A man is angry at a libel because it is false, but at a satire because it is true. Gilbert K. Chesterton More Quotes by Gilbert K. Chesterton More Quotes From Gilbert K. Chesterton A cosmic philosophy is not constructed to fit a man; a cosmic philosophy is constructed to fit a cosmos. A man can no more possess a private religion than he can possess a private sun and moon. Gilbert K. Chesterton moon men philosophy If the barricades went up in our streets and the poor became masters, I think the priests would escape, I fear the gentlemen would; but I believe the gutters would simply be running with the blood of philanthropists. Gilbert K. Chesterton fear running believe When people begin to ignore human dignity, it will not be long before they begin to ignore human rights. Gilbert K. Chesterton rights long people The modern world is filled with men who hold dogmas so strongly that they do not even know they are dogmas. Gilbert K. Chesterton men believe world As to the doubt of the soul I discover it to be false: a mood not a conclusion. My conclusion is the Faith. Corporate, organized, a personality, teaching. A thing, not a theory. It. Gilbert K. Chesterton soul teaching personality We do not want, as the newspapers say, a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world. Gilbert K. Chesterton church christian moving How much larger your life would be if you were smaller in it. Gilbert K. Chesterton christian-inspirational christian would-be I never said a word against eminent men of science. What I complain of is a vague popular philosophy which supposes itself to be scientific when it is really nothing but a sort of new religion and an uncommonly nasty one. When people talked about the fall of man, they knew they were talking about a mystery, a thing they didn't understand. Now they talk about the survival of the fittest: they think they do understand it, whereas they have not merely no notion, they have an elaborately false notion of what the words mean. Gilbert K. Chesterton philosophy mean fall Men always talk about the most important things to perfect strangers. Gilbert K. Chesterton uncles relationship men Life exists for the love of music or beautiful things. Gilbert K. Chesterton music-love beautiful love The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may not, he is not a free man any more than a dog. Gilbert K. Chesterton dog drinking men Man is always something worse or something better than an animal; and a mere argument from animal perfection never touches him at all. Thus, in sex no animal is either chivalrous or obscene. And thus no animal invented anything so bad as drunkeness - or so good as drink. Gilbert K. Chesterton animal men sex Thoughts on the Merits of Work The worst of work nowadays is what happens to people when they cease to work. Gilbert K. Chesterton merit retirement people Posting a letter and getting married [sic] are among the few things left that are entirely romantic; for to be entirely romantic, a thing must be irrevocable Gilbert K. Chesterton married romance letters A building is akin to dogma; it is insolent, like dogma. Whether or no it is permanent, it claims permanence, like a dogma. People ask why we have no typical architecture of the modern world, like impressionism in painting. Surely it is obviously because we have not enough dogmas; we cannot bear to see anything in the sky that is solid and enduring, anything in the sky that does not change like the clouds of the sky. Gilbert K. Chesterton sky clouds people There is no obligation on us to be richer, or busier, or more efficient, or more productive, or more progressive, or any way worldlier or wealthier, if it does not make us happier. Gilbert K. Chesterton simple doe way The golden age only comes to men when they have forgotten gold. Gilbert K. Chesterton gold age men Do not look at the faces in the illustrated papers. Look at the faces in the street. Gilbert K. Chesterton paper faces looks Many clever men like you have trusted to civilization. Many clever Babylonians, many clever Egyptians, many clever men at the end of Rome. Can you tell me, in a world that is flagrant with the failures of civilisation, what there is particularly immortal about yours? Gilbert K. Chesterton rome clever men Lord! what a strange world in which a man cannot remain unique even by taking the trouble to go mad! Gilbert K. Chesterton mad unique men
