The Horse and His Boy: Chapter 5 “Prince Corin”
C.S. Lewis Read-Along, Vol. 5, Issue 6
Twice in this chapter, King Edmund encourages Queen Susan to have courage. If C.S. Lewis sees pride as the primary sin, he recognizes courage as the central virtue.
“My dear sister and very good lady,” said King Edmund, “you must now show your courage. For I tell you plainly we are in no small danger.”
Chapter 5 “Prince Corin”
If you are going to live a Christian life, C.S. Lewis said that courage would be your most important character trait.
In Mere Christianity, he outlines the four cardinal virtues, including fortitude or courage. “You will notice, of course, that you cannot practice any of the other virtues very long without bringing this one into play,” he writes.
He lays this idea out explicitly in The Screwtape Letters: “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.” In other words, you will not display any virtue if you are not courageous in times of testing.
You see the idea throughout Lewis’ letters, where he asks people to pray for him to have courage and encourages others to display it. In a February 1954 letter, Lewis writes:
“If only people (including myself: I also have fears) were still brought up with the idea that life is a battle where death and wounds await us at every moment, so that courage is the first and most necessary of virtues, things would be easier.”
Obviously, the idea stretches into other Narnia books besides The Horse and His Boy.
