--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man does not call a line crooked unless…" description: "\"A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.\" — C. S. Lewis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/c-s-lewis-2-132_apologetic_a-man-does-not-call-a-line-crooked-unles_1110912.png" --- # A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea… ![“A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.” quote by C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/c-s-lewis-2-132_apologetic_a-man-does-not-call-a-line-crooked-unles_1110912.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/c-s-lewis-2-132_apologetic_a-man-does-not-call-a-line-crooked-unles_1110912.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/def/c-s-lewis-2-132_apologetic_a-man-does-not-call-a-line-crooked-unles_1110912.png) > “A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.” [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perception of a line’s crookedness depends on knowing a straight line. **In simple terms:** Perspective defines distortion. Key Takeaway Question assumptions. Themes perception relativism logic Mood thought‑provoking analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - debate preparation - design critique - ethical reasoning - education Key Concepts philosophical analysis critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What defines a ‘straight line’ in ethics? - How do cultural norms shape perception? A Different Perspective Assumes universal standards exist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apologetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apologetic/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Crooked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crooked/) [Crooked lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crooked-lines-39876/) [Crooked Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crooked-unless-2958628/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [God exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-exists/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Line Crooked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/line-crooked-1700819/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Man Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-does-334860/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Problem of evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-of-evil/) [Proof god exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof-god-exists/) [Proof of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof-of-god/) [Proof that god exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof-that-god-exists/) [Straight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight/) [Straight line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-line/) [Straight lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-lines/) [Unjust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unjust/) ## Related quotes > [My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/my-argument-against-god-was-that-the-universe-seemed-so-cruel-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [You never know a line is crooked unless you have a straight one to put next to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/you-never-know-a-line-is-crooked-unless-you-have-a-straight-one-to/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-do-not-believe-in-a-personal-god-and-i-have-never-denied-this-but/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Humanism or atheism is a wonderful philosophy of life as long as you are big, strong, and between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-murray-1st-earl-of-mansfield/humanism-or-atheism-is-a-wonderful-philosophy-of-life-as-long-as-you/) [William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-murray-1st-earl-of-mansfield/) > [The real attitude of sin in the heart towards God is that of being without God; it is pride, the worship of myself, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-real-attitude-of-sin-in-the-heart-towards-god-is-that-of-being/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [A heathen philosopher once asked a Christian, 'Where is God'? The Christian answered, 'Let me first ask you, Where is He not?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-arrowsmith/a-heathen-philosopher-once-asked-a-christian-where-is-god-the/) [Aaron Arrowsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-arrowsmith/) > [Still, even the most admirable of atheists is nothing more than a moral parasite, living his life based on borrowed ethics. This is why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-beale/still-even-the-most-admirable-of-atheists-is-nothing-more-than-a/) [Theodore Beale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-beale/) > [The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-word-god-is-for-me-nothing-more-than-the-expression-and-product-4/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [There are no ordinary people.. it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/there-are-no-ordinary-people-it-is-immortals-whom-we-joke-with-work/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/is-he-able-but-not-willing-then-he-is-malevolent/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [It was the schoolboy who said, ""Faith is believing what you know ain't so.""](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-was-the-schoolboy-who-said-faith-is-believing-what-you-know-ain-t/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If no God, mankind is a set of bi-pedal carbon units of mostly water. And nothing else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/if-no-god-mankind-is-a-set-of-bi-pedal-carbon-units-of-mostly-water/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-prefer-an-attitude-of-humility-corresponding-to-the-weakness-of-our/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I am unable to take seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-idea-of-a-personal-god-is-an-anthropological-concept-which-i-am/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) ## More by C. S. Lewis > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Either Jesus is the Son of God ; or a madman or worse. But His being just a great teacher? He's not left that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/either-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-or-a-madman-or-worse-but-his-being/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [To every soul, God will look like its first love because He IS its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/to-every-soul-god-will-look-like-its-first-love-because-he-is-its/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“Really great moral teachers never do introduce new moralities: it is quacks and cranks who do that. