Gilbert K. Chesterton
Gilbert K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG, better known as G. K. Chesterton, was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox." Time magazine has observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories—first carefully turning them inside out."...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth29 May 1874
mean doe orthodox
Not only does "orthodox" no longer mean being right, it practically means being wrong.
men break ten
No man can break any of the Ten Commandments. He can only break himself against them.
fall orthodoxy infinity
There are an infinity of angles at which one falls, only one at which one stands.
believe artist clouds
Every true artist does feel, consciously or unconsciously, that he is touching transcendental truths; that his images are shadows of things seen through the veil. In other words, the natural mystic does know that there is something there, something behind the clouds or within the trees; but he believes that the pursuit of beauty is the way to find it; that imagination is a sort of incantation that can call it up.
thinking
I have no right to think for myself. I have no right to think at all.
men perfect consistency
But pure wit is akin to Puritanism; to the perfect and painful consciousness of the final fact in the universe. Very briefly, the man who sees the consistency in things is a wit - and a Calvinist. The man who sees the inconsistency in things is a humorist - and a Catholic.
may saint looks
The great saint may be said to mix all his thoughts with thanks. All goods look better when they look like gifts.
joy
We actually love ourselves more than we love joy.
fall men whales
Mr. Blatchford says that there was not a Fall but a gradual rise. But the very word "rise" implies that you know toward what you are rising. Unless there is a standard you cannot tell whether you are rising or falling. But the main point is that the Fall like every other large path of Christianity is embodied in the common language talked on the top of an omnibus. Anybody might say, "Very few men are really Manly." Nobody would say, "Very few whales are really whaley."
mistake men inferiority
A man looking at a hippopotamus may sometimes be tempted to regard a hippopotamus as an enormous mistake; but he is also bound to confess that a fortunate inferiority prevents him personally from making such mistakes.
thinking may crime
You may think a crime horrible because you could never commit it. I think it is horrible because I could commit it.
believe men problem
The problem of disbelieving in God is not that a man ends up believing nothing. Alas, it is much worse. He ends up believing anything.
certain uncertainty
Nothing is certain by uncertainty.
hate philosophy real
Any man who preaches real love is bound to beget hate. It is as true of democratic fraternity as a divine love; sham love ends in compromise and common philosophy; but real love has always ended in bloodshed.