C.S. Lewis, on the reading of religious books

From his "Introduction to Athanasius on the Incarnation":

...Now the layman or amateur needs to be instructed as well as to be exhorted. In this age his need for knowledge is particularly pressing. Nor would I admit any sharp division between the two kinds of book. For my own part I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others. I believe that many who find that "nothing happens" when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.

It begins as a discussion on reading old books versus reading only contemporary books, and ends with comments on the translations of ancient languages. A short essay definitely worth reading.

(Hat-tip: Jollyblogger, an even more die-hard Lewis fan)