Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes

A man must be prepared not only to be a martyr, but to be a fool. It is absurd to say that a man is ready to toil and die for his convictions if he is not even ready to wear a wreathe around his head for them.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Men Quotes , Toil Quotes

Is there anyone... who will maintain that the Party System could have been created by people particularly fond of truth?

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Party Quotes , People Quotes

When it wishes anything done which is really serious, it collects twelve of the ordinary men standing round. The same thing was done, if I remember right, by the Founder of Christianity.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Men Quotes , Law Quotes

The trouble with always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Health Quotes , Science Quotes

It is still bad taste to be an avowed atheist. But now it is equally bad taste to be an avowed Christian.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Christian Quotes , Atheist Quotes

When a person has found something which he prefers to life itself, he for the first time has begun to live.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Firsts Quotes , Found Quotes

I never could see anything wrong in sensationalism; and I am sure our society is suffering more from secrecy than from flamboyant revelations.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Suffering Quotes , Our Society Quotes

To do Mohammed justice, his main attack was against the idolatries of Asia. Only he thought, just as the Arians did and just as the Unitarians do, that he could attack them better with a greater approximation to plain theism. What distinguishes his heresy from anything like an Arian or Albigensian heresy is that, as it sprang up on the borders of Christendom, it could spread outwards to a barbaric world.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Justice Quotes , Islam Quotes

Do not, I beseech you be troubled by the increase of forces already in dissolution. You have mistake the hour of the night: it is already morning.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Morning Quotes , Pain Quotes

Physical science is like simple addition: it is either infallible or it is false.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Simple Quotes , Infallible Quotes

Circumstances break men's bones; it has never been shown that they break men's optimism.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Men Quotes , Optimism Quotes

Democracy is reproached with saying that the majority is always right. But progress says that the minority is always right.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Democracy Quotes , Progress Quotes

How quickly revolutions grow old; and, worse still, respectable.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , War Quotes , Revolution Quotes

The academic mind reflects infinity, and is full of light by the simple process of being shallow and standing still.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Simple Quotes , Light Quotes

The Christian pities men because they are dying, and the Buddhist pities them because they are living. The Christian is sorry for what damages the life of a man; but the Buddhist is sorry for him because he is alive.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Christian Quotes , Buddhist Quotes

The decay of society is praised by artists as the decay of a corpse is praised by worms.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Art Quotes , Decay Quotes

Comforts that were rare among our forefathers are now multiplied in factories and handed out wholesale; and indeed, nobody nowadays, so long as he is content to go without air, space, quiet, decency and good manners, need be without anything whatever that he wants; or at least a reasonably cheap imitation of it.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Air Quotes , Space Quotes

[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.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Numbers Quotes , Political Quotes

The determining bulk of Scotch people had heard of golf ever since they had heard of God and often considered the two as of equal importance.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Golf Quotes , Scotch Quotes

Who would condescend to strike down the mere things that he does not fear? Who would debase himself to be merely brave, like any common prizefighter? Who would stoop to be fearless--like a tree? Fight the thing that you fear. You remember the old tale of the English clergyman who gave the last rites to the brigand of Sicily, and how on his death-bed the great robber said, 'I can give you no money, but I can give you advice for a lifetime: your thumb on the blade, and strike upwards.' So I say to you, strike upwards, if you strike at the stars.

4 years ago

Message Copied

Tags : Gilbert K. Chesterton Quotes , Stars Quotes , Fighting Quotes