The Four Loves (C. S. Lewis Signature Classic): A captivating journey through the different forms of love

It is one of the best book to gift someone. It has all the norms that makes us to read it again and again.. Great Book under affordable price.. Thank You

If you want to understand love in its various forms, read this book. I love the writings of C.S. Lewis. Recommended to all book lovers

First of all, reading Lewis is an amazing experience. His writing is very enjoyable to read. Secondly, the content in this book is very rich and intellectual. It exceeds expectations. This book is so amazing that it will change your perspective about love and life itself. It is a must read and get it as soon as possible.

Author's views

🤩🤩🤩🤩

In this classic C.S. Lewis, the celebrated author of 'the Chronicles of Narnia,' reflects on love. He begins by observing that at birth we all start out with need-love, needing gift-love. Gift-love is the kind of love the creator shows to the created, in the process of creating and taking care of the created. It is the love a mother bestows on her newborn child. In contrast, need-love is the condition of poverty that every created being begins with at birth. I feel this quote sums up the point Mr. Lewis was making about need-love, 'Man approaches god most nearly when he is in one sense least like God. For what can be more unlike than fullness and need, sovereignty and humility, righteousness and penitence.' Mr. Lewis continues with a brief synopsis of things that we can show love for; these include others, nature, country, and finally, the transcendent creator. Dissecting each, he illustrates that love of nature, patriotism, etc. are inadequate receptacles of our love. Next, Mr. Lewis looks at the different kinds of love which include affection, philios, eros, and charity or agape. Affection includes the love of parents for their child, love of our pets, etc. Philios is the love between friends. Eros is the love between two lovers. Finally, charity is the love of the creator towards the created and the return of that love by the created toward both the creator and creation. Of all the loves, Mr. Lewis holds charity or agape in the highest esteem. All other loves fall short of Agape, as Mr. Lewis states in this quote, 'The (other) loves prove that they are unworthy to take the place of god by the fact that they cannot even remain themselves and do what they promise to do without god's help.' They are merely images of this 'charity or agape' which is both immanent and transcendent of creation. By placing our faith in images we are placing faith in what is transient and temporary. Yet, the love that is immanent and transcendent of creation is all encompassing, therefore imageless, and thus beyond human conceptual understanding.. To understand love in all of its aspects we need both the images of affection, philios, and eros as well as the transcendent for the images are stepping stones on our way up to this feeling of all encompassing love. Here, Mr. Lewis makes an important point about love when he states, 'To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to him; throwing away all defensive armour.' We have to feel love for the images in order to understand and feel the love of the transcendent. Yet, we cannot become entranced by our love for the images of the love immanent and transcendent of creation, because they like we are merely temporary, here one day, gone the next.. Mr. Lewis concludes with this point, 'Only those into which love himself has entered will ascend to love himself. We were made for god. Only by being in some respect like him, only by being a manifestation of his beauty, loving-kindness, wisdom or goodness, has any earthly beloved excited our love.' Most of the time when we think about love we think about it in its aspect of eros. Mr. Lewis compelled me to contemplate love in all of its different manifestations, and through this reflection, to see that love is much more complex than what we frequently assume it to be. It is for these reasons that I consider this a classic read worth pondering.

I love the way C.S. Lewis writes, but I was very disappointed with his ideas on humans. In his book “The Four Loves” in the section of Affection, he mentions 3 times so far that humans are simply a type of species and are mammals. This goes against God’s Word! I used to look up to C.S. Lewis but now I have to be careful not to listen to him anymore. Just opening the door to the idea of people being a type of species totally diminishes the importance of eternity and the value of human life. The Bible says that God made us in His image, that He breathed life into us, that He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, that He gave us dominion over the animals.. etc etc. As Christians we must be careful of what we let into our hearts! Disappointed in this book but thankful for God’s Word and His truth! God bless.

Het boek is van goede kwaliteit. Erg blij mee :) Zeker aan te raden.

This book gives you a very good insight on what love really is. People not only do not know how to love, but confuse love with human comradry, eroticism or simple affection. CS Lewis states there is only one love, and the rest of loves are just instruments to tune you up and take you to know true love. Human Affection, Friendship and Eros, can only become true love if it becomes part and participates with the other true love Lewis talks about. Read this book to discover how to find true love. Alberto AF. MD, MSc.

Texto excepcional, profundo, com nuances e poesia inserida em sua estrutura. Comentários e citações deslumbrantes. Lewis transita entre os significados do Amor, nos trazendo pela perspicácia a compreensão da natureza humana, sua esperança, sem deixar de desvelar as tentações enrustidas em nosso cotidiano!