Owen Barfield on C. S. Lewis

by Owen Barfield, George B. Tennyson (Editor)

C. S. Lewis, theologian and literary scholar, and Owen Barfield, philosopher and London solicitor, were longtime friends. G. B. Tennyson, editor of these papers by Barfield on Lewis, believes this relationship of "two immense intellects" "one of the most absorbing literary friendships of the twentieth century." Lewis called Barfield the "wisest and best of my unofficial teachers"; to Barfield, C. S. Lewis was "the absolutely unforgettable friend." They had been friends and disputants from their Oxford days after the First World War until Lewis's death forty years later. Barfield was his solicitor and trustee in the later years. This is vintage Barfield as well as an astute appraisal of C. S. Lewis's personality and beliefs. In essays, interviews, several poems, and a fragment of fiction, Barfield writes of "the individual essence" of C. S. Lewis, his brilliance, his "absolute honesty of mind," his lack of interest in collectivities-races, nations, movements-his interest only in the individual soul, his "irrepressible bent for comedy," his "keenness in pursuing any point of difference or doubt to its final conclusion." Barfield writes about himself, also, as a way of understanding his "In an argument we always, both of us, were arguing for truth, not for victory, and arguing for truth, not for comfort." Both trusted the imagination, but they differed on its relation to knowledge-"[Lewis] was in love with the imagination" and "to search for any link between myth and fact was for him a crucial error." C. S. Lewis and Owen Barfield had in common an awareness "of the silliness and the triviality of the time" and the conviction that the contemporary loss of the idea of sin was a disaster. But they also disagreed from the first, as Barfield explains, especially about theology, about the nature of God, the process of history. Lewis saw revelation as finished; Barfield saw it as a "continuing process," as he did human history. Lewis considered hierarchy necessary and healthy; Barfield regarded it as an evolutionary phase. Although C. S. Lewis died in 1963, Barfield's reflections on their relationship and analysis of its meaning ended only with his own death, in his hundredth year, in 1997.

Genres: Philosophy, Biography, Religion, Nonfiction, Literature, Christian, Essays

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Arthur Owen Barfield was a British philosopher, author, poet, and critic.

Barfield was born in London. He was educated at Highgate School and Wadham College, Oxford and in 1920 received a first class degree in English language and literature. After finishing his B. Litt., which became his third book Poetic Diction, he was a dedicated poet and author for over ten years. After 1934 his profession was as a solicitor in London, from which he retired in 1959 aged 60. Thereafter he had many guest appointments as Visiting Professor in North America. Barfield published numerous essays, books, and articles. His primary focus was on what he called the "evolution of consciousness," which is an idea which occurs frequently in his writings. He is best known as a founding father of Anthroposophy in the English speaking world.

Barfield has been known as "the first and last Inkling". He had a profound influence on C. S. Lewis, and through his books The Silver Trumpet and Poetic Diction (dedicated to C.S. Lewis), an appreciable effect on J. R. R. Tolkien. Lewis was a good friend of Barfield since 1919, and termed Barfield "the best and wisest of my unofficial teachers". That Barfield did not consider philosophy merely intellectually is illustrated by a well-known interchange that took place between Lewis and Barfield. Lewis one day made the mistake of referring to philosophy as "a subject." "It wasn't a subject to Plato," said Barfield, "It was a way." Lewis refers to Barfield as the "Second Friend" in Surprised by Joy:

But the Second Friend is the man who disagrees with you about everything. He is not so much the alter ego as the antiself. Of course he shares your interests; otherwise he would not become your friend at all. But he has approached them all at a different angle. He has read all the right books but has got the wrong thing out of every one. It is as if he spoke your language but mispronounced it. How can he be so nearly right and yet, invariably, just not right?

Barfield and C. S. Lewis met in 1919 and were close friends for 44 years. Barfield was instrumental in converting Lewis to theism during the early period of their friendship which they affectionately called 'The Great War'. Maud also guided Lewis. As well as being friend and teacher to Lewis, Barfield was his legal adviser and trustee. Lewis dedicated his 1936 book Allegory of Love to Barfield. Lewis wrote his 1949 book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for Lucy Barfield and he dedicated The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to Geoffrey in 1952.

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book consists of eight short essays and a Q&A at the back. It's a scattered, but nifty little collection for people who want to know what Barfield thought of Lewis. You could just read what a Lewis biographer says Barfield thought of Lewis, but I suppose it is useful to have the primary sources put together here. Keep in mind these are essays that Barfield wrote in response to people asking him about Lewis (primarily after his death, from what I could tell). These are not direct letters between Lewis and Barfield. Less than 150 pages. Worth reading, but not worth buying.

[Brenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a unique book, a collection of interviews and short articles by Owen Barfield, primarily about C.S. Lewis. I'm grateful to have it. It has some weaknesses, and I'm not sure that I often agree with Barfield (when I understand him). But I love that the estate took the time to give us this.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading this book slowly and thoughtfully. Owen Barfield was one of C. S. Lewis' oldest and best friends. I was struck by the richness of his writing, and the beauty. In a world of 40 character tweets..... it is a true delight to read someone who can write and build ideas and descriptions and insights over many many pages... and delight in the reading as you go.

Wonderful and highly recommended, if nothing else because Barfield's down to earth and very real descriptions of Lewis help ground both of them in the "here and now". They were real men, and while history was created around them, they nonetheless were men who took account of the daily life and the daily and real struggles of life.

[James Prothero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. Barfield is a far different mind than Lewis, but they were good friends. Every Lewis scholar should read this.

[Elizabeth Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who have read Lionel Adey's book "C. S. Lewis' 'Great War' With Owen Barfield" and are interested to learn how the personal and intellectual relationship between the two men developed later in their lives, this is a thought-provoking collection of essays and interviews with Barfield on that very subject. The most striking aspect to me was learning that there was really no intellectual exchange between the two after Lewis's conversion to Christianity, because even though Barfield had played a key role in priming Lewis for conversion, Lewis was then compelled by his theology to regard Barfield as not a "real Christian" due to Barfield's belief in reincarnation. When Barfield tried to engage Lewis regarding theology after Lewis's conversion, Lewis declared with emotion, "I can't bear it!" and though they remained friends to Lewis's death, they never did examine the overlap and white space of their spiritual commitments. Barfield was disappointed by this, but respected Lewis's boundary and remained a champion of Lewis's work. He highly praises Lewis's ability to topple the materialist idols of our time. A portrait of a complex, fascinating friendship.

[Justin Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating book about the great friendship between Owen Barfield and C. S. Lewis. The book explores some of the philosophical differences Barfield and Lewis- Anthroposophy and Christianity. The book also explores some similarities in their different worldviews, and their great love for myth, literature, art, and going on walking tours. Barfield was a very important Inkling, and some friends have told me that he was a very pleasant person and good conversationlist when they met him. This book is well worth your time.

[Stratkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting context and revelation into the conflict between Lewis and Barfield.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interetsing account of Lewis by Barfield.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a much better book than I expected it to be. I particularly recommend it it Inklings and C.S. Lewis fans.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worthy addition to the wealth of knowledge about Lewis from one of his closes friends.