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Copywork
About This Passage
Screwtape sneers at humans by calling them 'little vermin,' but in the same breath he gives away a wonderful secret: the Enemy 'really likes' each person and treasures how different and special every single one is. Copying this sentence shows how even a hateful word can carry, hidden inside it, a beautiful truth.
Remember always, that He really likes the little vermin, and sets an absurd value on the distinctness of every one of them.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell the story of Screwtape's thirteenth letter to Wormwood in your own words. Why is Screwtape so angry, and what 'blunders' does he say Wormwood made?
Discussion Questions
- Screwtape is furious that Wormwood let the man read 'a book he really enjoyed, because he enjoyed it' — not to impress his new friends — and walk to the old mill 'alone' through country he loves. Why does doing a simple thing just for its own sake, with no one to show off to, worry the devils so much? Which detail in the letter to Wormwood helps you decide?
- Screwtape says a real pleasure would 'kill by contrast' all the empty, showy things — 'vanity, bustle, irony' — the devils had taught the man to value. Why does a simple, true joy make fake, showy things suddenly seem empty? How do you know, from what Screwtape says in the letter to Wormwood?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
Very serious or important.
Item 2
To protect someone from harm.
Item 3
A careless or foolish mistake.
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Critical Thinking
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