Skip to content

Language Quote by C.S. Lewis

“And Dimble, who had been sitting with his face drawn, and rather white, between the white faces of the two women, and his eyes on the table, raised his head, and great syllables of words that sounded like castles came out of his mouth. Jane felt her hear leap and quiver at them. Everything else in…” quote by C.S. Lewis
Download Open image
““And Dimble, who had been sitting with his face drawn, and rather white, between the white faces of the two women, and his eyes on the table, raised his head, and great syllables of words that sounded like castles came out of his mouth. Jane felt her hear leap and quiver at them. Everything else in the room seemed to have been intensely quiet; even the bird, and the bear, and the cat, were still, staring at the speaker. The voice did not sound like Dimble's own: it was as if the words spoke themselves through him from some strong place at a distance--or as if they were not words at all but present operations of God, the planets, and the Pendragon. For this was the language spoken before the Fall and beyond the Moon and the meanings were not given to the syllables by chance, or skill, or long tradition, but truly inherent in them as the shape of the great Sun is inherent in the little waterdrop. This was Language herself, as she first sprang at Maleldil's bidding out of the molten quicksilver of the first star called Mercury on Earth, but Viritrilbia in Deep Heaven.””

C.S. Lewis

About This Quote

Source Novel: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis, 1952

Language can be a conduit for cosmic truths, resonating beyond ordinary speech.

In simple terms: Words can carry deep, universal meaning.

Key Takeaway

Listen for hidden layers in communication.

Themes

language spirituality mythology

Mood

contemplative wonderful

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • reading
  • writing
  • meditation
  • teaching

Key Concepts

Metaphysics literature

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do you discern universal meaning in language?
  • What role does myth play in modern understanding?
A Different Perspective

Interpretation may be subjective and culturally bound.

3.2 out of 5 (5 ratings)

More by C.S. Lewis

Explore all 1,165 C.S. Lewis quotes

More Language quotes

Browse all 21,951 Language quotes