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First And Second Things: Essays on Theology And Ethics
First and Second Things
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
3 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Lewis
1,029 books47.8k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 15, 2021
Absolutely brilliant. This short book collects lesser-known C.S. Lewis essays about a variety of topics, and even though some are deeply philosophical and heady, many are direct responses to common questions and concerns about practical life issues and social problems from the time period. Most of these essays date back to the 1940s, and I enjoyed the World War II ones especially.
My favorite essay is the one where Lewis compares his vicar's lofty preaching about home and domesticity to what it was like to have lunch at the vicar's house when his young adult children were in town. Lewis paints the scene so well that it seemed like something straight out of an Agatha Christie mystery, with its attention to human nature and WWII period elements, such as the son being in the RAF. Lewis then makes excellent points and applications about how people can recapture positive domestic values while being honest and realistic about life and family. This was a delight.
This essay collection is now out of print. I picked it up on a deeply rewarding whim from the local seminary's library, and now want to have my own copy. I'm sure that some of the essays are reprinted elsewhere, but most of them were completely new to me, and I would recommend this to any C.S. Lewis fan.
My favorite essay is the one where Lewis compares his vicar's lofty preaching about home and domesticity to what it was like to have lunch at the vicar's house when his young adult children were in town. Lewis paints the scene so well that it seemed like something straight out of an Agatha Christie mystery, with its attention to human nature and WWII period elements, such as the son being in the RAF. Lewis then makes excellent points and applications about how people can recapture positive domestic values while being honest and realistic about life and family. This was a delight.
This essay collection is now out of print. I picked it up on a deeply rewarding whim from the local seminary's library, and now want to have my own copy. I'm sure that some of the essays are reprinted elsewhere, but most of them were completely new to me, and I would recommend this to any C.S. Lewis fan.
January 6, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
January 2, 2022
Fascinating insight into the daily revelations of CS Lewis.
November 5, 2025
As a child I liked the short story "Forms of things unknown" regarding the possibility of man going to the moon.
July 2, 2011
Excellent set of essays. Lewis's ability to think and communicate is amazing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews