posted 8/22/2020

INTRODUCTION

This is the 6th article 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, “friendship is born” and another with “don’t shine” in it.

6.1 – “Human history…”

“Human history is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”

This passage is VERY close to what C.S. Lewis wrote that it may seem a shame to label it as a misquote. Admittedly, while “misquote” is a convenient umbrella term, it does unfairly suggest that expressions like this are in the same category as others that are not even close to what Lewis wrote. What do I mean? As you may be aware, I developed three major types of misquotes; 1. “Not Lewis”, 2. “Almost Lewis,” and “Not Quite Lewis.” The quotation examined here falls under the “Almost” classification.

What Lewis actually wrote (with a little more context) is this:

“And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history— money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery— the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”

As you can tell, on the surface whoever created the original meme merely added ONE word and just left out the examples Lewis gave. As you can see below from the image I found online, it DOES properly identify the location of the material, Mere Christianity. More specifically the passage is from what is known as “book 2” within that volume and it’s from the third chapter entitled “The Shocking Alternative.”

It comes after Lewis explored the idea that the human race has tried to take matters into their own hands and not look to God or His power.

6.2 – “…never too old…”

“You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.”

Frankly, I’m tired of seeing this expression credited to C.S. Lewis. Over on Twitter, it seems if someone is sharing a Lewis quote then there’s a 50% chance it is this one…something he NEVER wrote. But, I get it, the words are meant to be encouraging for those who feel like giving up on goals or dreams (especially if they are up there in years like me). So, go ahead and love the quote if you want. However, be aware that Lewis is not the author.

Who is the author? Years ago when I did the original research about this expression I found the name Les Brown in a few places. Ultimately I found that he was the source of this saying. Then, and even now, I’ve not been able to determine how the quotation became associated with Lewis.

Find out more by checking out what I wrote back in 2015 about this saying, and/or read about it in my 2018 book, The Misquotable C.S. Lewis.