--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never fully understood it till my…" description: "\"I never fully understood it till my friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, 'What class of men would you expect to be most preoccup..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/c-s-lewis-2-132_answers_i-never-fully-understood-it-till-my-frie_2600299.jpg" --- # I never fully understood it till my friend Professor… ![“I never fully understood it till my friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, 'What class of men would you expect to be most preoccupied with, and hostile to, the idea of escape?' and gave the obvious answer: jailers.” quote by C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/c-s-lewis-2-132_answers_i-never-fully-understood-it-till-my-frie_2600299.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/c-s-lewis-2-132_answers_i-never-fully-understood-it-till-my-frie_2600299.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/c-s-lewis-2-132_answers_i-never-fully-understood-it-till-my-frie_2600299.jpg) > “I never fully understood it till my friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, 'What class of men would you expect to be most preoccupied with, and hostile to, the idea of escape?' and gave the obvious answer: jailers.” [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. Lewis suggests that those who enforce confinement (jailers) are obsessed with preventing escape, reflecting a fear of freedom. **In simple terms:** Jailers fear freedom and thus cling to control. Key Takeaway Recognize the fear behind controlling behavior. Themes freedom control psychology Mood analytical thought‑provoking Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - politics - personal relationships - workplace dynamics Key Concepts existentialism social critique Questions to Reflect On - Why do people fear others’ freedom? - How does this insight affect your view of authority? A Different Perspective Not all who control are hostile; some protect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Escapism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escapism/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) ## Related quotes > [“Hence the uneasiness which they arouse in those who, for whatever reason, wish to keep us wholly imprisoned in the immediate conflict. That perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/hence-the-uneasiness-which-they-arouse-in-those-who-for-whatever/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [The only people who hate escapism are jailers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-only-people-who-hate-escapism-are-jailers/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The Tolkien estate owns the writings of Professor Tolkien. 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' were sold by Professor Tolkien in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/the-tolkien-estate-owns-the-writings-of-professor-tolkien-the-hobbit/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [In prison we are their jailers On trial their judges Persecuted their punishers Dead their conquerors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macneill/in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial-their-judges-persecuted-their/) Eoin MacNeill > [Do not help your jailers to pretend that their jail is your natural state of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/do-not-help-your-jailers-to-pretend-that-their-jail-is-your-natural/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Beware of those who seek to take care of you lest your caretakers become your jailers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/beware-of-those-who-seek-to-take-care-of-you-lest-your-caretakers/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“Many novelists fumed at men they saw as jailers. A host of masculine villains paraded through their plots—neglectful fathers, cruel husbands, and assorted gamblers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/many-novelists-fumed-at-men-they-saw-as-jailers-a-host-of-masculine/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“I got out late winter. I was off on the exact day by thirty-some hours, which is not bad calculations. I made the decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/i-got-out-late-winter-i-was-off-on-the-exact-day-by-thirty-some-hours/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [“We buy our chains from our jailers and only when we put need before desire will we escape the prison of neo-liberalism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/we-buy-our-chains-from-our-jailers-and-only-when-we-put-need-before/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“quiet, unprovocative, unfailingly polite to one another and to them, and whose occasional sadness bore the stamp of a dignity their jailers could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rappaport/quiet-unprovocative-unfailingly-polite-to-one-another-and-to-them-and/) [Helen Rappaport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rappaport/) > [“Like the hostages, I can’t find any excuses for my jailers, even if some of them are rootless exiles. They change continuously as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanan-al-shaykh/like-the-hostages-i-can-t-find-any-excuses-for-my-jailers-even-if/) [Hanan Al-Shaykh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanan-al-shaykh/) > [“...those who are locked up know better than their jailers the taste of free air.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/those-who-are-locked-up-know-better-than-their-jailers-the-taste-of/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [Church membership was so important that Paul and Silas baptized the Philippian jailer into the membership of Christ's church at midnight with Paul's back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-adams/church-membership-was-so-important-that-paul-and-silas-baptized-the/) [Jay Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-adams/) > [I like to think of myself as a 'Mord the jailer' type.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-b-weiss/i-like-to-think-of-myself-as-a-mord-the-jailer-type/) [D. B. Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-b-weiss/) > [“A prisoner is imprisoned by the crime that he has committed. A jailer is imprisoned — in the very same prison — by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-prisoner-is-imprisoned-by-the-crime-that-he-has-committed-a-jailer/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## 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. 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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 Answers quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. 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