---
title: "4 Optimist Quotes By G.K. Chesterton"
description: "4 Optimist quotes by G.K. Chesterton. Plus more from G.K. Chesterton and more Optimist sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/g-k-chesterton-224_revolution_the-person-who-is-really-in-revolt-is-th_380668.jpg"
---

> [“The person who is really in revolt is the optimist, who generally lives and dies in a desperate and suicidal effort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-person-who-is-really-in-revolt-is-the-optimist-who-generally/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/g-k-chesterton-224_revolution_the-person-who-is-really-in-revolt-is-th_380668.jpg)

> [“I had tried to be happy by telling myself that man is an animal, like any other which sought its meat from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-had-tried-to-be-happy-by-telling-myself-that-man-is-an-animal-like/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/g-k-chesterton-224_happiness_i-had-tried-to-be-happy-by-telling-mysel_1539859.jpg)

> [“Job is an optimist. He shakes the pillars of the world and strikes insanely at the heavens; he lashes the stars, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/job-is-an-optimist-he-shakes-the-pillars-of-the-world-and-strikes/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d0/g-k-chesterton-224_bible_job-is-an-optimist-he-shakes-the-pillars_1686119.jpg)

> [“The pessimist can be enraged at wrong; but only the optimist can be surprised at it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-pessimist-can-be-enraged-at-wrong-but-only-the-optimist-can-be/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/g-k-chesterton-224_optimism_the-pessimist-can-be-enraged-at-wrong-bu_2761525.jpg)

## Other authors on Optimist

- [Mark Twain 12 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/mark-twain/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-william-arthur-ward-95178.jpg) William Arthur Ward 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/william-arthur-ward/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-robert-breault-79554.jpg) Robert Breault 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/robert-breault/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b006/author-christian-d-larson-23694.jpg) Christian D. Larson 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/christian-d-larson/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b025/author-winston-churchill-96197.jpg) Winston Churchill 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/winston-churchill/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b025/author-zig-ziglar-97426.jpg) Zig Ziglar 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/zig-ziglar/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-nelson-mandela-70785.jpg) Nelson Mandela 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/nelson-mandela/)
- [Helen Keller 5 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/helen-keller/)

## More by G.K. Chesterton

> [“I never use paradox. The statements I make are wearisome and obvious common sense. I have even been driven to the tedium of reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-never-use-paradox-the-statements-i-make-are-wearisome-and-obvious/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Nothing, again, could be more prosaic and impenetrable than the domestic energies of Miss Diana Duke. But Innocent had somehow blundered on the discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/nothing-again-could-be-more-prosaic-and-impenetrable-than-the/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“The mass of men have been forced to be gay about the little things, but sad about the big ones. Nevertheless (I offer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-mass-of-men-have-been-forced-to-be-gay-about-the-little-things/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“ask yourself how many people you have met who grumbled at a thing as incurable, and how many who attacked it as curable? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/ask-yourself-how-many-people-you-have-met-who-grumbled-at-a-thing-as/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-human-race-to-which-so-many-of-my-readers-belong-has-been-playing/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Internationalism is in any case hostile to democracy….The only purely popular government is local, and founded on local knowledge. The citizens can rule the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/internationalism-is-in-any-case-hostile-to-democracy-the-only-purely/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“There was a short railway official travelling up to the terminus, three fairly short market-gardeners picked up two stations afterwards, one very short widow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-was-a-short-railway-official-travelling-up-to-the-terminus/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Humility is the mother of giants. One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/humility-is-the-mother-of-giants-one-sees-great-things-from-the/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/anything-worth-doing-is-worth-doing-badly/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-exists-in-such-a-case-a-certain-institution-or-law-let-us-say/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Man, by a blind instinct, knew that if once things were wildly questioned, reason could be questioned first. The authority of priests to absolve,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-by-a-blind-instinct-knew-that-if-once-things-were-wildly/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-idle-to-talk-always-of-the-alternative-of-reason-and-faith/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“But in order that life should be a story or romance to us, it is necessary that a great part of it, at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/but-in-order-that-life-should-be-a-story-or-romance-to-us-it-is/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Buddhism seeks after God with the largest conception it can find, the all-producing and all-absorbing One; Christianity seeks after God with the most elementary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/buddhism-seeks-after-god-with-the-largest-conception-it-can-find-the/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

