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
Every work of art has one indispensable mark ... the center of it is simple, however much the fulfillment may be complicated. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Bigotry may be roughly defined as the anger of men who have no opinions. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Whatever else may be said of man, this one thing is clear: He is not what he is capable of being. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
A Catholic is a person who has plucked up courage to face the incredible and inconceivable idea that something else may be… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
When once you have got hold of a vulgar joke, you may be certain that you have got hold of a subtle… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Now there is any amount of this nonsense cropping up among American cranks. Anybody may propose to establish coercive Eugenics; or enforce… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
A modern man may disapprove of some of his sweeping reforms, and approve others; but finds it difficult not to admire even… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The true savage is a slave, and is always talking about what he must do; the true civilised man is a free… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
There have been household gods and household saints and household fairies. I am not sure that there have yet been any factory… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
You can free things from alien or accidental laws, but not from the laws of their own nature. You may, if you… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
A man looking at a hippopotamus may sometimes be tempted to regard a hippopotamus as an enormous mistake; but he is also… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Catholicism is not ritualism; it may in the future be fighting some sort of superstitious and idolatrous exaggeration of ritual. Catholicism is… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Bowing down in blind credulity, as is my custom, before mere authority and the tradition of the elders, superstitiously swallowing a story… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Tradition is only democracy extended through time; it may be defined as an extension of the franchise. Tradition means giving votes to… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The idea of private property universal but private, the idea of families free but still families, of domesticity democratic but still domestic,… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
To desire money is much nobler than to desire success. Desiring money may mean desiring to return to your country, or marry… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
It might reasonably be maintained that the true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
It is cold anarchy to say that all men are to meddle in all men'smarriages. It is cold anarchy to say that… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
This is the perpetual and pitiful tragedy of the practical man in practical affairs. He always begins with a flourish of contempt… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
If the common man in the past had a grave respect for property, it may conceivably have been because he sometimes had… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
One may understand the cosmos, but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
The great saint may be said to mix all his thoughts with thanks. All goods look better when they look like gifts. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
I may not practice what I preach but God forbid I should preach what I practice — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
What people call impartiality may simply mean indifference, and what people call partiality may simply mean mental activity. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Democracy is like blowing your nose. You may not do it well, but it's something you ought to do yourself. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Ivory may not be so white as snow, but the whole Arctic continent does not make ivory black. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
What life and death may be to a turkey is not my business; but the soul of Scrooge and the body of… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
You may think a crime horrible because you could never commit it. I think it is horrible because I could commit it. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Free verse'? You may as well call sleeping in a ditch 'free architecture'. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Whatever else we may say of our own age, for good or evil, nobody is likely to call it an Age of… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
A sober man may become a drunkard through being a coward. A brave man may become a coward through being a drunkard. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
Catholic doctrine and discipline may be walls; but they are the walls of a playground. — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
If Christianity should happen to be true - that is to say, if its God is the real God of the universe… — Gilbert K. Chesterton Copy Share Image
We all know that the 'divine glory of the ego' is socially a great nuisance; we all do actually value our friends… — 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
