--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are two ways of renouncing the…" description: "\"“There are two ways of renouncing the devil,” he said; “and the difference is perhaps the deepest chasm in modern religion. One is to have a horror of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/g-k-chesterton-224_religion_there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-dev_1658469.jpg" --- # There are two ways of renouncing the devil,” he said; “and… ![“There are two ways of renouncing the devil,” he said; “and the difference is perhaps the deepest chasm in modern religion. One is to have a horror of him because he is so far off; and the other to have it because he is so near. And no virtue and vice are so much divided as those two virtues.” quote by G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/g-k-chesterton-224_religion_there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-dev_1658469.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/g-k-chesterton-224_religion_there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-dev_1658469.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/g-k-chesterton-224_religion_there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-dev_1658469.jpg) > ““There are two ways of renouncing the devil,” he said; “and the difference is perhaps the deepest chasm in modern religion. One is to have a horror of him because he is so far off; and the other to have it because he is so near. And no virtue and vice are so much divided as those two virtues.”” [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. The quote contrasts distant fear of evil with intimate fear, showing both can split virtue and vice. **In simple terms:** Fear of evil can be distant or close, affecting moral choices. Key Takeaway Recognize how proximity to wrongdoing shapes your ethics. Themes morality fear virtue vice Mood thoughtful serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - theological debate - literary analysis - counseling - spiritual practice Key Concepts dualism psychology ethical tension Questions to Reflect On - Do you fear evil more when it feels remote or immediate? - How does this fear influence your moral decisions? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on distance may ignore systemic causes of evil. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deepest Chasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deepest-chasm-733530/) [Devil Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil-said-287835/) [Difference Deepest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difference-deepest-733531/) [Divided Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divided-virtues-505549/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Renouncing Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/renouncing-devil-733529/) ## Related quotes > [We have divided the Virtues of the Soul into two groups, the Virtues of the Character and the Virtues of the Intellect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/we-have-divided-the-virtues-of-the-soul-into-two-groups-the-virtues/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Tell the devil I said hey , when you get back to where your from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-mars/tell-the-devil-i-said-hey-when-you-get-back-to-where-your-from/) [Bruno Mars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-mars/) > [“And to the devil with it if she is!" said the Consul. "One girl, who is not Nephilim, is not, cannot , be our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/and-to-the-devil-with-it-if-she-is-said-the-consul-one-girl-who-is/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“What happens to you when you are not enough for yourself? The day that you will know that the second name of this world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-johnson/what-happens-to-you-when-you-are-not-enough-for-yourself-the-day-that/) [Patience Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-johnson/) > [“We may have done what the devil said we did, but we are NOT who the devil says we are!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-cofield-essix/we-may-have-done-what-the-devil-said-we-did-but-we-are-not-who-the/) [April Cofield Essix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-cofield-essix/) > [“Tell the devil I said hey when you get back to where you're from.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-mars/tell-the-devil-i-said-hey-when-you-get-back-to-where-you-re-from/) [Bruno Mars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-mars/) > [“Why have you done all this for me?" She turned her head to look at him. "Tell me the truth." He shook his head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/why-have-you-done-all-this-for-me-she-turned-her-head-to-look-at-him/) [Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/) > [“When the sun is showing and there is a storm in patches of the sky, the devil is said to beating his wife.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-khristin-brown/when-the-sun-is-showing-and-there-is-a-storm-in-patches-of-the-sky/) [Angela Khristin Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-khristin-brown/) > [“And besides, Cath still wasn't sure whether Nick was actually hot or whether he just projected hotness. Specifically in her direction. Someone sat down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susane-colasanti/and-besides-cath-still-wasn-t-sure-whether-nick-was-actually-hot-or/) [Susane Colasanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susane-colasanti/) > [WHen I was born, Devil said OH shit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asaad-hamad/when-i-was-born-devil-said-oh-shit/) [Asaad Hamad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asaad-hamad/) > [I've done made a deal with the devil. He said he's going to give me an air-conditioned place when I go down there, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-adair/i-ve-done-made-a-deal-with-the-devil-he-said-he-s-going-to-give-me-an/) [Red Adair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-adair/) > [“Angel and devil,” he said. “One is but a shade of the other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-trussoni/angel-and-devil-he-said-one-is-but-a-shade-of-the-other/) [Danielle Trussoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-trussoni/) > [I sold my soul to the devil in L.A. He said 'sign your name here on the dotted line and your songs they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-lewis/i-sold-my-soul-to-the-devil-in-l-a-he-said-sign-your-name-here-on-the/) [Aaron Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-lewis/) > [“Who are you?" "The devil," she said. "The devil in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturo-p-rez-reverte/who-are-you-the-devil-she-said-the-devil-in-love/) [Arturo Pérez-Reverte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arturo-p-rez-reverte/) > [Never trust anybody, Because God lied to Eve, But the devil said the truth,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/birta-bj-rk/never-trust-anybody-because-god-lied-to-eve-but-the-devil-said-the/) [Birta Björk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/birta-bj-rk/) ## 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 Religion quotes > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The love religion is all that is written here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/the-love-religion-is-all-that-is-written-here/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [No religion has mandated killing others as a requirement for its sustenance or promotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-religion-has-mandated-killing-others-as-a-requirement-for-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The goal of spiritual practice is full recovery, and the only thing you need to recover from is a fractured sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-goal-of-spiritual-practice-is-full-recovery-and-the-only-thing/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Deepen your existing spiritual commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-buettner/deepen-your-existing-spiritual-commitment/) [Dan Buettner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-buettner/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) [Browse all 58,737 Religion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There are two ways of renouncing the devil,” he said; “and the difference is perhaps the deepest chasm in modern religion. One is to have a horror of him because he is so far off; and the other to have it because he is so near. And no virtue and vice are so much divided as those two virtues.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "G.K. Chesterton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-devil-he-said-and-the-difference/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Religion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-devil-he-said-and-the-difference/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/g-k-chesterton-224_religion_there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-dev_1658469.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/g-k-chesterton-224_religion_there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-dev_1658469.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/762/g-k-chesterton-224_religion_there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-dev_1658469.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are two ways of renouncing the devil,” he said; “and the difference is perhaps the deepest chasm in…” — 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": "“There are two ways of renouncing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-devil-he-said-and-the-difference/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-are-two-ways-of-renouncing-the-devil-he-said-and-the-difference/#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 } } ] } ```