--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [There is] one distinctly human thing…" description: "\"[There is] one distinctly human thing - the story. There can be as good science about a turnip as about a man. ... [Or philosophy, or theology] ...Ther..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_accounts_there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the_3013143.jpg" --- # \[There is\] one distinctly human thing - the story. There… ![“[There is] one distinctly human thing - the story. There can be as good science about a turnip as about a man. ... [Or philosophy, or theology] ...There can be, without any question at all, as good higher mathematics about a turnip as about a man. But I do not think, though I speak in a manner…” quote by Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_accounts_there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the_3013143.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_accounts_there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the_3013143.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_accounts_there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the_3013143.jpg) > “\[There is\] one distinctly human thing - the story. There can be as good science about a turnip as about a man. ... \[Or philosophy, or theology\] ...There can be, without any question at all, as good higher mathematics about a turnip as about a man. But I do not think, though I speak in a manner somewhat tentative, that there could be as good a novel written about a turnip as a man.” [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. Human narratives hold unique value beyond scientific or mathematical description. **In simple terms:** Stories are uniquely human. Key Takeaway Value storytelling as a distinct human trait. Themes storytelling humanity art Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - media - culture Key Concepts literature philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Why are stories essential? - How do they shape identity? A Different Perspective Science can convey stories too. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) [Good science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-science/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Man Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-philosophy-1225673/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Mathematics Turnip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics-turnip-4841729/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science Turnip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-turnip-4841731/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Turnip Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turnip-man-4841730/) [Turnips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turnips/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Written Turnip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-turnip-4841728/) ## Related quotes > [The things a man believes most profoundly are rarely on the surface of his mind or tongue. Newly acquired notions, decisions based on expediency,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-johnston/the-things-a-man-believes-most-profoundly-are-rarely-on-the-surface/) [Eric Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-johnston/) > [“It is foolish, generally speaking, for a philosopher to set fire to another philosopher in Smithfield Market because they do not agree in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-foolish-generally-speaking-for-a-philosopher-to-set-fire-to/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“wish to deal with my most distinguished contemporaries, not personally or in a merely literary manner, but in relation to the real body of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/wish-to-deal-with-my-most-distinguished-contemporaries-not-personally/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [It strains a man's philosophy the worst kind to laugh when he gets beat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/it-strains-a-man-s-philosophy-the-worst-kind-to-laugh-when-he-gets/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [From what deep springs of character our personal philosophies issue, we cannot be sure. In philosophers themselves we seem always able to notice some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/from-what-deep-springs-of-character-our-personal-philosophies-issue/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“There is one thing that is infinitely more absurd and unpractical than burning a man for his philosophy. This is the habit of saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-is-one-thing-that-is-infinitely-more-absurd-and-unpractical/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“But there is one thing that is infinitely more absurd and unpractical than burning a man for his philosophy. This is the habit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/but-there-is-one-thing-that-is-infinitely-more-absurd-and-unpractical/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [The man whom philosophy leaves cold, and the man whom real faith does not illuminate, may be assured that the fault lies in them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-man-whom-philosophy-leaves-cold-and-the-man-whom-real-faith-does/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [“In another of his most famous essays, Montaigne argued that to philosophise is to learn to die. I learned how to die with fatherhood.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-another-of-his-most-famous-essays-montaigne-argued-that-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Every man must have a philosophy of life, for everyone must have a standard by which to measure his conduct. And philosophy is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhimrao-ramji-ambedkar/every-man-must-have-a-philosophy-of-life-for-everyone-must-have-a/) [Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhimrao-ramji-ambedkar/) > [In Plato's opinion, man was made for philosophy; in Bacon's opinion, philosophy was made for man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/in-plato-s-opinion-man-was-made-for-philosophy-in-bacon-s-opinion/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Hope founded upon a human being, a man-made philosophy or any institution is always misplaced... because these things are unreliable and fleeting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stanley/hope-founded-upon-a-human-being-a-man-made-philosophy-or-any/) [Charles Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stanley/) > [Religions do a useful thing: they narrow God to the limits of man. Philosophy replies by doing a necessary thing: it elevates man to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/religions-do-a-useful-thing-they-narrow-god-to-the-limits-of-man/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [My old man had a philosophy: peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-downey-jr/my-old-man-had-a-philosophy-peace-means-having-a-bigger-stick-than/) [Robert Downey, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-downey-jr/) > [With me, you never know what is going to happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goran-ivanisevic/with-me-you-never-know-what-is-going-to-happen/) [Goran Ivanisevic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goran-ivanisevic/) ## 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 Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. If the music industry wants to save money, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/stop-trying-to-treat-music-like-it-s-a-tennis-shoe-something-to-be/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) > [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [That surely must be a concern to anyone who decides this drug must be given to stop transmissions, again from mother to child, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/that-surely-must-be-a-concern-to-anyone-who-decides-this-drug-must-be/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) [Browse all 2,677 Accounts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[There is] one distinctly human thing - the story. There can be as good science about a turnip as about a man. ... [Or philosophy, or theology] ...There can be, without any question at all, as good higher mathematics about a turnip as about a man. But I do not think, though I speak in a manner somewhat tentative, that there could be as good a novel written about a turnip as a man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gilbert K. Chesterton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the-story-there-can-be-as-good/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accounts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the-story-there-can-be-as-good/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_accounts_there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the_3013143.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_accounts_there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the_3013143.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05b/gilbert-k-chesterton-223_accounts_there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the_3013143.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[There is] one distinctly human thing - the story. There can be as good science about a turnip as about a…” — 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": "[There is] one distinctly human thing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the-story-there-can-be-as-good/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/there-is-one-distinctly-human-thing-the-story-there-can-be-as-good/#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 } } ] } ```