C. S. Lewis predicts flamewars

[nancylebov]

I see, and smell, that even under wartime conditions the College cellar still has a few dozen of sound old vintage PHARISEE. Well, well, well. This is like old times. Hold it beneath your noses for a moment, gentledevils. Hold it up to the light. Look at those fiery streaks that writhe and tangle in its dark heart, as if they were contending. And so they are. You know how this wine is blended? Different types of Pharisee have been harvested, trodden, and fermented together to produce its subtle flavour. Types that were most antagonistic to one another on Earth. Some were all rules and relics and rosaries; others were all drab clothes, long faces, and petty traditional abstinences from wine or cards or the theatre. Both had in common their self-righteousness and an almost infinite distance between their actual outlook and anything the Enemy really is or commands.

A little context for those who haven't read The Screwtape Letters: it's written from the point of view of a senior devil.

I was going to title this "C.S. Lewis predicts usenet", but then I realized it wasn't fair-- there was plenty of non-flame conversation there and probably still is.

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Oh, nice one.

[avram]

Well, he did work in academe.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Although what he actually references is history of religion.

[mrgoodwraith.livejournal.com]

This quote is actually from "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," which was not part of the original Screwtape Letters, but is a fabulous companion piece written later that is often (I believe) anthologized with them.