The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis Read Free Book Online

other town.’
    â€˜I prefer it up here,’ said I.
    â€˜Well, I don’t see what all the talk is about,’ said the Hard-Bitten Ghost. ‘It’s as good as any other park to look at, and darned uncomfortable.’
    â€˜There seems to be some idea that if one stays here one would get—well, solider—grow acclimatised.’
    â€˜I know all about that,’ said the Ghost. ‘Same old lie. People have been telling me that sort of thing all my life. They told me in the nursery that if I were good I’d be happy. And they told me at school that Latin would get easier as I went on. After I’d been married a month some fool was telling me that there were always difficulties at first, but with Tact and Patience I’d soon “settle down” and like it! And all through two wars what didn’t they sayabout the good time coming if only I’d be a brave boy and go on being shot at? Of course they’ll play the old game here if anyone’s fool enough to listen.’
    â€˜But who are “They”? This might be run by someone different?’
    â€˜Entirely new management, eh? Don’t you believe it! It’s never a new management. You’ll always find the same old Ring. I know all about dear, kind Mummie coming up to your bedroom and getting all she wants to know out of you: but you always found she and Father were the same firm really. Didn’t we find that both sides in all the wars were run by the same Armament Firms? or the same Firm, which is behind the Jews and the Vatican and the Dictators and the Democracies and all the rest of it. All this stuff up here is run by the same people as the Town. They’re just laughing at us.’
    â€˜I thought they were at war?’
    â€˜Of course you did. That’s the official version. But who’s ever seen any signs of it? Oh, I know that’s how they talk . But if there’s a real war why don’t they do anything? Don’t you see that if the official version were true these chaps up here would attack and sweep the Town out of existence? They’ve got the strength. If they wanted to rescue us they could do it. But obviously the last thingthey want is to end their so-called “war”. The whole game depends on keeping it going.’
    This account of the matter struck me as uncomfortably plausible. I said nothing.
    â€˜Anyway,’ said the Ghost, ‘who wants to be rescued? What the hell would there be to do here?’
    â€˜Or there?’ said I.
    â€˜Quite,’ said the Ghost. ‘They’ve got you either way.’
    â€˜What would you like to do if you had your choice?’ I asked.
    â€˜There you go!’ said the Ghost with a certain triumph. ‘Asking me to make a plan. It’s up to the Management to find something that doesn’t bore us, isn’t it? It’s their job. Why should we do it for them? That’s just where all the parsons and moralists have got the thing upside down. They keep on asking us to alter ourselves. But if the people who run the show are so clever and so powerful, why don’t they find something to suit their public? All this poppycock about growing harder so that the grass doesn’t hurt our feet, now! There’s an example. What would you say if you went to a hotel where the eggs were all bad and when you complained to the Boss, instead of apologising and changing his dairyman, he just told you that if you tried you’d get to like bad eggs in time?’
    â€˜Well, I’ll be getting along,’ said the Ghost after a short silence. ‘You coming my way?’
    â€˜There doesn’t seem to be much point in going anywhere on your showing,’ I replied. A great depression had come over me. ‘And at least it’s not raining here.’
    â€˜Not at the moment,’ said the Hard-Bitten Ghost. ‘But I never saw one of those bright mornings that didn’t turn to rain