Kat Forbes: Outside Reading #5 (Entry 15)

Entry # 15 (Outside Reading # 5)  Lewis on Cowardice: Drawn From The Screwtape Letters 

Katherine Forbes

            In The Screwtape Letters, Uncle Screwtape advises the demon Wormwood how to best lure a young soldier to commit the sin of cowardice, a rather uncommon vice compared to those we typically find ourselves vulnerable to in our everyday lives.  Yet, Lewis would argue it is just because we live in a time of peace, sheltered from the more harsh aspects of life, that we would each be all the more vulnerable to cowardly behavior.  Screwtape describes to Wormwood that the ideal way to inspire cowardice is to influence the individual to question and redefine their sense and understanding of duty.  The weakness then arises in the thought that there is a secondary option, a fall-back, which does not require the use of courage in some scenarios.  The very formation of this thought opens the door wide for cowardice the moment the mind faces terror.  Yet cowardice is not relevant only in battle or war, it is a vice which can manifest in society in a variety of ways.      

Cowardice is a way to hide from any virtue, for courage is the strength to uphold virtues in their highest extent.  Cowardice can manifest as laziness, moral relativism, or self-defeat and it works contrary to charity, and justice.  In its less obvious forms, cowardice may not be recognized until something comes along to challenge it.  Once struggle does arise, it becomes very difficult to act cowardly without guilt.  Though in times of peace and ease society may accept cowardice, they are quick to condemn it once society is in genuine need of individual strength.   Cowards simply aren’t conducive to the survival of society.  More importantly to Lewis, cowardice is one of the most important tools for teaching us about ourselves.  The guilt and self-loathing we feel as cowards regarding any of the virtues our conscience brings to our attention, turns into the motivation for self-improvement.  This desire to find courage will, if thoroughly pursued, inevitably bring us to God, as Lewis explains; it is from God that we find true courage.