--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As long as what you are afraid of is…" description: "\"“As long as what you are afraid of is something evil, you may still hope that the good may come to your rescue. But suppose you struggle through to the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/c-s-lewis-121_fear_as-long-as-what-you-are-afraid-of-is-som_1542257.jpg" --- # As long as what you are afraid of is something evil, you… ![“As long as what you are afraid of is something evil, you may still hope that the good may come to your rescue. But suppose you struggle through to the good and find that it is also dreadful? How if food itself turns out to be the very thing you can’t eat and home the very place you can’t live, and…” quote by C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/c-s-lewis-121_fear_as-long-as-what-you-are-afraid-of-is-som_1542257.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/c-s-lewis-121_fear_as-long-as-what-you-are-afraid-of-is-som_1542257.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/c-s-lewis-121_fear_as-long-as-what-you-are-afraid-of-is-som_1542257.jpg) > ““As long as what you are afraid of is something evil, you may still hope that the good may come to your rescue. But suppose you struggle through to the good and find that it is also dreadful? How if food itself turns out to be the very thing you can’t eat and home the very place you can’t live, and your very comforter the person who makes you uncomfortable. Then, indeed, there is no rescue possible: the last card has been played.”” [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. Hope can be misplaced when even the seemingly good turns hostile, leaving no rescue. **In simple terms:** Even good can become harmful, leaving no salvation. Key Takeaway Recognize when hope is false. Themes hope despair illusion rescue Mood anguished reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal crisis - spiritual doubt - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts existentialism theodicy moral ambiguity Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate hope is becoming harmful? - How do you differentiate true rescue from false comfort? A Different Perspective Hope may persist despite evidence to the contrary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) ## Related quotes > [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But suppose you struggle through to the good and find that it is also dreadful?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/but-suppose-you-struggle-through-to-the-good-and-find-that-it-is-also/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [It is one thing to fear God as threatening, with a holy reverence, and another to be afraid of the evil threatened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/it-is-one-thing-to-fear-god-as-threatening-with-a-holy-reverence-and/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [“In the darkness, I had been afraid that he was evil. At dawn, I realized he had been my friend and guardian, watching over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-klavan/in-the-darkness-i-had-been-afraid-that-he-was-evil-at-dawn-i-realized/) [Andrew Klavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-klavan/) > [It's not what people do that scares me. It's what they hide. It's the secrets that keep us from bonding and create distrust. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/it-s-not-what-people-do-that-scares-me-it-s-what-they-hide-it-s-the/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“Only a teen girl would be afraid of an evil hairstylist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-holt/only-a-teen-girl-would-be-afraid-of-an-evil-hairstylist/) [Simon Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-holt/) > [Nobody has any right to find life uninteresting or unrewarding who sees within the sphere of his own activity a wrong he can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-william-eliot/nobody-has-any-right-to-find-life-uninteresting-or-unrewarding-who/) [Charles William Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-william-eliot/) > [“How the gods must have chuckled when they added Hope to the evils with which they filled Pandora's box, for they knew very well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/how-the-gods-must-have-chuckled-when-they-added-hope-to-the-evils/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [War is always a matter of doing evil in the hope that good may come of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/war-is-always-a-matter-of-doing-evil-in-the-hope-that-good-may-come/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [“Hope is the greatest gift and the greatest evil...Hope saved us and hope might yet kill us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/hope-is-the-greatest-gift-and-the-greatest-evil-hope-saved-us-and/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [In the struggle of good against evil, it's always the people who get killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/in-the-struggle-of-good-against-evil-it-s-always-the-people-who-get/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [This is a struggle between good and evil and we're the good?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dean/this-is-a-struggle-between-good-and-evil-and-we-re-the-good/) [Howard Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dean/) > [Life is a struggle and a good spy gets in there and fights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-fitzhugh/life-is-a-struggle-and-a-good-spy-gets-in-there-and-fights/) [Louise Fitzhugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-fitzhugh/) > [Developing a skill is painful, though. It is difficult. And that's part of the satisfaction. You will only find meaning in what you struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/developing-a-skill-is-painful-though-it-is-difficult-and-that-s-part/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“However you disguise it, this thing does not change: The perpetual struggle of Good and Evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/however-you-disguise-it-this-thing-does-not-change-the-perpetual/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) ## More by C.S. Lewis > [“At the moment, then, of Man’s victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/at-the-moment-then-of-man-s-victory-over-nature-we-find-the-whole/) [C.S. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Después de cada fracaso, pedid perdón, levantaos del suelo y volved a intentarlo. Muy a menudo, lo que Dios nos otorga primero no es…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/despu-s-de-cada-fracaso-pedid-perd-n-levantaos-del-suelo-y-volved-a/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Then two wonders happened at the same moment. One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/then-two-wonders-happened-at-the-same-moment-one-was-that-the-voice/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/because-free-will-though-it-makes-evil-possible-is-also-the-only/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Laugh and fear not, creatures. Now that you are no longer dumb and witless, you need not always be grave. For jokes as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/laugh-and-fear-not-creatures-now-that-you-are-no-longer-dumb-and/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“When two humans have lived together for many years it usually happens that each has tones of voice and expressions of face which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/when-two-humans-have-lived-together-for-many-years-it-usually-happens/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“He sees as well as you do that courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/he-sees-as-well-as-you-do-that-courage-is-not-simply-one-of-the/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“If you do not take the distinction between good and bad very seriously, then it is easy to say that anything you find in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/if-you-do-not-take-the-distinction-between-good-and-bad-very/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/now-the-whole-offer-which-christianity-makes-is-this-that-we-can-if/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) [Explore all 1,165 C.S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. 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I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) Darlene Senger > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. 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