Facts as facts do not always create a spirit of reality, because reality is a spirit. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The philosophy of this world may be founded on facts, but its business is run on spiritual impressions and atmospheres. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The evolutionists seem to know everything about the missing link except the fact that it is missing. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The thing that cannot be defined is the first thing; the primary fact. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Facts by themselves can often feed the flame of madness, because sanity is a spirit. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
One of the chief uses of religion is that it makes us remember our coming from darkness, the simple fact that we… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
But the truth is that it is only by believing in God that we can ever criticise the Government. Once abolish the… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The historic glory of America lies in the fact that it is the one nation that was founded like a church. That… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The first fact about the celebration of a birthday is that it is a way of affirming defiantly, and even flamboyantly, that… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The scientific facts, which were supposed to contradict the faith in the nineteenth century, are nearly all of them regarded as unscientific… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
It is a mathematical fact that if a line be not perfectly directed towards a point, it will actually go further away… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
But pure wit is akin to Puritanism; to the perfect and painful consciousness of the final fact in the universe. Very briefly,… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The most important fact about the subject of education is that there is no such thing. Education is not a subject and… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
It is customary to complain of the bustle and strenuousness of our epoch. But in truth the chief mark of our epoch… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The modern mind will accept nothing on authority, but will accept anything on no authority. Say that the Bible or the Pope… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The timidity of the child or the savage is entirely reasonable; they are alarmed at this world, because this world is a… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient masters of religion… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Soldiers have many faults, but they have one redeeming merit; they are never worshippers of force. Soldiers more than any other men… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
But the truth is that it is only by believing in God that we can ever criticize the government. Once abolish the… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Unfortunately, 19th-century scientists were just as ready to jump to the conclusion that any guess about nature was an obvious fact, as… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The fact is that purification and austerity are even more necessary for the appreciation of life and laughter than for anything else.… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Everyone seems to assume that the unscrupulous parts of journalism will be the frivolous or jocular parts. This is against all ethical… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
People accuse journalism of being too personal; but to me it has always seemed far too impersonal. It is charged with tearing… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
Youth is always too serious, and just now it is too serious about frivolity. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
Tradition does not mean a dead town; it does not mean that the living are dead but that the dead are alive. It means… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
It is shorter to state the things forbidden than the things permitted; precisely because most things are permitted and only a few things forbidden. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
Everyone seems to assume that the unscrupulous parts of journalism will be the frivolous or jocular parts. This is against all ethical experience. Jokes… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
For Scotland has a double dose of the poison called heredity; the sense of blood in the aristocrat, the sense of doom in the… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
Faith is always at a disadvantage; it is a perpetually defeated thing which survives all conquerors. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
A building is akin to dogma; it is insolent, like dogma. Whether or no it is permanent, it claims permanence, like a dogma. People… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
The triangle of truisms, of father, mother and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
Criticism is only words about words, and of what use are words about such words as these? — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place...The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not a… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
Plato was only a Bernard Shaw who unfortunately made his jokes in Greek. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
Music with dinner is an insult both to the cook and the violinist. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
Eugenics asserts that all men must be so stupid that they cannot manage their own affairs; and also so clever that they can manage… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share
