You could see it in their eyes, equally they sat in that location on the bed, silent and notwithstanding. They were utterly focused, non certain what would happen next, on pins and needles for every item.

The brilliance of C.S. Lewis, more than than fifty years afterward his death, was even so at work. I watched information technology on display this week in the enthralled faces of twin four-year-former boys, ready to gobble up any piece of information the narrator might disembalm about this Aslan.

Longing for the Panthera leo

Four-year-olds tin track with more than than you might think. At to the lowest degree more than I idea. After watching our sons' response to some other, albeit much simpler, chapter book, we ventured to give Narnia a endeavor. Perhaps it would prove to be too much as well soon at their age, I supposed, merely I had underestimated Lewis's brilliance, both captivating and accessible.

So we picked upward a copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe — don't believe it when they say it's "book two" of the Chronicles; Lewis wrote this one starting time, and Joe Rigney makes a good case for beginning hither (Narnian, 163–165).

The Brilliance of the Storyteller

The mention of "Lion" first matter in the championship is the placeholder. Chapter 1 introduces the wardrobe; chapter ii, the witch. Surely chapter iii, then, would complete the introductions, only there's no panthera leo there. Or in capacity iv, 5, or 6. And so the tension grows.

Finally, in chapter 7, the boys caught a sniff, but Lewis was teasing them wonderfully every bit he describes a beaver in such a way as to make us call back that nosotros now may take come beyond the lion. When the story's four children realize they are lost in the woods, Susan notices "something moving amid the trees over there to the left."

"Any information technology is," says Peter, "information technology's dodging u.s.. Information technology's something that doesn't want to be seen."

"It's — it's a kind of animate being," says Susan. Then follows Lewis'southward careful description:

They all saw it this time, a whiskered hirsuite confront which had looked out at them from behind a tree. . . . [T]he animate being put its paw against its mouth just equally humans their fingers on their lips when they are signaling to you lot to be quiet. Then it disappeared again. The children all stood belongings their breath.

The four-yr-olds in our firm sat in stunned silence wondering if this might finally be the panthera leo. Eventually, Lewis lets us know this isn't the lion — not notwithstanding.

"It'southward a beaver," announces Peter. But the seed has been planted, and is growing.

At the Proper noun of Aslan

Another spell and then immediately follows the first. In that first chat with Beaver, we soon get the get-go mention of the name Aslan, though we don't yet know this is the panthera leo. "They say Aslan is on the movement — perhaps already landed" — and when Beaver says this,

And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was whatever more than yous do; but the moment Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you lot in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning — either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely significant too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream and so beautiful that y'all remember it all your life and are always wishing yous could go into the dream again. It was like that now. At the proper name of Aslan each i of the children felt something bound in its inside.

That's all for chapter 7. Lewis strings us along to affiliate 8, when Beaver tells them more about Aslan:

"He's the King. He'southward the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here, you understand. Never in my time or my father'south fourth dimension. But the word has reached u.s.a. that he has come back. He is in Narnia at this moment."

Afterward Beaver recites an one-time (prophetic) rhyme nearly Aslan, notching the tension even higher, Lucy asks, "Is — is he a man?" And finally here in chapter eight, almost halfway through the story, we find out that this Aslan is The Lion left hanging from the title:

"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you lot he is the Male monarch of the woods and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don't yous know who is the Rex of Beasts? Aslan is a lion — the Lion, the smashing Panthera leo."

And then, of course, Susan and Lucy ask if this panthera leo is safe — to which Beaver answers with his memorable line, "Who said annihilation about safe? 'Class he isn't safe. Only he's good. He'due south the King, I tell y'all."

Take hold of a Glimpse of His Face

From there, Lewis leaves u.s. dangling as he switches scenes back to Edmund and the Witch in chapter nine. And so in chapter x, the children meet Male parent Christmas, but he is non the highpoint of this tale. We're waiting yet with bated jiff for Aslan, non Santa.

Next in chapter 11, when the Witch's servant observes that her winter has thawed, that spring has come, and that "This is Aslan'southward doing," she responds, "If either of you lot mentions that name again, he shall instantly exist killed."

It'southward not till affiliate 12 — about 70% of our fashion through the volume — that the children arrive at the place of the Stone Table, hear the sound of music to their right, and "turning in that management they saw what they had come to see." And yous could hear a pin drop in our children'due south bedroom.

Aslan stood in the center of a crowd of creatures who had grouped themselves round him in the shape of a half-moon. . . .

But as for Aslan himself, the Beavers and the children didn't know what to practise or say when they saw him. People who take not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be skillful and terrible at the aforementioned time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it at present. For when they tried to look at Aslan'southward face they simply caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the nifty, regal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they constitute they couldn't await at him and went all trembly. . . .

His voice was deep and rich and somehow took the fidgets out of them. They now felt glad and quiet and it didn't seem awkward to them to stand up and say aught.

Yes, Like Jesus

Then in chapter 13, when we've barely met Aslan at long last, he speaks with the Witch, and so sacrificially gives his life in place of the rebel in chapter xiv.

After reading our boys the decease of Aslan, we left it there for three days. They accustomed the fact that Aslan was dead. When asked to report on the story, they told Grandpa that Aslan had died. (I had to whisper to him that nosotros hadn't nevertheless read the next chapter.)

This past Saturday night, we opened chapter 15 and read about the "deeper magic," and turned our heed'south eye with Susan and Lucy to meet, "At that place, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him earlier, shaking his mane (for it had evidently grown again) stood Aslan himself." At first, it all seemed too good to be true; and then too expert to non be truthful.

"Aslan'southward non expressionless?" 1 of our boys asked, to confirm his excitement. "No," I said with a smile, "he's alive! He rose once more!" The Jesus Storybook Bible had prepared them well for this.

"Like Jesus?"

And so more fifty years afterward his death, the brilliance of C.Southward. Lewis is all the same captivating new audiences with the celebrity of Aslan — because Lewis, in all his brilliance, is channeling the glory, not creating it.

Behind the genius of Aslan is the radiance of the celebrity of God, the exact imprint of his nature (Hebrews 1:3), God's own epitome (Colossians 1:15), God'south own fellow (John 1:1). Aslan is too good to non be truthful — because he is the truth. The hush-hush of Aslan is the celebrity of Christ.

Whether in fiction or nonfiction, in essay or letter, in apologetics or story, Lewis knew the secret, that the all-time glory from which to borrow is the beauty of Jesus.

The Romantic Rationalist: God, Life, and Imagination in the Piece of work of C.Southward. Lewis is now available in paperback, every bit well as a gratuitous PDF.

The Romantic Rationalist Book Cover