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Copywork
About This Passage
Here Screwtape lets slip a claim that should steady any reader: the basic truths about right and wrong are not new discoveries but ancient ones, and the great teachers come 'not to inform men but to remind them.' A 'platitude' is a truth so old and obvious that people get tired of hearing it — and Lewis calls the deepest moral rules 'primeval moral platitudes,' meaning they are as old as humanity and the same for everyone. The devils' whole work is 'concealment': hiding these plain truths so people will think morality is confusing or up for grabs. The last line names the long war in miniature — 'We make the Sophists' (the clever talkers who muddle right and wrong) and the Enemy 'raises up a Socrates' (a wise questioner) to set things straight. Copying these sentences trains a writer to balance a long claim against a sharp, two-part example.
For humans must not be allowed to notice that all great moralists are sent by the Enemy not to inform men but to remind them, to restate the primeval moral platitudes against our continual concealment...
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
In your own words, tell the story of Screwtape's twenty-third letter to Wormwood. Since the devils can no longer remove the man's faith, what do they decide to do to it instead? Explain the made-up 'historical Jesus,' the old rules teachers 'remind' us of, and the 'little rift' Screwtape is so pleased to find.
Discussion Questions
- Screwtape's prize trick is to get a person to 'Believe this, not because it is true, but for some other reason.' What is wrong with believing — or recommending a belief — for a reason other than its truth, and why does Screwtape call this 'little rift' the start of his game? Use Screwtape's words to Wormwood to defend your reading.
- In an earlier letter the devils worked to direct men's desire 'to something which does not exist'; here they build a made-up 'historical Jesus' in order to 'direct men's devotion to something which does not exist.' How do these two letters together show that aiming people at unreality is one of Hell's steady goals, and why is a made-up figure that 'cannot in fact be worshipped' so useful to the devils? Use details from this letter and the earlier one to Wormwood to develop your answer.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
To spoil something good and turn it bad.
Item 2
Deep love, loyalty, and worship given to someone.
Item 3
A teacher of what is right and wrong.
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Critical Thinking
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