by C.S. Lewis. No contest. Thoughts at the link. Quoted below:
"I read this years ago and did not grasp it. But I felt I’d just read Lewis’ most mature artistic work. Reading it as the person I am now, Till We Have Faces made me ache. Ache with beauty. Ache with grief. Ache with love. Ache with awe.
Lewis drew me deep into the heart of the protagonist where I felt her every joy and enumerable sorrows. Many pages were read through tears. This is a beautiful retelling of the Greek tragedy of Cupid and Psyche from the sister’s point of view. And through Orual’s eyes, Lewis crafts a deep, rich meditation on the nature of love, holiness, man, and gods.
For Orual, holiness is known to her as darkness and the stench of blood. For me, holiness is this book."
Dec 3, 2024
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Made me think, and made me feel so much. Such a beautiful distillation of all the themes Lewis explored in his previous works.
Nov 5, 2024
If Lewis ever dropped acid, it would have been writing this piece of fiction. It's got sinister salamanders whispering in people's ears, a bus to hell, and a good bit of heresy depending on the Christian you ask.
This book challenged my understanding of faith and spirituality and helped me understand it didn't have to be what I had been taught. It gave me curiosity.
Jun 11, 2024
🔃
I've been reading Simone Weil and I'm glad I found this book when I did. I really needed it. I've been feeling weighed down by the state of the world and family tragedies and dramas. But this book has helped to put some things back into perspective.
Here are some choice excerpts:
- "The tendency to spread evil beyond oneself: I still have it! Beings and things are not sacred enough to me. May I never sully anything even though I be utterly transformed into mud. To sully nothing, even in thought. Even in my worst moments I would not destroy a Greek statue or a fresco by Giotto. Why anything else then? Why, for example, a moment in the life of a human being who could have been happy for that moment?"
- "A king can pay out only imaginary rewards most of the time, or he would be insolvent. It is the same with religion at a certain level. Instead of receiving the smile of Louis XIV, we invent a god who smiles on us."
- "The future is a filler of void places. Sometimes the past also plays this part ('I used to be,' 'I once did this or that...'). But there are other cases when affliction makes the thought of happiness intolerable; then in robs the sufferer of his past.... The past and the future hinder the wholesome effect of affliction by providing an unlimited field for imaginary elevation. That is why the renunciation of the past and future is the first of all renunciations."
-"A person who is passionately fond of music may quite well be a perverted person–but I should find it hard to believe this of anyone who thirsted for Gregorian chanting."
- "It is a fault to wish to be understood before we have made ourselves clear to ourselves. It is to seek pleasures in friendships, and pleasures which are not deserved. It is something which corrupts even more than love. You would sell your soul for friendship. // Learn to thrust friendship aside, or rather the dream of friendship. To desire friendship is a great fault. Friendship should be a gratuitous joy like those afforded by art or life. We must refuse it so that we may be worthy to receive it."
-"Suffering is nothing, apart from the relationship between the past and the future, but what is more real for man than this relationship? It is reality itself. // The future. We go on thinking it will come until the moment when we think it will never come."
-"Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer."
-"To love our neighbor as ourselves does not mean that we should love all people equally, for I do not have an equal love for all modes of existence of myself. Nor does it mean that we should never make them suffer, for I do not refuse to make myself suffer. But we should have with each person the relationship of one conception of the universe to another conception of the universe, and not to a part of the universe."
-"Power (and money, power's master key) is a means at its purest. For that very reason it is the supreme end for all those who have not understood."
6d ago
Top Recs from @lucius
Alright y'all, standards have gotten a little lax around here and rec quality has taken a dip (I'm including myself in this). Here are some pointers for High Rec Standards.
ANATOMY OF A REC:
TITLE—This is the rec or recommendations. This is NOT a lead in. Type exactly what you're recommending here. What appears in the Title should finish this sentence, "I recommend _____."
BODY—This supports the rec and anything goes. Supporting statements, supporting essays, additional recs, you can get silly, you can pontificate. You can do anything you want. Except putting the main rec down here. Where does it go? That's right. In the Title 👆
IMAGE—No rules. Add one to preference. It can be relevant or a non sequitur.
LINK—I highly recommend links but it's not as important as the Title or Body. If you are recommending something that has an online presence (music, movies, websites, products, etc.), Piffies want to click on it immediately. Don't make us google. Be kind a leave a link.
EMOJI—No rules. Express yourself.
ANTI-RECS:
They exist and they are valid recs. "Anti-Rec: _____" clearly communicates this is something best avoided. But a better way format this type of Rec is to use a modifier or verb that flows with "I recommend _____." Ex. I recommend... Not Eating Tacks, Avoiding Area X, Leaving Off the Anchovies, etc.—(Formatting Anti-Recs this way first recommended by tyler the Creator)
ANATOMY OF AN ASK:
TITLE—This is the question or topic of the Ask. Asks can solicit advice or start a discussion. You have some flexibility here because the Ask is expected to be expounded upon in the body if it needs more context. Just be clear. Again, this is not a lead in. Be direct and ask the question or state the topic.
BODY—Provide more context. Narrow the recommendation field. Add relevant links. Remember, the Ask goes in the Title 👆
EMOJI—No rules. Express yourself.
ANSWERING AN ASK—Recs on Asks can break style as dictated by the Ask. If the Ask is looking for Recs, give Recs following style. If it's asking for opinions, give your opinion. Asking for links? Give links! Respond however you would respond some someone IRL. Asks start a conversation so you can be more conversational. But keep in mind that these Recs will appear in the main feed. So where you can maintain Rec style, do so.
Example: WHAT’S YOUR CURRENT LETTERBOXD TOP 4?
A response to this with High Rec Standards would look something like this:
TITLE—Lists your current Letterboxd top 4. You are recommending these four movies.
BODY—Free reign here. Drop your Letterboxd @. Talk about the movies. Make a quip. Emoji. Relevant links. Nothing.
IMAGE—Optional. Screenshot of your top four. Frame from a movie. Dealer's choice.
LINK—Add your Letterboxd profile only if you want to be found.
EMOJI—Whatever. But it'd be nice if it was relevant.
DISCLAIMER:
This is a living community document! These are only my recommendations for a foundation. Debate and Discussion of proper style are Encouraged. Any editions and changes to the PI.FYI STYLE GUIDE will be notated with attribution.
Changelog:
07.26.2024—Clarified a Rec is not limited to one recommendation. Recs can recommend multiple things. Thanks to shegoestoanotherschool for identifying the issue. / Added guidance for Anti-Rec format.
02.11.2025—Moved SpongeBob Bubble Blowing Technique video link from the top level into the body ("some pointers") so the embed wouldn't override the High Quality instructional graphic.
Jul 25, 2024
🐸
This combo has just been here the whole time?!
Feb 6, 2025
🥯
i will eat one every day i do not give a fuck anymore
Jan 30, 2024