Needs sourcesMost quotes start here until readers rate them or add a source — you can help.

The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things'the beauty, the memory of our own past'are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshipers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.

Quote by C.S. Lewis

Added by Postmilstill archive ·

As an Amazon Associate, Postmilstill earns from qualifying purchases.

Where this is from

Work title, edition, or primary text used to cite this quote.

No source cited yet

Help the archive by proposing a book, sermon, or primary text for this quote.

Add a source →

Margin notes

Discussion

Share context, ask questions, or discuss this quote. Comments are separate from source proposals and verification ratings.

All discussions →

    No comments yet.

Loading…

More from C.S. Lewis

Other quotes from the same author or related sources.

All quotes by C.S. Lewis