I spoke at a conference this past weekend dealing with the issue of pornography. During one session, a friend highlighted apropos words from C. S. Lewis’ classic The Four Loves. In the following lines, Lewis explains why a lustful man ironically has no use for a real woman. He writes:
We use a most unfortunate idiom when we say, of a lustful man prowling the streets, that he “wants a woman.” Strictly speaking, a woman is just what he does not want. He wants a pleasure for which a woman happens to be the necessary piece of apparatus. How much he cares about the woman as such may be gauged by his attitude to her five minutes after fruition (one does not keep the carton after one has smoked the cigarettes).
Read the rest here.
5 Comments
Ian Shaw
Just when I think I could remember most of his writings, he surprises me with something I couldn’t recall. Thanks for this Denny.
Li He
cannot see the rest of the article. the link takes me to amazon.
buddyglass
I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not sure I agree with Lewis here. If a lustful man only wanted pleasure then he could pleasure himself. But for some lustful men that isn’t enough. Only an actual woman will satisfy their desires, even though the physical sensation is basically the same.
To me, that suggests the lustful man craves something more than just physical release.
Paul Reed
I agree, buddyglass. I was thinking the same thing.
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