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/really-great-moral-teachers-never-do-introduce-new-moralities-it-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“When He died in the Wounded World He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/when-he-died-in-the-wounded-world-he-died-not-for-men-but-for-each/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All I am in private life is a literary critic and historian, that's my job...And I'm prepared to say on that basis if anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/all-i-am-in-private-life-is-a-literary-critic-and-historian-that-s-my/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [If a man is going to write on chemistry, he learns chemistry. The same is true of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-a-man-is-going-to-write-on-chemistry-he-learns-chemistry-the-same/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the Resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-first-fact-in-the-history-of-christendom-is-a-number-of-people/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I#pray because the need flows out of me all the time-walking and sleeping. It does not change # God - it changes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-pray-because-the-need-flows-out-of-me-all-the-time-walking-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Are the gods not just?' 'Oh no, child. What would become us us if they were?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/are-the-gods-not-just-oh-no-child-what-would-become-us-us-if-they-were/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Love is more than an emotion, it is a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/love-is-more-than-an-emotion-it-is-a-decision/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Ink is the great cure for all human ills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/ink-is-the-great-cure-for-all-human-ills/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-man-may-have-to-die-for-our-country-but-no-man-must-in-any/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/war-creates-no-absolutely-new-situation-it-simply-aggravates-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Explore all 1,190 C. S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More Apologetic quotes > [If writing with a goal - whether it be evangelistic, apologetic, or didactic - implies propaganda, then all recorded history is propaganda. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/if-writing-with-a-goal-whether-it-be-evangelistic-apologetic-or/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [In the New Testament alone there are Gospels, acts, epistles, and an apocalypse. Gospels contain literary forms like miracles, parables, pronouncements, proverbs, farewell discourses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-blomberg/in-the-new-testament-alone-there-are-gospels-acts-epistles-and-an/) [Craig Blomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-blomberg/) > [We preach sermons, write books on apologetics, conduct city-wide evangelistic campaigns. For those alienated from the church, that approach no longer has the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/we-preach-sermons-write-books-on-apologetics-conduct-city-wide/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [The purpose of apologetics is not just to win an argument or a discussion, but that people with whom we are in contact may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/the-purpose-of-apologetics-is-not-just-to-win-an-argument-or-a/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [I'm a single-issue voter, to get straight to the point. I'm really only interested in the candidate who's toughest and least apologetic when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-m-a-single-issue-voter-to-get-straight-to-the-point-i-m-really-only/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is a vocation and, as in any other calling, a writer should develop his talents for the greater glory of God. Novels should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-paul-read/writing-is-a-vocation-and-as-in-any-other-calling-a-writer-should/) [Piers Paul Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-paul-read/) > [... and yet he could also be very charming, in a bookish, infinitely apologetic way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/and-yet-he-could-also-be-very-charming-in-a-bookish-infinitely/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [When I started playing in bands, we had to be apologetic for what we did. We had to be apologetic because the mainstream was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-antonoff/when-i-started-playing-in-bands-we-had-to-be-apologetic-for-what-we/) [Jack Antonoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-antonoff/) > [“The snow lay thin and apologetic over the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/the-snow-lay-thin-and-apologetic-over-the-world/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [In a post-modern culture we need an apologetic that is felt and seen because if post-moderns are not feeling it, they are not believing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/in-a-post-modern-culture-we-need-an-apologetic-that-is-felt-and-seen/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [I'm apologetic when I feel like I've made a mistake. And when I have done a disservice to myself or someone else. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rice/i-m-apologetic-when-i-feel-like-i-ve-made-a-mistake-and-when-i-have/) [Susan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rice/) > [I know I'm an overachiever, and I'm not apologetic about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/i-know-i-m-an-overachiever-and-i-m-not-apologetic-about-it/) [Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/) > [Apologetics has an important place in the local church as we seek to influence our communities for Christ in an increasingly skeptical culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strobel/apologetics-has-an-important-place-in-the-local-church-as-we-seek-to/) [Lee Strobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strobel/) > [If you don't feel apologetic for slavery, if you don't feel apologetic for colonialism, if you feel proud of it then say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/if-you-don-t-feel-apologetic-for-slavery-if-you-don-t-feel-apologetic/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Most apologetic books are really written for Christians, even the ones that purport to be written for non-believers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/most-apologetic-books-are-really-written-for-christians-even-the-ones/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) [Browse all 127 Apologetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apologetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C. 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