A sharepic with a supposed text passage from CS Lewis is circulating on Facebook, which is said to show parallels to the Corona crisis.
According to this text, CS Lewis is said to have described how people's behavior should develop as a result of Corona measures as early as 1941.
The alleged text by CS Lewis
This text depicts a conversation between an old and a young devil.
To think about!
This is what CS Lewis wrote in 1941!!! “Advice from an Old Devil to a Younger Devil,” written by CS Lewis in 1941:
A young devil: “How did you send so many souls to hell?” The old devil: “With fear!” The young man said : “Well done!” Why were they afraid? War? Famine? The old man: – No… from illness! The young man said, “Didn’t they get sick?” Didn’t they die? Was there no cure? The old man: ...they got sick. They died. There is a cure… The young man: – I don’t understand…. The Old Man: – They mistakenly thought that the only thing they must keep at all costs is LIFE!!! They didn't hug each other... They didn't greet each other... They moved away from each other! They gave up all human contact... Everything that is human! They ran out of money. They lost their jobs. They believed everything they heard, read newspapers, and blindly believed everything they read. They gave up their freedom. They never left home. They weren't going anywhere. They did not visit relatives or friends. The world has turned into a large concentration camp with volunteer prisoners. You accepted everything!!! Just to survive another miserable day... They didn't live, they died every day!
This story also appears in English. A book title is mentioned here: “The Devil's Letters to His Nephew” by CS Lewis. This is said to date from 1942.
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Is this text by CS Lewis?
CS Lewis, known for The Chronicles of Narnia, did not write this text. There is also no book called “The Devil's Letters to His Nephew,” as the CS Lewis Foundation announced on Facebook.
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Learn more
“The quote from the Facebook post titled “From the Book: The Devil’s Letters to His Nephew” is not from CS Lewis. Lewis did not write a book with that title. He wrote The Screwtape Letters, originally published as a series of newspaper articles in 1941, before collecting them into book form in 1942. Unfortunately, as with many other important historical figures, the Internet is an easy place for misquotations and misattributions to spread.”
“The Screwtape Letters”
The Screwtape Letters, a book Lewis published in 1942, explores theological concepts through letters written between the demon Screwtape and his nephew Wormwood.
So it seems obvious that this is where the passage quoted comes from. But this is not included in the Screwtape letters either, as William O'Flaherty from “Essential CS Lewis” writes in a blog post on their website.
Flaherty tries to find an explanation:
“Over the years, many have written a 'screwtape letter,' meaning they have written in the same style as Lewis. Some clearly state that they were not written by Lewis, others seem to find it wiser not to mention this fact.”
Conclusion
This quote, this “prophecy” in which many want to recognize life during the Corona crisis, definitely does not come from CS Lewis.
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Source: Checkyourfact / Essential CS Lewis
Article image: Shutterstock / By ra2 studio
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )