Only for the cult following

"Owen Barfield on C.S. Lewis" is an incredibly narrow book. I admit a certain fondness for such books, but I don't think Barfield's book is suitable for the general C.S. Lewis aficionado. Rather, this is a book for the absolute cult following.

Since there are Lewis societies in different nations, I'm sure Jack has such a following, although something tells me it's much smaller than the band of crazy kids who are into Tolkien. As for Barfield, I wonder whether he even has a following?

Barfield and Lewis were long-time friends, and apparently it was Barfield who took care of the legal work surrounding Lewis' books. (Barfield was a solicitor.) However, they were also philosophical opponents. The correspondence between Lewis and Barfield is, somewhat facetiously, called "The Great War". Lewis was a subjective idealist who became a traditional Christian, while Barfield was a maverick Anthroposophist. So *that's* why Lewis mentioned Goethe and Rudolf Steiner in "The Abolition of Man"...

"Owen Barfield on C.S. Lewis" is an anthology, containing Barfield's reminiscences of his deceased friend and opponent. Most of them have been published elsewhere, but usually in quite obscure journals or books. The book also contains a previously unpublished conversation between the editor, Tennyson, and Barfield himself.

Barfield's articles covers many different aspects of Lewis, including his private witticisms, his literary style, his reactions (both positive and negative) to Barfield's ideas, and, of course, the main differences between the two men. However, it only occasionally touches on Lewis' more private side, including his view of sex and his conversion - both subjects, perhaps, being somewhat too controversial. (Apparently, there were sides even of his conversion which Lewis refused to discuss.)

Barfield apparently saw himself as a Christian, but his "Christianity" was heavily tinged with Anthroposophy, with Coleridge playing the role Goethe had played for Steiner. He had an evolutionary perspective on the universe, human consciousness and revelation, while Lewis was "static" and anti-evolutionary. He also believed that Lewis was somewhat contradictory on these issues, and that he too uncritically accepted Church dogma, as if that hadn't evolved over time (I wonder whether Lewis ever commented on Newman's ideas in this context?). Nor did Barfield accept Lewis' view of hierarchy as natural or beneficial, or Lewis' "fideistic" side. To Barfield, faith wasn't enough - man must evolve until he actually *knows* the spiritual realities.

As I said, a very narrow book!

But yes, it could be of some interest to the small part of humanity who absolutely must *know* how the Second Friend (or Evil Twin?) viewed C.S. Lewis.

There is another book on this somewhat obscure subject as well, Lionel Adey's "C.S. Lewis Great War with Owen Barfield", but I haven't yet read it. Something tells me the two books should be read in tendem, since "Owen Barfield on C.S. Lewis" references it several times.

Stay tuned for further evolutionary developments...