Hey, everybody! Welcome to a very special Valentines Day Edition of Tumnus’s Book Shelf where we review any and all books related to Narnia and CS Lewis. Today we will be looking at CS Lewis’s The Four Loves.
Title: The Four Loves.
Author: CS Lewis
Publisher: Harcourt (November 7, 1991)
ISBN-10: 0151329168
ISBN-13: 978-0151329168
Summary of the book:
In The Four Loves, CS Lewis examines the different types of love that human beings can experience, from simple affection, to friendship, to Eros, and finally and most importantly, the love of God.
Review of the Book:
Perhaps one of the most profound mysteries in all the universe, is that of love. It is a strange thing, of course, that the English language should only have one word for to describe something with so many facets. However, CS Lewis was one of only a few writers, who looked at these facets in his book, The Four Loves.
If one considers his marriage to Joy Davidman, his undying loyalty to the family of his war-time buddy Paddy Moore, and his almost now legendary friendship with the likes of JRR Tolkien, and Charles Williams, Lewis is one of the best authors to look at love, because he knew it in all it‘s forms. The most surprising aspect of course is that a lot of what he says is perhaps more relevant today then it was when he first wrote the book.
The four loves that Lewis examines are “Affection”, “Friendship”, “Eros” and “Charity.” He very carefully looks at all the virtues of these four loves as well as the weaknesses the first three posses from the pride and exclusion of others that can occur in friendship, to the jealousy and the brevity that is present in Eros. None of them are able to come of as completely flawless as love is after all they a feelings felt by humans. It is only Charity, or Agape, which is completely flawless.
The chapter on Friendship leaves readers with much to think on. Lewis writes that friendship is very rarely thought of as a love The same could be said of in today’s world as it was then. Friendship is so often looked down upon and regarded as inferior to romance, but Lewis reminds us that Christ refers to us as friends. He also points out that if Christ was the one who chose us, then perhaps, at least for Christians, Christ chose our friends for us. JRR Tolkien and Charles Williams are even mentioned in this essay as “Ronald” ( which Tolkien had preferred to go by) and “Charles”.
To some on a first glance in his chapter on Eros, they may think Lewis has a very negative view on romance. I know I did the first time I read it. However, his point in that chapter is not to condemn romance, as much as condemn the desire for Eros with out love for the person. In a culture that is increasingly preoccupied with such desires, we need to be reminded of what should be at it’s very core, which is love for the person themselves and not the desire.
In the final chapter, “Charity” Lewis encourages us that we need to avoid loving others or try not to give our hearts away as to love anything, even an animal is to be open to pain. In fact he warns against it as to try to make oneself incapable of giving or receiving love is to in effect make one’s heart like Hell. He reminds us that to love anything is to be vulnerable, and that it is only by divine love, the love of God, that we can experience love to it’s fullest. We come away being reminded that love itself is a divine attribute.
To some readers, especially those who are seeking a more “emotional” look at love, this book may not be the one for them on the subject as it is very much an analytical and intellectual work. However, like faith itself, love needs to be looked at thoughtfully. However, as Lewis points out in the very end, where a better book would begin, his ends as he was not sure if he had yet fully experienced that final love, as much as just received mere tastes of it. The fact of the matter still remains that no amount of reading or intellect can fully explain love, it is something that needs to be felt and experienced.
Despite the intellectual basis for the book, Lewis’s writing style in this word does not seem to dry or boring. The same level of wit is present in this book and despite it’s title, there is just enough of that wit, along with a keen analytical focus to help the seemingly sugary substance of a book on love go down well for readers turned off to the emotion. As usual he cites plenty of scriptural and literary sources to back his claims including George Orwell’s 1984, and Jane Austen.
Much like love itself, this book should be fully experienced and any one who is at least in High School and experiencing their first real crush would do well to read it. It is perhaps, one of the best books on the subject of love, after the Bible of course, especially because Lewis does not give readers any of the forced and cliché sentiments about love that are present in today’s society. In reading this book one can realize just how complex and profound love really is, and that nothing, not even the greatest poem or love ballad, can fully describe it.
Five out of Five shields.