"A man who is eating or lying with his wife or preparing to go to sleep in humility, thankfulness and temperance, is, by Christian standards, in an infinitely higher state than one who is listening to Bach or reading Plato in a state of pride"

C. S. Lewis draws a sharp distinction between the external quality of activities and the internal quality of our hearts. He juxtaposes simple, everyday actions, eating, marital intimacy, resting, with activities celebrated for their sophistication and cultural prestige, such as listening to Bach or reading Plato. At first glance, the former set might seem mundane or even trivial, while the latter appears intellectually and spiritually elevated. However, Lewis upends this assumption by introducing the decisive importance of *how* these things are done and the attitude of the person engaged in them.

Humility, thankfulness, and temperance, these are the virtues Lewis prizes. They are not necessarily apparent in public or grand gestures, but are fostered in the ordinary and private moments of life. A person who eats with gratitude, loves with self-restraint and generosity, or prepares for sleep humbly acknowledges human limitations and dependence upon God. Their spirit is open, recognizing that all good things come from a source beyond themselves. By contrast, an individual delighting in Bach or Plato can, if motivated by pride, use these pursuits to stoke feelings of superiority, self-sufficiency, or intellectual vanity. The activity itself, no matter how refined, becomes spiritually corrosive if it feeds ego rather than fostering humility.

Lewis thus challenges a common hierarchy that places intellectual or artistic activity above the corporeal or domestic. For him, the hierarchy of actions is inverted when measured by Christian values rather than cultural prestige. The state of the heart is the true gauge of spiritual worth. Embedding humility, thankfulness, and temperance into daily activities has greater spiritual value than engaging in culturally esteemed pursuits fueled by pride. By redefining what constitutes a “higher state,” Lewis affirms that ordinary life, lived rightly, offers more hope for spiritual growth than even the loftiest experiences undertaken in the wrong spirit.