G. K. Chesterton

All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But read more

All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change.

The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should read more

The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul

There is a great man who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the man who read more

There is a great man who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the man who makes every man feel great.

The coziness between church and state is good for the state and bad for the church.

The coziness between church and state is good for the state and bad for the church.

We say, not lightly but very literally, that the truth has made us free. They say that it makes us read more

We say, not lightly but very literally, that the truth has made us free. They say that it makes us so free that it cannot be the truth. To them it is like believing in fairyland to believe in such freedom as we enjoy. It is like believing in men with wings to entertain the fancy of men with wills. It is like accepting a fable about a squirrel in conversation with a mountain to believe in a man who is free to ask or a God who is free to answer. This is a manly and a rational negation, for which I for one shall always show respect. But I decline to show any respect for those who first of all clip the bird and cage the squirrel, rivet the chains and refuse the freedom, close all the doors of the cosmic prison on us with a clang of eternal iron, tell us that our emancipation is a dream and our dungeon a necessity; and then calmly turn round and tell us they have a freer thought and a more liberal theology.