Quotations - Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton
The Society of G.K. Chesterton
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Quotations

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ESSENTIAL CHESTERTON

ESSENTIAL CHESTERTON

“The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost.”
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TIMELESS TRUTHS

TIMELESS TRUTHS

“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”
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free advice

free advice

“When giving treats to friends or children, give them what they like, emphatically not what is good for them.”
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the cult of progress

THE CULT OF PROGRESs

“Men invent new ideals because they dare not attempt old ideals. ”
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WAR AND POLITICS

WAR AND POLITICS

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
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GOVERNMENT

government

“When you break the big laws, you do not get freedom; you do not even get anarchy. You get the small laws.”
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SOCIETY AND CULTURE

SOCIETY AND CULTURE

“It is true that I am of an older fashion; much that I love has been destroyed or sent into exile.”
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LOVE AND MARRIAGE

LOVE AND MARRIAGE

“Marriage is a duel to the death which no man of honour should decline.”
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RELIGION AND FAITH

RELIGION AND FAITH

“If there were no God, there would be no atheists.”
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CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS

“Christmas is built upon a beautiful and intentional paradox; that the birth of the homeless should be celebrated in every home.”
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MORALITY AND TRUTH

MORALITY AND TRUTH

“Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable.”
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ECONOMICS AND DISTRIBUTISM

ECONOMICS AND DISTRIBUTISM

“Big Business and State Socialism are very much alike, especially Big Business.”
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ART AND LITERATURE

ART AND LITERATURE

“Art is limitation; the essence of every picture is the frame.”
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TODAY'S DILEMMAS

TODAY'S DILEMMAS

“The purpose of Compulsory Education is to deprive the common people of their commonsense.”
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ATHEISM

ATHEISM

“Atheism is indeed the most daring of all dogmas...for it is the assertion of a universal negative.”
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LIBERTY

LIBERTY

“The only object of liberty is life.”
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COURAGE

COURAGE

“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.”
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FRIENDSHIP

FRIENDSHIP

“Because our expression is imperfect we need friendship to fill up the imperfections.”
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