--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All this is flashy rhetoric about loving…" description: "\"“All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you. I never had a selfless thought since I was born. I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through: I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/c-s-lewis-121_love_all-this-is-flashy-rhetoric-about-loving_2341127.jpg" --- # All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you. I never had… ![“All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you. I never had a selfless thought since I was born. I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through: I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn. Peace, re-assurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek, I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper…” quote by C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/c-s-lewis-121_love_all-this-is-flashy-rhetoric-about-loving_2341127.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/c-s-lewis-121_love_all-this-is-flashy-rhetoric-about-loving_2341127.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/c-s-lewis-121_love_all-this-is-flashy-rhetoric-about-loving_2341127.jpg) > ““All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you. I never had a selfless thought since I was born. I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through: I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn. Peace, re-assurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek, I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin: I talk of love --a scholar's parrot may talk Greek-- But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin. Only that now you have taught me (but how late) my lack. I see the chasm. And everything you are was making My heart into a bridge by which I might get back From exile, and grow man. And now the bridge is breaking. For this I bless you as the ruin falls. The pains You give me are more precious than all other gains.”” [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker confesses selfish motives, recognizing love as a bridge to self‑growth, yet feels the relationship is collapsing, valuing the pain it brings as a catalyst for transformation. **In simple terms:** Selfishness revealed, love as a bridge, pain as growth. Key Takeaway Embrace pain as a teacher. Themes self-awareness spirituality relationships Mood conflicted reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - spiritual crisis - relationship breakdown Key Concepts redemption human frailty self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn selfish desire into genuine love? - What does the “bridge” symbolize in your life? A Different Perspective Pain may not always lead to growth; selfish motives can persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-friends-722121/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving/) [Loving Selfless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-selfless-5666064/) [Rhetoric Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhetoric-loving-5666062/) [Selfless Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfless-thought-5666063/) ## Related quotes > [“Despite the crushing weight of the expectations placed on her, from the theological to the self-inflicted, what I needed was the last, selfless thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammara-webber/despite-the-crushing-weight-of-the-expectations-placed-on-her-from/) [Tammara Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammara-webber/) > [God made us friends because no mother could handle us as sisters!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narenkumar/god-made-us-friends-because-no-mother-could-handle-us-as-sisters/) [Narenkumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narenkumar/) > [Most commit the same mistake with God that they do with their friends: they do all the talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/most-commit-the-same-mistake-with-god-that-they-do-with-their-friends/) [Fulton J. 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