The Screwtape Letters

The war is getting closer to the patient, so the devils’ strategy needs to be updated. “Are we to aim at cowardice—or at courage, with consequent pride—or at hatred of the Germans?” (159). Screwtape comes down on the side of promoting cowardice, as the devils cannot manufacture a virtue (courage), even if it facilitates a sinful end. Fear, however, tends to exacerbate the human tendency toward hatred. Screwtape also notes that all virtues require courage when put to the test, and he speculates that this is one reason why God allows the world to be dangerous.

The saga of the patient continues with a report on the young man: “[T]he patient’s behavior during the first air raid has been the worst possible. He has been very frightened and thinks himself a great coward and therefore feels no pride; but he has done everything his duty demanded and perhaps a bit more” (165). Screwtape disparages Wormwood for failing to produce better results. He believes that it is too late for Wormwood to chip away at the intellectual foundations of the patient’s faith but suggests that he can erode it emotionally by amplifying the tendency to see everything bad as “real” in some objective sense and everything good as “mere sentiment.