--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was sick with desire; that sickness…" description: "\"“I was sick with desire; that sickness better than health.”\" — C. S. Lewis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/c-s-lewis-2-132_desire_i-was-sick-with-desire-that-sickness-bet_1690549.png" --- # I was sick with desire; that sickness better than health. ![“I was sick with desire; that sickness better than health.” quote by C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/c-s-lewis-2-132_desire_i-was-sick-with-desire-that-sickness-bet_1690549.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/c-s-lewis-2-132_desire_i-was-sick-with-desire-that-sickness-bet_1690549.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/c-s-lewis-2-132_desire_i-was-sick-with-desire-that-sickness-bet_1690549.png) > ““I was sick with desire; that sickness better than health.”” [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. Intense longing can feel more vital than health, driving passion. **In simple terms:** Desire can be more compelling than well‑being. Key Takeaway Channel desire into purposeful action. Themes desire health passion human nature Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - creative work - relationship building - goal setting - self‑care Key Concepts motivation psychology spiritual struggle Questions to Reflect On - What desires fuel your growth? - How do you balance desire with wellbeing? A Different Perspective Uncontrolled desire may lead to self‑destruction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Sickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-sickness-1049946/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick/) [Sick Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick-desire-1049947/) [Sickness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness/) [Sickness Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sickness-better-1049948/) ## Related quotes > [Jealousy is a sickness get better soon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millie-darlington/jealousy-is-a-sickness-get-better-soon/) [Millie Darlington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millie-darlington/) > [ “These were the kind \[of letters\] you save, folded into a memory box, to be opened years later with fingers against crackling age, heart… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-brown/these-were-the-kind-of-letters-you-save-folded-into-a-memory-box-to/) [Eleanor Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-brown/) > [Consume my heart away, sick with desire And fastened to a dying animal It knows not what it is, and gather me Into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/consume-my-heart-away-sick-with-desire-and-fastened-to-a-dying-animal/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [If a culture treats a particular illness with compassion and enlightened understanding, then sickness can be seen as a challenge, as a healing crisis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/if-a-culture-treats-a-particular-illness-with-compassion-and/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [We must avoid the spiritual disease of the Church that can become self-referential: when this happens, the Church itself becomes sick. 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Frankly, I wanted death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/it-is-now-over-this-has-never-been-a-case-of-trying-to-get-free-i/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [We want to know not how we should pray if we were perfect but how we should pray being as we now are ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-want-to-know-not-how-we-should-pray-if-we-were-perfect-but-how-we/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [One of the things that distinguishes man from the other animals is that he wants to know things, wants to find out what reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-the-things-that-distinguishes-man-from-the-other-animals-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-only-way-to-get-rid-of-a-temptation-is-to-yield-to-it-resist-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## 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 Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I was sick with desire; that sickness better than health.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C. S. 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