C-s-lewis Quote by C.S. Lewis
““All Hell is smaller than one pebble of your earthly world: but it is smaller than one atom of this world, the Real World. Look at yon butterfly. If it swallowed all Hell, Hell would not be big enough to do it any harm or to have any taste' 'It seems big enough when you're in it, Sir.' 'And yet all loneliness, angers, hatreds, envies, and itchings that it contains, if rolled into one single experience and put into the scale against the least moment of the joy that is felt by the least in Heaven, would have no weight that could be registered at all. Bad cannot succeed even in being bad as truly as good is good. If all Hell's miseries together entered the consciousness of yon wee yellow bird on the bough there, they would be swallowed up without trace, as if one drop of ink had been dropped into that Great Ocean to which your terrestrial Pacific is only a molecule' 'I see,' said I at last. 'She couldn't fit into Hell.””
About This Quote
The passage argues that even the greatest evils are insignificant compared to divine joy and the ultimate reality, using a butterfly’s capacity to swallow Hell as a metaphor for spiritual transcendence.
In simple terms: Evil is trivial before divine joy.
Key Takeaway
Divine perspective renders suffering negligible.
Themes
spirituality
metaphysics
humility
contrasting scales
theology
Mood
awe
humility
reverence
Type
philosophical
spiritual
metaphorical
When to use this quote
- contemplating personal suffering
- discussing the problem of evil
- exploring meditation ideas
- teaching humility
- reflecting on spiritual growth
Key Concepts
relative magnitude of suffering
symbolism of the butterfly
concept of the Real World
nature of divine joy
Practical Applications
- theological counseling
- philosophical writing
Questions to Reflect On
- How does recognizing a larger reality change our response to pain?
- What does the butterfly symbolize in this context?
