The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses

Addressing university students, Lewis acknowledges that pursuing learning in the uncertainty of wartime is “an odd thing to do” and asks whether doing so is not equivalent to “fiddling while Rome burns” (47). Lewis widens the context of the question: why one should study at all when the really crucial question is whether one is headed for heaven or Hell.

Lewis posits that the two questions are really one and the same. Wartime does not fundamentally change the human condition but only brings the reality of that condition forcibly home. In fact, it is misleading to compare war with “normal life” because “Life has never been normal” (49). Although there may be valid reasons for postponing cultural activities until “material welfare and security” are in place (50), it is in humans’ nature to ignore those reasons, pursuing “knowledge and beauty” in any situation (50).

Lewis concedes that simply because this attitude is natural does not make it right. He therefore frames a double question: “How can you be so frivolous and selfish as to think about anything but the salvation of human souls?” (50), and “How can you be so frivolous and selfish as to think of anything but the war?” (51).