Wisdom from Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia were some of my favorite books as a kid. Narnia was to me what Hogwarts and the wizarding world are to my children.

Lately I’ve been rereading the Chronicles of Narnia with my kids and its been interesting experiencing the books again as an adult. I didn’t get any of the allegory as a kid, nor the gems of wisdom sprinkled throughout the stories.

We just finished Prince Caspian and near the end there’s this wonderful counsel from Alsan the lion, in response to Caspian bemoaning his human lineage:

“You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,” said Aslan. “And that is both honor enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content.”

This is human imperfection, and what to do about it, neatly explained in two sentences.