For those who missed the story.
BTW, I have not forgotten that Part II of American arrogance is due. It's just that there are other things at present. I have started it.
I thought the article was fun. Fortunately, I already knew secret agents spend most of their time filing paperwork and amassing data. Still, quite a stretch to say his help was equivalent to being an agent, even if they paid him.
I know most everyone who reads here lionizes and admires C.S Lewis, but this article is hagiography in real time. Because of the way the web works, this title will start to pop up everywhere and may very well become a readily accepted fact within a few years. People will blog about Lewis, mentioning this little tidbit and very soon everyone will just "know" that Lewis was a secret agent and start finding evidence for it in his writings, in his secretiveness about his personal life, etc., etc., etc.
I don't know about the secret agent part, but those were some interesting ideas about the impact of Norse literature on the English psyche, and I'd love to hear more.
Yes, the headline is the problem. "Person who helped British intelligence in a small way during the war" would be more accurate. The secret part likely comes from not regarding it as all that important. And not wanting to rub it in to peers that he had been chosen to do something they might be as qualified for, and paid for it to boot. A recording that is meant to be distributed broadly, even in a country that is not your own, can hardly be called "secret."
Interesting. Headline is a little over the top...
ReplyDeleteA find, and A Mystery.
ReplyDeleteI thought the article was fun. Fortunately, I already knew secret agents spend most of their time filing paperwork and amassing data. Still, quite a stretch to say his help was equivalent to being an agent, even if they paid him.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting find. I hope parts 2 and 4 turn up.
ReplyDeleteI agree with james and leila.
ReplyDeleteA huge stretch and highly speculative.
I know most everyone who reads here lionizes and admires C.S Lewis, but this article is hagiography in real time. Because of the way the web works, this title will start to pop up everywhere and may very well become a readily accepted fact within a few years. People will blog about Lewis, mentioning this little tidbit and very soon everyone will just "know" that Lewis was a secret agent and start finding evidence for it in his writings, in his secretiveness about his personal life, etc., etc., etc.
ReplyDeleteomg..it's already started...just google "C.S. Lewis was a secret agent."
I don't know about the secret agent part, but those were some interesting ideas about the impact of Norse literature on the English psyche, and I'd love to hear more.
ReplyDeleteYes, the headline is the problem. "Person who helped British intelligence in a small way during the war" would be more accurate. The secret part likely comes from not regarding it as all that important. And not wanting to rub it in to peers that he had been chosen to do something they might be as qualified for, and paid for it to boot. A recording that is meant to be distributed broadly, even in a country that is not your own, can hardly be called "secret."
ReplyDelete