“He replies to our babble, 'you cannot and dare not. I could and dared.”

—  Clive Staples Lewis , book A Grief Observed

A Grief Observed (1961)
Context: And then one babbles — 'if only I could bear it, or the worst of it, or any of it, instead of her.' But one can't tell how serious that bid is, for nothing is staked on it. If it suddenly became a real possibility, then, for the first time, we should discover how seriously we had meant it. But is it ever allowed?
It was allowed to One, we are told, and I find I can now believe again, that He has done vicariously whatever can be done. He replies to our babble, 'you cannot and dare not. I could and dared.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "He replies to our babble, 'you cannot and dare not. I could and dared." by Clive Staples Lewis?
Clive Staples Lewis photo
Clive Staples Lewis 272
Christian apologist, novelist, and Medievalist 1898–1963

Related quotes

Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo

“He had a power; in his eye
There was a quenchless energy,
A spirit that could dare
The deadliest form that Death could take,
And dare it for the daring's sake.”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

Crescentius from The London Literary Gazette (19th July 1823) Execution of Crescentius
The Improvisatrice (1824)

Thomas Paine photo

“He who dares not offend cannot be honest.”

Thomas Paine (1737–1809) English and American political activist

The Forester's Letters http://www.bartleby.com/184/117.html, Letter III—'To Cato', Pennsylvania Journal (24 April 1776)
1770s

Andrew Carnegie photo

“He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave.”

Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) American businessman and philanthropist

“He, who will not reason, is a bigot; he, who cannot, is a fool; and he, who dares not, is a slave.”

William Drummond of Logiealmond (1770–1828) Scottish diplomat and Member of Parliament, poet and philosopher

in Academical Questions (1805), Preface, p. 15 http://books.google.com/books?id=U9FOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR15

César Franck photo

“I dared much, but the next time, you will see, I will dare even more…”

César Franck (1822–1890) Belgian-French composer, organist and music teacher

J'ai osé beaucoup, mais la prochaine fois, vous verrez, j'oserai plus encore...
Franck, Symphonie en ré mineur, Chefs-d'Œuvre de l'Art, Grand Musiciens, 75. Paris, Hachette-Fabri, 1969.
Talking about his Symphony in D minor, after it had been received unfavorably at its 1889 premiere.

Leo Igwe photo

“Dare to think. Dare to doubt. Dare to question everything in spite of what the superstitious around you teach and preach.”

Leo Igwe (1970) Nigerian human rights activist

A Manifesto for a Skeptical Africa (2012)
Context: Most Africans cannot think freely or express their doubts openly because these religions have placed a huge price on freethinking and critical inquiry. Because these belief systems rely on paranormal claims themselves, Africans feel they cannot speak out against superstition as a whole, or they will be ostracized or even killed by religious zealots. Belief in demonic possession, faith healing, and the “restorative” power of holy water can have deadly consequences for believers and whole communities. Africans must reject superstitious indoctrination and dogmatization in public institutions. Africans need to adopt this cultural motto: Dare to think. Dare to doubt. Dare to question everything in spite of what the superstitious around you teach and preach. Africans must begin to think freely in order to ‘emancipate themselves from mental slavery’ and generate ideas that can ignite the flame of an African enlightenment.

Henry Miller photo

“Imagination is the voice of daring. If there is anything Godlike about God it is that. He dared to imagine everything.”

Henry Miller book Sexus

Tropic of Capricorn (1939)
Source: Sexus

John Lydon photo

“I’ve not done any of this for superstardom, quite the opposite. I threw away the rock star mantle. And for that, there’s resentment too: ‘How dare he, how dare he.’”

John Lydon (1956) English singer, songwriter, and musician

Interview with Los Angeles Times, 2015

Related topics