Possible Parallels Between CS Lewis' And SM Stirling's Heavens
"'Time does not work that way once ye have left the Earth.'"
-CS Lewis, The Great Divorce (London, 1962), p. 114.
"'Time is different here. Or rather, we're not entirely in time as men understand it.'"
-SM Stirling, The Sword Of The Lady (New York, 2009), Chapter Twenty-One, p. 640.
"'Do not ask of a vision in a dream more than a vision in a dream can give.'"
-Lewis, p. 116.
"'Think of it as a metaphor, but a true one.'"
-Stirling, p. 640.
Both viewpoint characters learn that they are being shown a vision.
Lewis shows Heaven more clearly in The Last Battle. Heaven should involve:
the energy of youth;
the wisdom of age;
a firm grasp on life, which would no longer be slipping away.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I Like how C.S. Lewis described what heaven is very plausibly is: "the energy of youth; the wisdom of age; a firm grip on life, which would no longer be slipping away." To which I would add how the INDESCRIBABLE nearness or presence of God would affect the souls of the Blessed.
Your recent blog pieces has reminded me of Anderson's OPERATION CHAOS: esp. some recent comments I made about the hell universe seen in that book. To which I would we do get a glimpse from PA on what he thought heaven would be like. In Chapter XXX of OPERATION CHAOS, a saint from heaven, Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevski, became temporarily the guest of Steven Matuchek. As Steven came to reflect: "Of course, I couldn't share his afterlife, nor the holiness thereof. My mortal brain and grimy soul didn't reach to it. At most, there sang at the edge of perception a peace and joy which were not static but a high eternal adventure." I think C.S. Lewis would agree with Anderson!
Sean
Sean,
That list, "the energy of youth" etc, is my wording but I am summarizing my understanding of Lewis.
Dmwoski describes Heaven as "...an endless high adventure..." in THE SWORD OF THE LADY, Chapter Twenty-One, p. 641.
Paul.
Sean,
And, just before that, Ignatius had commented that Heaven "'...does not feel in the least static.'" (p. 641)
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I understood you were simply summarizing Lewis. And the bits you quoted from Stirling's THE SWORD OF THE LADY sounds like the author had OPERATION CHAOS in mind. But we both know Stirling was a friend and enthusiastic fan of PA.
Sean
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