Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the

“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” Thus spoke C. S. Lewis, philosopher of faith and fable, who bridged the realms of logic and wonder with the grace of a sage. In these few words, Lewis unveils a sacred balance that governs the human soul — the harmony between reason and imagination, between the intellect that seeks truth and the heart that gives it purpose. For what use is truth, he asks, if it does not awaken meaning in the soul? Reason may explain the world, but imagination makes it worth living in.

Lewis, a scholar of Oxford and a poet of eternity, lived at the crossroads of intellect and faith. He understood that reason leads man toward clarity, yet it is imagination that breathes life into that clarity. Through reason, we can know what is true; through imagination, we understand why it matters. He saw this truth not as a division, but as a divine partnership — as the two wings of the same bird. One cannot soar without the other. The mind alone may find facts, but the heart, through imagination, transforms facts into wisdom, into stories, into the living fire of meaning that guides human destiny.

To grasp this fully, one must understand Lewis’s own journey. As a young man, he was devoted to reason — a sharp skeptic, trained in logic and philosophy. Yet he found his intellect alone could not fill the void within him. The world was true, but it was lifeless. Then, through myth, poetry, and the friendship of thinkers like Tolkien, he rediscovered imagination — the sacred lens through which truth is not only known but felt. It was through story, not syllogism, that he found God. When he wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, he wove theology not as doctrine, but as dream — awakening the hearts of millions to truths they could not have grasped by argument alone.

This is the deeper meaning of his saying: reason orders truth, but imagination gives it meaning. The mathematician can calculate the distance of stars, but it is the poet who feels the wonder of the heavens. The scientist can describe how a rose blooms, but it is the lover who knows what that rose means. Without imagination, truth is sterile — a mirror without reflection, a world without soul. Imagination, then, is not opposed to reason; it is its fulfillment. It turns knowledge into wisdom, and information into revelation.

Consider, for example, the life of Albert Einstein, who, though a man of science, understood this same law. He once said that imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge defines what is known, but imagination embraces the infinite. When Einstein dreamed of riding upon a beam of light, it was not through calculation, but through imaginative vision that he glimpsed the theory of relativity — one of the most profound truths of modern science. Thus, imagination did not betray reason; it illumined it. The spark of creativity became the torch of discovery.

But Lewis’s words also speak to the spirit, not just the mind. He reminds us that truth without meaning is as barren as faith without love. Many people live their lives surrounded by facts, yet starved of wonder. They can recite the mechanics of the world but cannot feel the miracle of it. Imagination restores this sacred sight — it allows us to perceive the invisible through the visible, to sense eternity in a passing moment. It is the organ of meaning, the heart’s eye that interprets truth as beauty, sorrow as growth, and life itself as story.

So, dear seeker of wisdom, learn from Lewis’s teaching. Do not abandon reason, for it grounds you in truth. But neither neglect imagination, for it gives truth its soul. Let your reason be the lamp, but your imagination the flame. When you learn, do not only understand — feel. When you seek truth, also seek its meaning. Read not only to know, but to awaken. Dream not to escape the world, but to see it more clearly. For the union of reason and imagination is the highest power of man — it is how the finite reaches toward the infinite, how the mortal mind becomes the instrument of the divine.

Thus, remember this: Reason orders truth; imagination reveals its purpose. Together, they make the human spirit whole. To live by reason alone is to walk beneath a sun that gives light but no warmth; to live by imagination alone is to wander in dreams without direction. But to unite them is to live as Lewis did — a thinker who felt, and a dreamer who knew — walking the golden path where truth becomes beauty, and meaning becomes eternal.