Tolstoy and the Cult of Simplicity
A Chesterton essay on the work and thought of Leo Tolstoy
Tolstoy and the Cult of Simplicity Read More »
April 2012
Detective Stories
It strikes some readers as strange that Chesterton, a highly respected literary critic, could take seriously the lowly detective story. But he did take it seriously.
Pacifism
“The horror of war,” Chesterton wrote, “is the sentiment of a Christian and even of a saint.”
Pride
Chesterton wrote that if he had just one sermon to preach, it would be a sermon against the sin of pride.
Career Women
It was quite clear to Chesterton that having a job might make a woman independent of husbands and families, but it also made them dependent on employers, dependent on wage-earning, and servants to a business as most men already were.
Hudge and Gudge
Hudge and Gudge, Big Government and Big Business (and sometimes Sludge–Big Science) overstep their bounds and interfere with the average family, whom Chesterton calls the Jones family.
Crime and Punishment
If heredity and environment account for all crimes, Chesterton argued, then law enforcement would become focused on certain types of people (perhaps the poor) and in certain neighborhoods (perhaps the slums). Chesterton was opposed to such views.
Crime and Punishment Read More »
The Common Man
Chesterton called plain folks “the million masks of God” and praised them for their common sense, common decency, and their humble institutions: hearth and home, the family, the church, and the pub.
The Medical Mistake
Each politician has a portfolio of solutions to major problems as if he were a physician with a black bag full of pills.
The Medical Mistake Read More »
Scientism
If there is a spiritual presence in the material world, physical science will not discover it; and if we discover it, physical science will have no idea of what it means.
Scientific Determinism
Chesterton argues against the theory of scientific determinism: that a man’s life is determined for him by factors beyond his control, be they the environment, heredity, or a host of other external forces that play upon him.
Scientific Determinism Read More »
Puritanism
Puritans argue against the goodness of creation, finding the source of evil in material things of pleasure (as tobacco, alcohol, art, and so on) rather than in the disordered human will to misuse the good things nature affords us.
The Family
Liberty, Chesterton argued, is merely the right to choose between one set of limitations and another. It is limitations, he wrote, that create “all the poetry and variety of life.”
The Deadly Sins
Unlike the pleasure-seeking hedonists, Chesterton believed in the reality of sin. Unlike the prohibition-minded Puritans, he believed in enjoying God’s pleasures to the full.
The Cult of Success
Chesterton urges people to judge the world and themselves not by the way things are, but by the way they ought to be.
The Cult of Success Read More »
Consumerism
Chesterton reminds us that the end purpose of work is a product, not a wage, and that all the exchanges in which people exploit one another, both socially and financially, are also opportunities for people to dignify one another.
Chesterton’s Marriage Proposal
QUESTION: I heard a talk by Bishop Sheen quoting Chesterton’s marriage proposal. Can you tell me where I can find the original? ANSWER: He was quoting from a letter Chesterton wrote to his fiance, Frances Blogg, which is reprinted in Maisie Ward’s 1942 biography, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, “To Frances”: “When we set up a house, darling
Chesterton’s Marriage Proposal Read More »
America Is a Nation with the Soul of a Church
QUESTION: I have heard that the phrase, “America is a nation with the soul of a church,” is from Chesterton, but I can’t find the source. Can you help? ANSWER: In the first chapter of his 1922 book What I Saw in America (See The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, Vol. 21), Chesterton says that America
America Is a Nation with the Soul of a Church Read More »
Birth Control: What did GKC say about it?
