"This book had led me deeper into [C. S.] Lewis' own writings..."

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

"This book had led me deeper into [C. S.] Lewis' own writings..."

"...than any I've read."

So writes Walter Hooper, longtime trustee and literary advisor of the estate of C. S. Lewis, of the just published Second Friends: C. S. Lewis and Ronald Knox in Conversation (Ignatius Press, 2008), written by Milton Walsh. Hooper states, in the forward to the book:

This—to quote C.S. Lewis—"is the most noble and joyous book I've read these past ten years." It is also one of the most surprising. After immersing myself in the writings of Lewis for half a century I could not, when I first heard Milton Walsh talk about the book, see how C.S. Lewis and Ronald Knox could benefit from being placed together. I am now totally converted. This book had led me deeper into Lewis' own writings than any I've read. ... What I most love about this book is that Milton Walsh, after admitting that it is a pity they did get to know one another better, gets on with the job so worthwhile you end up wondering if it mae much difference whether Lewis and Knox were close personal friends or not. ... Milton Walsh is an encyclopedia of the ideas Knox and Lewis wrote about, and by laying their thoughts side by side like railway tracks their separate apologetics influence one another and together constitute a powerful case for Christianity—in some ways more powerful than if read separately. (pp 9, 10)

In May 2007 I interviewed Father Walsh about his book Ronald Knox As Apologist: Wit, Laughter, and the Popish Creed, and he hinted that this second book would soon come to fruition:

IgnatiusInsight.com: It seems that there are some interesting similarities between the lives and work of C.S. Lewis and Knox, notably their Anglo-Catholic backgrounds, their education, and their popular (but very learned) approach to apologetics. Is that an accurate statement? Do you know if Lewis was familiar with Knox or his writing?

Fr. Walsh: There are many similarities between Knox and C. S. Lewis, and I am currently writing a book comparing their thought. They both came from Evangelical backgrounds; they both combined a love of logic with a romantic view of life. They were both very much at home in the world of Oxford, and wrote in a variety of genres. Knox was about ten years older than Lewis, so they did not know one another in student days. I have found references to each man's writings in the other man's books and letters; they were familiar with one another's work.

When I went to Oxford a couple of years ago I made an interesting discovery. Every afternoon Lewis used to take a walk in the meadow behind Magdalen College, and Knox would take a walk in Christ Church Meadow. I found out they were practically across the street from each other! They had friends in common, and one of them reports that he invited them to lunch one day in 1936. They hit it off very well, and it is enjoyable to speculate what might have happened had Knox not left Oxford a couple of years later. They may have gotten better acquainted, although Lewis' discomfort with "Papists" (excluding such exceptions as Tolkien), and Knox's reticence to go "convert hunting" may have been enough to keep them apart. I like to think they're together now!