The Four Loves
by C.S. Lewis
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Book Reviews of The Four Loves
Book Review: Best Book Ever Written on Love
Summary: 5 Stars
Lewis' genius in all his writings shows forth as piercing insight in warm and delightful prose, and he brilliantly succeeds in this book. There has been more written on love than perhaps any other topic, but the vast majority is mindless drivel or hormone driven blindness or sentimental fluff or philosphical madness. Lewis will have none of that: he sets forth the nature and varieties of human and divine love, and through his keen insight allows us to see ourselves, others, and God better.
His basic franework for the book is looking at love through the four different kinds of love that the Greeks defined. He devotes chapters to the "natural" human loves of storge, the love of family affection; philia, the love of friendship; eros, the love of sexual love and romance. He looks at their characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. He also looks at love through a three fold division between need-love, gift-love, and the love of appreciation.
Lastly, he examines agape, the selfless love of charity. In some of the most beautiful passages he ever wrote Lewis describes how agape perfects our natural loves and prepares us both to truly love God and be like Him. "When we see the face of God we shall know that we have always known it."
Leading a life marked by love is not a matter of just reading a book, but understanding the nature of God and the nature of love. This book is welcome wisdom in leading such a life.
Book Review: We only think we understand love
Summary: 5 Stars
CS Lewis can take a difficult issue and boil it down to something remarkably simple--that's the beauty of his writing. Here Lewis tackles love--the most simple, the most complicated, the most pleasurable, and the most painful of all our emotions. He approaches his subject with uncanny insight, and divides this passion, what we call love, into four types: affection, friendship, eros (sensual love), and charity. Then, starting with affection, Lewis proceeds to tell us just what we thought we could never understand.I am not a flowery, luvvy-duvvy type of guy. I don't find it all that amusing to sit around and talk about emotions. But Lewis's writing is different--he takes the subject of love to a higher level, and examines what it is that makes us feel the way we do and, more importantly, how that can bring us closer to God.
This book, like many of Lewis's works, is a case for Christianity. But even without that approach this book is invaluable, because Lewis can make you understand WHAT IT IS to love. In short, you can learn how to love better, and how to make your dealings with others much more meaningful.
CS Lewis is different than most theologians (he would have hated to be called that). While many concentrate on doctrinal matters, Lewis explores everyday life. What he teaches are good, solid morals--the things that will make you a better everyday person. This book is highly recommended for a good look at what we call Love.
Book Review: The fifth love is of good literature
Summary: 5 Stars
After 50 years, who am I to review a classic work like this? Oh well.
The first thing you should know is: if Amazon has heard of a C.S. Lewis book, you should read it. The Four Loves, however, is one of the ones that you should probably have heard of before browsing to here. It is a classic work, it is widely heard of and praised, and if you want the review to end here, then yes, it deserves to be.
Now, I do have one more specific comment. The best chapter is Friendship, because it's full of the most truth and importance. Affection is inundated with truth, but (as he adequately shows) it isn't as important, in any sense greater than the bestial; Eros is fairly important and fairly truthful; Charity is extremely important but it's largely his speculation (as he admits), and half a recap of the last 3 books"Mere Christianity". But Friendship rings with truth, importance, and original insight. It makes you rethink your friendships in real life -- and in a good way.
Best quote? "Affection and Eros are ... face to face; Friendship is ... side by side." Friends, and perhaps ultimately all lovers to some degree, get on much better when focussing on something they both enjoy, rather than on each other."
Oh, lastly, as for edition, this is a pretty solid edition. It has his note on the text, which is fair enough, and the cover looks cool enough to attract the attention of any guest.
Book Review: With Agape for All
Summary: 5 Stars
I approached this writing with some prior experience and formal study of love. Consequently, I cannot judge with complete objectivity, how one might feel about The Four Loves if this was one of their first exposures to the concept. The book made perfect sense to me and was as captivating as any of Mr. Lewis's writings. While the book was not entirely ordered in the way that I would have liked, he adds his own concepts to the Greek notions of agape, storge, philos and eros. These additions help to explain the Greek notions to the modern reader and are at least as meaningful. They even suggest further ways in which to better understand that extremely nebulous word. He sees much farther in matters of loves than the typical modern writer. His knowledge of Renaissance and Medieval literature and history gives him a deep well of insights from which to draw and reveals how deficient the English language is in some basic areas of humanity despite having over 1/2 million words.As Lincoln said, "With malice toward none, with charity for all," Lewis points us clearly in the direction of Christianity and the necessary selflessness it prescribes. Until we are truly selfless in attitude and not only in deed, we miss the Christian point of view.
I like the way he makes me think. This was my second Lewis book, after Screwtape, and it firmed my resolve to read more.
Book Review: Different Approach to Relationships
Summary: 5 Stars
I used to think that if I just found the "perfect" way to do relationships, I would never get hurt or have my heart broken.
Lewis counters that kind of thinking. Love is vulnerable, and you will get hurt, he says, and the only place you can fully escape from the "dangers and perturbations" of love is in Hell.
This book helped me, and I hope it will help you, to break free from the mindset of seeking to avoid hurt in relationships, and replace it with a desire to truly love other people.
We can never entirely avoid hurt or pain in relationships, but if we approach relationships with the mindset of avoiding pain, we will never experience the joy of true love.
This book's scope is not limited to one kind of relationship. It is the "Four Loves," after all. Four kinds of love...affection, friendship, eros, and charity.
Lewis truly goes through the whole gamut of love. He covers what he calls the "likings and loves for the sub-human" (like a pet), simple affection for other people and family, the love that friends share, romantic love, and then God's love--the fullest expression of love.
I think perhaps this is one of the best books on love and relationships (for the two are inexplicably bound up in each other) that I have ever read. I don't think you will be able to read this book without being changed.