QUESTION: What did Chesterton say about Birth Control? ANSWER: “What is quaintly called Birth Control… is in fact, of course, a scheme for preventing birth in order to escape control.” (“The Surrender upon Sex,” The Well and the Shallows) “Normal and real birth control is called self control.” (“Social Reform vs. Birth Control”) “Birth Control is
Birth Control: What did GKC say about it? Read More »
Life From Other Planets
QUESTION: Didn’t Chesterton say something about the possibility that life on earth came from others planets? ANSWER: Yes. He said, “Saying that life on earth came from another planet is like saying that a ghost in a graveyard must have come from some other graveyard. It doesn’t explain anything.” (Illustrated London News, May 3, 1924)
Life From Other Planets Read More »
Climb Down the Chimney
QUESTION: In the 1992 film “Peter’s Friends” one of the characters quotes Chesterton. It was something about being dropped down a chimney randomly and trying to get along with the people in the house. I have been looking for the correct wording and the source of this quotation. Can you help? ANSWER: “The best way that
Climb Down the Chimney Read More »
Heaven is a Playground
QUESTION: I saw a movie about basketball called “Heaven is a playground” and the line is supposed to be from Chesterton. Where’s it from? ANSWER: It’s from the essay “Oxford from Without” in the 1908 book, All Things Considered. Chesterton writes, “It might reasonably be maintained that the true object of all human life is play.
Heaven is a Playground Read More »
For All Their Wars Are Merry
QUESTION: We’d like to know which poem contains lines about the Irish and “their wars are all (merry?) and their songs are sad.” ANSWER: It’s from Chesterton’s epic poem, “The Ballad of the White Horse”: For the Great Gaels of Ireland Are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are merry And all their songs
For All Their Wars Are Merry Read More »
Taking a Fence Down
QUESTION: I remember reading somewhere that John F. Kennedy quoted Chesterton as saying something about not taking a fence down until you know the reason why it was put it up. I think the idea was if someone says they don’t understand why something is the way it is and wants to destroy or change it,
Taking a Fence Down Read More »
Where Are the Chesterton Papers?
QUESTION: After more than 50 years in a cottage attic, the Chesterton archive found a permanent home in 1990. Where is the archive housed and what is its history? ANSWER: We were wondering why this question was so frequently asked and in almost the same wording every time. Then we discovered that it is an exercise
Where Are the Chesterton Papers? Read More »
An Open Mind
QUESTION: Didn’t Chesterton compare an open mind with an open mouth? ANSWER: Indeed, he did. But only twice. “An open mind is really a mark of foolishness, like an open mouth. Mouths and minds were made to shut; they were made to open only in order to shut.” (Illustrated London News. October 10, 1908) “The object
What’s Wrong with the World?
QUESTION: Is it true that The Times once sent out an inquiry to famous authors, asking the question, “What’s wrong with the world today?” and Chesterton responded simply, “Dear Sir, I am. Yours, G.K. Chesterton.” ANSWER: This story has been repeated so often about Chesterton that we suspect it is true. Also, it seems it is
What’s Wrong with the World? Read More »
Origin of 3 Acres and a Cow
QUESTION: Could you let me know the origin of Chesterton’s famous “3 acres and a cow” slogan, please? ANSWER: The slogan “three acres and a cow” dates back to the 1880s and was usually associated with Jesse Collings, a Devonshire MP and radical agrarian who promoted small holdings and land allocations. Collings became known derisively as
Origin of 3 Acres and a Cow Read More »
Other Quotations
Quotations which might seem to be from Chesterton, but aren’t: If a man is not a socialist by the time he’s 20, he has no heart. If he’s still a socialist when he’s 40, he has no mind. It’s not from Chesterton. It’s not from Churchill. It’s not from Wendell Wilkie. But we don’t know
Clarence Darrow Debate
QUESTION: I understand that at some time around 1930 G.K. debated Clarence Darrow in New York City and did quite well. Where is this reported at any length? Is a transcript available? What else is known of this debate? How can I find more information about it? Thank You for your response. ANSWER: In January of 1931,
Clarence Darrow Debate Read More »
Chesterton on Self Defense
QUESTION: A child’s instinct is almost perfect in the matter of fighting. The child’s hero is always the man or boy who suddenly and splendidly defends himself against aggression. I am a student of martial-arts and came across this excellent quotation that gets to the heart of the ethics of self-defense. I would appreciate it
Chesterton on Self Defense Read More »
Chesterton on Homeschooling
