoic sage brought in to teach philosophy and logic to two princesses. I have been found of stoicism and Greco-Roman philosophy since I was introduced to it through studying Latin at this very university. And I often found myself agreeing with The Fox when he would speak of such things. But in Till We Have Faces, Lewis would often set out The Fox's ideas as diametrically opposed to a more spiritual, religious set of ideas offered by Bardia or a Priest of Ungit. And both sets of ideas were always wrong in the book! Lewis must have felt himself quite smug. That is not to say that the Greeks and Romans got everything right, but as someone who identifies with such philosophy it felt like I was being scolded, albeit gently. As if Lewis was trying to say "There is virtue in Greek ideas and ideals, but it's only a piece of the real truth". A part of me that is impressionable and also appreciates my own fallibility is quick to agree. All the while another, more confident, more prideful aspect of myself wonders why Lewis is so convinced he has things right.

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