--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man is an exception, whatever else he is…" description: "\"Man is an exception, whatever else he is. If he is not the image of God, then he is a disease of the dust. If it is not true that a divine being fell, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animals_man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is_1576489.jpg" --- # Man is an exception, whatever else he is. If he is not the… ![“Man is an exception, whatever else he is. If he is not the image of God, then he is a disease of the dust. If it is not true that a divine being fell, then we can only say that one of the animals went entirely off its head.” quote by Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animals_man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is_1576489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animals_man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is_1576489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animals_man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is_1576489.jpg) > “Man is an exception, whatever else he is. If he is not the image of God, then he is a disease of the dust. If it is not true that a divine being fell, then we can only say that one of the animals went entirely off its head.” [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-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. Chesterton argues that if humanity isn’t a divine image, it’s a corrupted, irrational existence—essentially a flawed creature deviating from a higher order. **In simple terms:** If not divine, humanity is a broken, irrational mess. Key Takeaway Recognize humanity’s flawed nature. Themes human nature divinity irrationality existential critique Mood skeptical contemplative Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - examining morality - debating humanity’s purpose - critiquing religious claims Key Concepts theology philosophy of existence Questions to Reflect On - What defines humanity’s value? - Can imperfection coexist with meaning? A Different Perspective The view may oversimplify complex human experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) ## Related quotes > [If man is not the image of God, then he is a disease of the dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/if-man-is-not-the-image-of-god-then-he-is-a-disease-of-the-dust/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn't expect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/stories-were-wild-wild-animals-and-went-off-in-directions-you-couldn/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [“And yet the animals never gave up hope. More, they never lost, even for an instant, their sense of honour and privilege in being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-yet-the-animals-never-gave-up-hope-more-they-never-lost-even-for/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Saying Good-bye to the God of Disease (2) Thousands of willow branches in a spring wind. Six hundred million of China, land of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/saying-good-bye-to-the-god-of-disease-2-thousands-of-willow-branches/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [God - a disease we imagine we are cured of because no one dies of it nowadays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/god-a-disease-we-imagine-we-are-cured-of-because-no-one-dies-of-it/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Saying Good-bye to the God of Disease (1) Mauve waters and green mountains are nothing when the great ancient doctor Hua To could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/saying-good-bye-to-the-god-of-disease-1-mauve-waters-and-green/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [Now it has appeared to me unfair that humanity should be engaged perpetually in calling all those things bad which have been good enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/now-it-has-appeared-to-me-unfair-that-humanity-should-be-engaged/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [If we were created in God’s image, then when God was a child he smushed fire ants with his fingertips and avoided tough questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/if-we-were-created-in-god-s-image-then-when-god-was-a-child-he/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [I love being me. I know that I was created the image of God. Comfortable with the comforter!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-being-me-i-know-that-i-was-created-the-image-of-god/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The image of God always abides in the soul, whether this image be obsolete and clouded over as to amount to almost nothing; or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/the-image-of-god-always-abides-in-the-soul-whether-this-image-be/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [One In A Million who is the needle under a thousand haystacks. Yes One who is the very true Image Of God. Yes, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-james-dazouloute/one-in-a-million-who-is-the-needle-under-a-thousand-haystacks-yes-one/) [Dr James Dazouloute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-james-dazouloute/) > [The world is a living image of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommaso-campanella/the-world-is-a-living-image-of-god/) Tommaso Campanella > [We don't understand with our brains but with our hearts. That's where the image of God is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhard-bonnke/we-don-t-understand-with-our-brains-but-with-our-hearts-that-s-where/) [Reinhard Bonnke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhard-bonnke/) > [I don't want my kids growing up with the image of God that I had -- Plato's white grandfatherly god -- because that god…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/i-don-t-want-my-kids-growing-up-with-the-image-of-god-that-i-had/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [“God reproduces and lives out His image in millions of ordinary people like us. It is a supreme mystery. We are called to bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/god-reproduces-and-lives-out-his-image-in-millions-of-ordinary-people/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) ## More by Gilbert K. Chesterton > [The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-aim-of-good-prose-words-is-to-mean-what-they-say-the-aim-of-good/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Youth is always too serious, and just now it is too serious about frivolity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/youth-is-always-too-serious-and-just-now-it-is-too-serious-about/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Tradition does not mean a dead town; it does not mean that the living are dead but that the dead are alive. It means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/tradition-does-not-mean-a-dead-town-it-does-not-mean-that-the-living/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [It is shorter to state the things forbidden than the things permitted; precisely because most things are permitted and only a few things forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/it-is-shorter-to-state-the-things-forbidden-than-the-things-permitted/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Everyone seems to assume that the unscrupulous parts of journalism will be the frivolous or jocular parts. This is against all ethical experience. Jokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/everyone-seems-to-assume-that-the-unscrupulous-parts-of-journalism/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [For Scotland has a double dose of the poison called heredity; the sense of blood in the aristocrat, the sense of doom in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/for-scotland-has-a-double-dose-of-the-poison-called-heredity-the/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Faith is always at a disadvantage; it is a perpetually defeated thing which survives all conquerors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/faith-is-always-at-a-disadvantage-it-is-a-perpetually-defeated-thing/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [A building is akin to dogma; it is insolent, like dogma. Whether or no it is permanent, it claims permanence, like a dogma. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-building-is-akin-to-dogma-it-is-insolent-like-dogma-whether-or-no/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [The triangle of truisms, of father, mother and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-triangle-of-truisms-of-father-mother-and-child-cannot-be/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Criticism is only words about words, and of what use are words about such words as these?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/criticism-is-only-words-about-words-and-of-what-use-are-words-about/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/what-we-suffer-from-today-is-humility-in-the-wrong-place-the-old/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Plato was only a Bernard Shaw who unfortunately made his jokes in Greek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/plato-was-only-a-bernard-shaw-who-unfortunately-made-his-jokes-in/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [The word good has many meanings...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-word-good-has-many-meanings/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Music with dinner is an insult both to the cook and the violinist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/music-with-dinner-is-an-insult-both-to-the-cook-and-the-violinist/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Eugenics asserts that all men must be so stupid that they cannot manage their own affairs; and also so clever that they can manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/eugenics-asserts-that-all-men-must-be-so-stupid-that-they-cannot/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) [Explore all 868 Gilbert K. Chesterton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) ## More Animals quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“All these creatures spend their time explaining, realizing happily that they agree with each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/all-these-creatures-spend-their-time-explaining-realizing-happily/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“Plenty of animals had pets, but few were more devoted than the mouse, who owned a baby corn snake—“A rescue snake, she’d be quick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/plenty-of-animals-had-pets-but-few-were-more-devoted-than-the-mouse/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) [Browse all 6,813 Animals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man is an exception, whatever else he is. If he is not the image of God, then he is a disease of the dust. If it is not true that a divine being fell, then we can only say that one of the animals went entirely off its head.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gilbert K. Chesterton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is-if-he-is-not-the-image-of-god/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animals" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is-if-he-is-not-the-image-of-god/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animals_man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is_1576489.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animals_man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is_1576489.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d42/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_animals_man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is_1576489.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man is an exception, whatever else he is. If he is not the image of God, then he is a disease of the dust…” — Gilbert 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": "Gilbert K. Chesterton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Man is an exception, whatever else...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is-if-he-is-not-the-image-of-god/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/man-is-an-exception-whatever-else-he-is-if-he-is-not-the-image-of-god/#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 } } ] } ```