QUESTION: I would like to use the following Chesterton quote in a book I am co-writing on Catholic Home Education. However I cannot find the original source. I would greatly appreciate any help that you could give me. To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labors, and holidays; to be Whitely within
Chesterton on Homeschooling Read More »
Riddle of the Earth
QUESTION: I would really appreciate any information you can offer with regard to my search for details on the following G.K. Chesterton quote which begins: We all feel the riddle of the earth without anyone to point it out. The mystery of life is the plainest part of it. The above was quoted in a book
Riddle of the Earth Read More »
Tolerance Is the Attitude of Those Who Do Not Believe in Anything
QUESTION: In his book, The True and Only Heaven: Progress and its Critics, Christopher Lasch writes: Niebuhr endorsed G.K.Chesterton’s observation that tolerance is the attitude of those who do not believe in anything. Could you reconstruct the original quote? ANSWER: Lasch was using the word “tolerance” for what Chesterton generally termed “impartiality.” Chesterton deplored impartiality, which he
Tolerance Is the Attitude of Those Who Do Not Believe in Anything Read More »
You Get the Small Laws
QUESTION: In the Tuesday, August 6, 1997 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle I read the following letter to the editor in regard to a recent demonstration calling itself Critical Mass which became a disturbance of the peace by a few thousand bicyclists in downtown San Francisco. It seems they wanted bike lanes and perhaps desired
You Get the Small Laws Read More »
Some Things Are Too Big to Be Seen
QUESTION: Over recent months I have seen, in four separate and unrelated journals, Chesterton’s “Some things are too big to be seen.” Did he say it? Do you know where he said it? ANSWER: This is a paradox Chesterton returned to a number of times: “Men can always be blind to a thing so long as
Some Things Are Too Big to Be Seen Read More »
My Country Right or Wrong
QUESTION: I am looking for the origin of or Chesterton reference to the idea that someone saying “My Country, right or wrong,” is like saying “My mother, drunk or sober.” ANSWER: The line is from Chesterton’s first book of essays, The Defendant (1901) from the chapter, “A Defence of Patriotism”: “‘My country, right or wrong,’ is
My Country Right or Wrong Read More »
Tradition Is the Democracy of the Dead
QUESTION: I’ve heard this line quoted: “Tradition is the democracy of the dead. It means giving a vote to the most obscure of all classes: our ancestors.” It’s a great line. Where does it come from? ANSWER: It comes from Chesterton’s book, Orthodoxy, Chapter 4, “The Ethics of Elfland.” And the line is usually quoted backwards,
Tradition Is the Democracy of the Dead Read More »
The Christian Ideal
QUESTION: Where did Chesterton say, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”? ANSWER: The line comes from Chesterton’s must-read book, What’s Wrong with the World, which we never get tired of saying, seems like it was written ten minutes ago. The line comes from Part
The Christian Ideal Read More »
A Thing Worth Doing
QUESTION: I keep hearing people quote Chesterton as saying, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” Where did he say that? And what on earth did he mean by it? ANSWER: To answer your first question first, he said it in his wonderful and timely book, What’s Wrong with the World, which
A Thing Worth Doing Read More »
When Man Ceases to Worship God
QUESTION When Man ceases to worship God he does not worship nothing but worships everything. What is the correct quote and where does it come from? ANSWER: This maxim may be the single most quoted line from Chesterton’s prolific pen. It has also been the source of a protracted search by curious fans of Chesterton
When Man Ceases to Worship God Read More »
Angels Fly
QUESTION: Was it Chesterton who said, “Angels fly because they take themselves lightly”? ANSWER: A resounding Yes! The line, which has shown up on posters, cards, needlepoints, and calendars everywhere, actually reads “Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.” It comes from the chapter entitled “The Eternal Revolution,” in Chesterton’s great book, Orthodoxy.
Who Was Father Brown Modeled After?
QUESTION: I am trying to find out if Father Brown was partially modeled after a real priest and, if so, who? ANSWER: Chesterton’s idea for a detective character along the lines of Father Brown had been fermenting for a period of years before the first Father Brown story published in 1910. He was a voracious, life-long reader
Who Was Father Brown Modeled After? Read More »
Lecture 86: The Apostle and the Wild Ducks
A Collection of Essays from Various Sources
Lecture 86: The Apostle and the Wild Ducks Read More »
Lecture 85: Chesterton on Shakespeare
Chesterton’s Writings on the Bard
Lecture 85: Chesterton on Shakespeare Read More »