--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I only say that at certain strange epochs…" description: "\"“I only say that at certain strange epochs it is necessary to have another kind of priests, called poets, actually to remind men that they are not dead..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epoch_1333365.jpg" --- # I only say that at certain strange epochs it is necessary… ![“I only say that at certain strange epochs it is necessary to have another kind of priests, called poets, actually to remind men that they are not dead yet.” quote by G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epoch_1333365.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epoch_1333365.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epoch_1333365.jpg) > ““I only say that at certain strange epochs it is necessary to have another kind of priests, called poets, actually to remind men that they are not dead yet.”” [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poets serve as cultural healers, reminding humanity of its vitality when society feels stagnant or lifeless. **In simple terms:** Poets remind us we’re alive. Key Takeaway Listen to artistic voices that revive purpose. Themes art vitality culture Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - times of social unrest - personal crises - educational curricula Key Concepts poetry social critique spiritual renewal Questions to Reflect On - How can poetry inspire social change? - What role do artists play in modern life? A Different Perspective Poetry may not reach everyone equally; some may dismiss it as frivolous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-poets-757745/) [Kind Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-priests-4481698/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets/) [Poets Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poets-actually-4481697/) [Priests Called](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests-called-1020867/) ## Related quotes > [I don't deny," he said, "that there should be priests to remind men that they will one day die. I only say that at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-deny-he-said-that-there-should-be-priests-to-remind-men-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Writers are not called poets just because they make words rhyme. Poets respond to an inner calling that enables them to add symmetry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-casperson/writers-are-not-called-poets-just-because-they-make-words-rhyme-poets/) [John Casperson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-casperson/) > [Nearly all men and women are poetical, to some extent, but very few can be called poets. There are great poets, small poets, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-f-whitney/nearly-all-men-and-women-are-poetical-to-some-extent-but-very-few-can/) [Orson F. Whitney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-f-whitney/) > [ you \[priests\] are called 'another Christ.' ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/you-priests-are-called-another-christ/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [There are two classes of men called poets. The one cultivates life, the other art,... one satisfies hunger, the other gratifies the palate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-are-two-classes-of-men-called-poets-the-one-cultivates-life-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Nobody is publicly accepted as an expert on poetry unless he displays the sign of poet, mathematician, etc., but universal men want no sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/nobody-is-publicly-accepted-as-an-expert-on-poetry-unless-he-displays/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“Of those few fools, who with ill stars are curst, Sure scribbling fools, called poets, fare the worst: For they're a sort of fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/of-those-few-fools-who-with-ill-stars-are-curst-sure-scribbling-fools/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [“Imagination does not breed insanity. Exactly what does breed insanity is reason. Poets do not go mad; but chess-players do. Mathematicians go mad, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/imagination-does-not-breed-insanity-exactly-what-does-breed-insanity/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Lyric poets are always corrupting the young, making them choke in self-pity and indulge in reverie. Dirty sex and direspect for authority is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/lyric-poets-are-always-corrupting-the-young-making-them-choke-in-self/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [Absolute is a game with only one player where Absolute forgets itself so it would have a reason to fulfill the motion while returning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/absolute-is-a-game-with-only-one-player-where-absolute-forgets-itself/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [One of my favorite poets, Neruda, writes close to the bone. Though I know only a little Spanish, I like to compare the Spanish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-diament/one-of-my-favorite-poets-neruda-writes-close-to-the-bone-though-i/) [Anita Diament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-diament/) > [ “\[poems are\] crystals deposited after the effervescent contact of the spirit with reality. (cristaux deposes apres l'effervescent contact de l'esprit avec la realite)” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-reverdy/poems-are-crystals-deposited-after-the-effervescent-contact-of-the/) [Pierre Reverdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-reverdy/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [Defeat furnishes good material to the poets and the artists, but none of us care to have the glory of the conquered apply to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/defeat-furnishes-good-material-to-the-poets-and-the-artists-but-none/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) ## 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/) [Explore all 853 G.K. Chesterton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## More Poetry quotes > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) > [The name Phenomenal Woman was inspired by Maya Angelo, who wrote 'Phenomenal Woman', a favorite poem of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meena-harris/the-name-phenomenal-woman-was-inspired-by-maya-angelo-who-wrote/) [Meena Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meena-harris/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“In the streets, the children scream, the lovers cried, and the poets dreamed,” he crooned, putting down the metal grill tongs to take my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandria-clarke/in-the-streets-the-children-scream-the-lovers-cried-and-the-poets/) [Alexandria Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandria-clarke/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [You don’t read or overhear the voice in the poem, you are the voice in the poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/you-don-t-read-or-overhear-the-voice-in-the-poem-you-are-the-voice-in/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) > [All lyrical work must, as a whole, be perfectly intelligible, but in some particulars a little unintelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-lyrical-work-must-as-a-whole-be-perfectly-intelligible-but-in/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [“Things are more like they are now...than they have EVER been before!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uncle-arnie-mamath/things-are-more-like-they-are-now-than-they-have-ever-been-before/) [Uncle Arnie Mamath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uncle-arnie-mamath/) [Browse all 21,625 Poetry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I only say that at certain strange epochs it is necessary to have another kind of priests, called poets, actually to remind men that they are not dead yet.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "G.K. Chesterton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epochs-it-is-necessary-to-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Poetry" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epochs-it-is-necessary-to-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epoch_1333365.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epoch_1333365.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/g-k-chesterton-224_poetry_i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epoch_1333365.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I only say that at certain strange epochs it is necessary to have another kind of priests, called poets…” — G.K. Chesterton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "G.K. Chesterton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I only say that at certain...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epochs-it-is-necessary-to-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-only-say-that-at-certain-strange-epochs-it-is-necessary-to-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```