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Copywork
About This Passage
Screwtape lets out a secret his side hates to admit: the devils have never made a single good or happy thing. Every real pleasure was made by the Enemy; the most a devil can do is twist a good thing to a wrong use. Copying this short confession shows how one honest admission can give away a whole side's weakness.
He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one.
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell the story of Screwtape's ninth letter to Wormwood in your own words. What sneaky ways does Screwtape want to use the man's dull, dry time against him?
Discussion Questions
- Screwtape admits the devils never made a single pleasure — 'He made the pleasures' — and can only twist good things to the wrong time or way. Why does it bother the devils so much that every real pleasure was made by the Enemy, not by them? Which detail in the letter to Wormwood helps you decide?
- Screwtape says the devils' plan is 'an ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure' — wanting more and more of something that gives less and less joy. Why is wanting more of something that satisfies you less and less a trap? How do you know, from what Screwtape says in the letter to Wormwood?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A good, happy feeling of enjoyment.
Item 2
A very strong wish for something.
Item 3
A stage you pass through for a while.
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Critical Thinking
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