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Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes - Page 6

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Unfortunately, 19th-century scientists were just as ready to jump to the conclusion that any guess about nature was an obvious fact, as were 17th-century sectarians to jump to the conclusion that any guess about

Unfortunately, 19th-century scientists were just as ready to jump to the conclusion that any guess about nature was an obvious fact, as were 17th-century sectarians to jump to the conclusion that any guess about Scripture was the obvious explanation . . . . and this clumsy collision of two very impatient forms of ignorance was known as the quarrel of Science and Religion.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Ignorance, Two, Scripture

To be clever enough to get all that money, one must be stupid enough to want it.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Funny, Money, Clever
Wisdom of Father Brown (1914) "Paradise of Thieves"

The things we see every day are the things we never see at all.

Gilbert K. Chesterton

humor can get in under the door while seriousness is still fumbling at the handle

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Doors, Seriousness, Handle

children are simply human beings who are allowed to do what everyone else really desires to do, as for instance, to fly kites, or when seriously wronged to emit prolonged screams for several minutes.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Children, Desire, Kites

[No society can survive the socialist] fallacy that there is an absolutely unlimited number of inspired officials and an absolutely unlimited amount of money to pay them.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Numbers, Political, Pay

The main point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not our mother: Nature is our sister.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Mother, Mother Nature, Christianity
Gilbert K. Chesterton (2013). “The Essential Gilbert K. Chesterton”, p.84, Simon and Schuster

Modern toleration is really a tyranny. It is a tyranny because it is a silence.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Silence, Modern, Tyranny
Illustrated London News, 10 Oct. 1908

The Darwinian movement has made no difference to mankind, except that, instead of talking unphilosophically about philosophy, they now talk unscientifically about science.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Philosophy, Science, Talking

The Declaration of Independence dogmatically bases all rights on the fact that God created all men equal; and it is right; for if they were not created equal, they were certainly evolved unequal. There is no basis for democracy except in a dogma about the divine origin of man.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Men, Rights, Independence

Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Wisdom, Fun, Ignorance
"The Speaker", December 15, 1900.

I wish we could sometimes love the characters in real life as we love the characters in romances. There are a great many human souls whom we should accept more kindly, and even appreciate more clearly, if we simply thought of them as people in a story.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Real, Character, People

Democracy means government by the uneducated, while aristocracy means government by the badly educated.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Mean, Government, Political
New York Times 1 Feb. 1931, pt. 5, p. 1

Time and again, the Faith has to all appearances gone to the dogs. But each time, it was the dog that died.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Dog, Gone, Appearance

Gratitude produced the most purely joyful moments that have been known to man.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Gratitude, Men, Joyful

Life is indeed terribly complicated—to a man who has lost his principles.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Men, Principles, Life Is

If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Motivational, Sunset, Men

Stick to the man who looks out of the window and tries to understand the world. Keep clear of the man who looks in at the window and tries to understand you.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Men, Trying, Looks
Gilbert K. Chesterton (2013). “The Essential Gilbert K. Chesterton”, p.416, Simon and Schuster

Imagination does not breed insanity. Exactly what does breed insanity is reason. Poets do not go mad, but chess players do.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Player, Mad, Imagination
Gilbert K. Chesterton (2013). “The Essential Gilbert K. Chesterton”, p.10, Simon and Schuster

Love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Love, Mean, Humility

An imbecile habit has arisen in modern controversy of saying that such and such a creed can be held in one age but cannot be held in another. Some dogma, we are told, was credible in the twelfth century, but is not credible in the twentieth. You might as well say that a certain philosophy can be believed on Mondays, but cannot be believed on Tuesdays. You might as well say of a view of the cosmos that it was suitable to half-past three, but not suitable to half-past four. What a man can believe depends upon his philosophy, not upon the clock or the century.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Monday, Philosophy, Believe
Gilbert K. Chesterton (2013). “The Essential Gilbert K. Chesterton”, p.55, Simon and Schuster

There's a lot of difference between listening and hearing.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Differences, Listening, Listening And Hearing

The evolutionists seem to know everything about the missing link except the fact that it is missing.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Missing, Links, Facts

Exactly at the instant when hope ceases to be reasonable it begins to be useful.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Giving Up, Don't Give Up, Instant
Gilbert K. Chesterton (2013). “The Essential Gilbert K. Chesterton”, p.186, Simon and Schuster

Government has become ungovernable; that is, it cannot leave off governing. Law has become lawless; that is, it cannot see where laws should stop. The chief feature of our time is the meekness of the mob and the madness of the government.

Gilbert K. Chesterton
Government, Law, Madness

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