> [“Man is more himself, more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing and grief superficial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-is-more-himself-more-manlike-when-joy-is-the-fundamental-thing/)

[G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/g-k-chesterton/#itemlist",
            "name": "4 Optimist Quotes By G.K. Chesterton",
            "numberOfItems": 4,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“The person who is really in revolt is the optimist, who generally lives and dies in a desperate and suicidal effort to persuade all the other people how good they are. It has been proved a hundred times over that if you really wish to enrage people and make them angry, even unto death, the right way to do it is to tell them that they are all the sons of God.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "G.K. Chesterton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-person-who-is-really-in-revolt-is-the-optimist-who-generally/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/g-k-chesterton-224_revolution_the-person-who-is-really-in-revolt-is-th_380668.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/g-k-chesterton-224_revolution_the-person-who-is-really-in-revolt-is-th_380668.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/g-k-chesterton-224_revolution_the-person-who-is-really-in-revolt-is-th_380668.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The person who is really in revolt is the optimist, who generally lives and dies in a desperate and suicidal…” — G.K. Chesterton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“I had tried to be happy by telling myself that man is an animal, like any other which sought its meat from God. But now I really was happy, for I had learnt that man is a monstrosity. I had been right in feeling all things as odd, for I myself was at once worse and better than all things. The optimist's pleasure was prosaic, for it dwelt on the naturalness of everything; the Christian pleasure was poetic, for it dwelt on the unnaturalness of everything in the light of the supernatural. The modern philosopher had told me again and again that I was in the right place, and I had still felt depressed even in acquiescence. But I had heard that I was in the wrong place, and my soul sang for joy, like a bird in spring. The knowledge found out and illuminated forgotten chambers in the dark house of infancy. I knew now why grass had always seemed to me as queer as the green beard of a giant, and why I could feel homesick at home.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "G.K. Chesterton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-had-tried-to-be-happy-by-telling-myself-that-man-is-an-animal-like/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/g-k-chesterton-224_happiness_i-had-tried-to-be-happy-by-telling-mysel_1539859.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/g-k-chesterton-224_happiness_i-had-tried-to-be-happy-by-telling-mysel_1539859.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/289/g-k-chesterton-224_happiness_i-had-tried-to-be-happy-by-telling-mysel_1539859.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“I had tried to be happy by telling myself that man is an animal, like any other which sought its meat from…” — G.K. Chesterton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“Job is an optimist. He shakes the pillars of the world and strikes insanely at the heavens; he lashes the stars, but it is not to silence them; it is to make them speak.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "G.K. Chesterton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/job-is-an-optimist-he-shakes-the-pillars-of-the-world-and-strikes/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d0/g-k-chesterton-224_bible_job-is-an-optimist-he-shakes-the-pillars_1686119.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d0/g-k-chesterton-224_bible_job-is-an-optimist-he-shakes-the-pillars_1686119.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d0/g-k-chesterton-224_bible_job-is-an-optimist-he-shakes-the-pillars_1686119.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Job is an optimist. He shakes the pillars of the world and strikes insanely at the heavens; he lashes the…” — G.K. Chesterton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“The pessimist can be enraged at wrong; but only the optimist can be surprised at it.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "G.K. Chesterton"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-pessimist-can-be-enraged-at-wrong-but-only-the-optimist-can-be/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/g-k-chesterton-224_optimism_the-pessimist-can-be-enraged-at-wrong-bu_2761525.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/g-k-chesterton-224_optimism_the-pessimist-can-be-enraged-at-wrong-bu_2761525.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/g-k-chesterton-224_optimism_the-pessimist-can-be-enraged-at-wrong-bu_2761525.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The pessimist can be enraged at wrong; but only the optimist can be surprised at it.” — G.K. Chesterton",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/g-k-chesterton/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/g-k-chesterton/",
            "name": "Optimist Quotes by G.K. Chesterton",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/g-k-chesterton/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/862/g-k-chesterton-224_revolution_the-person-who-is-really-in-revolt-is-th_380668.jpg"
            },
            "description": "4 Optimist quotes by G.K. Chesterton. Plus more from G.K. Chesterton and more Optimist sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/g-k-chesterton/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/g-k-chesterton/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Optimist",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "G.K. Chesterton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimist/g-k-chesterton/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
