posted 8/15/2020

INTRODUCTION

This is the 5th in a series devoted to clarifying whether or not C.S. Lewis wrote something you’ve seen quoted in a book and/or shared on social media. Each post examines two quotations. The first quote is something I became aware of since my book, The Misquotable C.S. Lewis came out in early 2018.  The second quote is a reminder of one that is mentioned in that work.

The new quote examined usually originates from a question asked by members of my Confirming C.S. Lewis Quotations Facebook group. If you want to see the online versions of quotations I’ve previously explored, then you can see a list at this central online location.

Last time I told you about a quote that included the words, “broken dreams” and another with “humility is not” in it.

5.1 – “Friendship is born…”

“Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”

C.S. Lewis was such a strong advocate of friendship that he wrote a lot on the subject. Much of his views are found in The Four Loves. In fact, one of his best thoughts on the subject he underscored by saying it twice. Not surprisingly he slightly varied how he wrote it in those two places. That’s where the quote in question comes in.

Initially, Lewis wrote the following:

“The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, “What? You too? I thought I was the only one.”

Then a few pages later he conveys this thought by expressing it like this:

“Friendship, I have said, is born at the moment when one man says to another ‘What! You too? I thought that no one but myself…’”

As you can see when you compare the version typically shared online, it’s not exactly how Lewis wrote it in either place, but it IS very close. This express falls under my “Almost Lewis” category (see THIS article for an explanation of the categories) because Lewis said something similar. The meme commonly shared is likely an adaptation of the two expressions. It leaves out “I have said” from the second version and changes “man” to “person” (although I’ve seen some that didn’t change the words). Plus, interestingly in the first version he used a question mark after “what.” Finally, it adds the “I thought I was the only one” that is from the first version.

I realize some may think this is overly picky, however as an author myself I like to be accurately quoted. So, how would I share this quote, especially given there are two versions?

“Friendship…is born at the moment when one man says to another ‘What! You too?'”

5.2 – “Don’t shine…”

“Don’t shine so others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see Him.”

Like some of the quotations falsely credited to Lewis, this expression is easily one he would agree with. However, he didn’t write it. It is very close to what you find in Matthew 5:16, which says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (NIV) So, it is more likely someone paraphrase this Scripture but somehow Lewis’ name became associated with it.

Find out more by checking out what I wrote back in 2016 about this saying, and/or read about it in my 2018 book, The Misquotable C.S. Lewis.