HomeQuotesC.S. Lewis
Literature and scripture
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.
The Weight of Glory (1949), originally delivered as a sermon at St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford (1941), 1949
Literature and scripture
✓ Checked against the sources below

What this means, and why it matters to a father

Lewis delivered this as a sermon at St. Mary the Virgin in Oxford on June 8, 1941 — wartime, as bombs fell on English cities and the future of civilization was genuinely uncertain. Into that moment, Lewis made one of his most sweeping claims: there is no such thing as an ordinary person.

There is more to this one. The full context — the events behind the words, what the author was living through, and how it applies to the specific situations of fatherhood — is in the app under Deeper Understanding.

Read the full context in DadVice

Sources

Related themes

lovepresenceidentitywisdom

The right words for exactly where you are right now.

DadVice matches wisdom like this to the real situations of fatherhood — the hard conversation, the long night, the moment you do not know what to say. Every quote is sourced. No motivational filler.

Short excerpts are reproduced here for commentary and identification, with full attribution and links to the source. If you hold rights to this text and would like it removed, email contact@dadvice.app and it will be taken down. See our sourcing policy.