XPost: alt.books.cs-lewis   
   From: dd@dandrake.com   
      
   On Sat, 15 Oct 2005 19:15:31 UTC, Steve Hayes    
   wrote:   
      
   > I have read "Descent into Hell" by Charles Williams a couple of times, but it   
   > is my least favourite of his novels, and I don't really understand it.   
      
   Very interesting.  I'm much impressed by it.  Not, I'm sure, because of   
   any profound understanding on my part, but probably because I'm much more   
   like the gentleman who does the descending. Hence I think I understand it,   
   at least enough that I find it scary.   
      
   I needed to read it because of a quote in some essay by Sayers. It's from   
   the moment when he sees that his so-called rival is on the Honours List,   
   and for an instant he has the choice to feel resentment or to feel   
   gladness that their obscure specialty is getting this notice. Before he's   
   conscious of it, he has chosen the way of resentment. The succubus shows   
   up the same evening, as I recall.   
      
   How easy to choose the way of light, and how damnably difficult in   
   practice when the crisis comes, if you haven't been cultivating the right   
   choices all along.   
      
   > "War in   
   > heaven" is more my cup of tea.   
      
   I've read it and liked (if that's not too trivial) it; but I don't think I   
   quite grasped it. (The problem is not that Williams had so many sinister   
   Jews; setting that aside, it still doesn't resonate with me, but it might   
   on my next reading.)   
      
   --   
   Dan Drake   
   dd@dandrake.com   
   http://www.dandrake.com/   
   porlockjr.blogspot.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)