Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Very few people in the world would care to listen to the real defense of their own characters. The real read more

Very few people in the world would care to listen to the real defense of their own characters. The real defense, the defense which belongs to the Day of Judgment, would make such damaging admissions, would clear away so many artificial virtues, would tell such tragedies of weakness and failure, that a man would sooner be misunderstood and censured by the world than exposed to that awful and merciless eulogy.

I realized that ritual will always mean throwing away something;
Destroying our corn or wine upon the altar of read more

I realized that ritual will always mean throwing away something;
Destroying our corn or wine upon the altar of our gods.

The object of opening the mind as of opening the mouth is to close it again on something solid.

The object of opening the mind as of opening the mouth is to close it again on something solid.

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, read more

The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up. And one of the games to which it is most attached is called, ''Keep tomorrow dark,'' and which is also named (by the rustics in Shropshire, I have no doubt) ''Cheat the Prophet.'' The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men have to say about what is to happen in the next generation. The players then wait until all the clever men are dead, and bury them nicely. Then they go and do something else. That is all. For a race of simple tastes, however, it is great fun.

You can never have a revolution in order to establish a
democracy. You must have a democracy in order read more

You can never have a revolution in order to establish a
democracy. You must have a democracy in order to have a
revolution.