Quote by C.S. Lewis

Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for anot...her world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find until after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same.


Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for

Summary

This quote by C.S. Lewis explains that the existence of desires in living creatures implies the existence of means to satisfy those desires. It uses examples such as hunger, swimming, and sexual desire to illustrate this idea. However, if one finds a desire within themselves that cannot be fulfilled by any experience in this world, it suggests that they were made for another world. Earthly pleasures may merely arouse this desire and serve as a reminder of something greater. The quote emphasizes the importance of not dismissing or mistaking these earthly blessings, while also keeping the desire for one's true country alive, working towards it, and helping others do the same.

By C.S. Lewis
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