G. K. Chesterton, a CriticismCecil Edward Chesterton was the brother of G.K. Chesterton, a journalist and political commentator throughout his short life of only 39 years. His biography of his better-known brother was first published anonymously, but it did not take long to discover the real author. |
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Adam Wayne admirable artistic believe Belloc Bernard Shaw Blatchford Browning called Celt chapter character Chester Christian controversy criticism Daily Deadshot Defendant democracy detective story Dickens dirtiest old discussing dislikes doctrine dogma epigram essay evil expressed eyes fact faith fight force French Revolution G. K. Chesterton GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON halberd Heretics Hill human humour Ibsen idea ideal imagine Imperialism Imperialist influence instance journalistic King Auberon Kipling Liberal literary Martin Chuzzlewit ment modern world mysticism Napoleon never novels opinions paradoxical passage patriotism Penny Dreadfuls perhaps philosophy poem poetry poets political preached property is theft pugnacity Revolution romantic Rudyard Kipling Santayana seems sense serious Socialist South African War spirit story-teller strong sword Syme theory thing thought Thursday tion Tory true Twelve Types verse W. B. Yeats Watts West Kensington Whitman whole wholly Wild Knight writing written wrote
Popular passages
Page 112 - Take no thought what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed. For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Page 59 - And I dream of the days when work was scrappy, And rare in our pockets the mark of the mint, When we were angry and poor and happy, And proud of seeing our names in print. For so they conquered and so we scattered, When the Devil rode and his dogs smelt gold, And the peace of a harmless folk was shattered ; When I was twenty and odd years old. When...
Page 31 - ECCLESIASTES THERE is one sin : to call a green leaf grey, Whereat the sun in heaven shuddereth. There is one blasphemy : for death to pray, For God alone knoweth the praise of death. There is one creed : 'neath no world-terror's wing Apples forget to grow on apple-trees. There is one thing is needful — everything — The rest is vanity of vanities.
Page 123 - Why does a dandelion have to fight the whole universe? For the same reason that I had to be alone in the dreadful Council of the Days. So that each thing that obeys law may have the glory and isolation of the anarchist. So that each man fighting for order may be as brave and good a man as the dynamiter. So that the real lie of Satan may be flung back in the face of this blasphemer, so that by tears and torture we may earn the right to say to this man, 'You lie! ' No agonies can be too great to buy...
Page 99 - Suppose that a great commotion arises in the street about something, let us say a lamp-post, which many influential persons desire to pull down. A grey-clad monk, who is the spirit of the Middle Ages, is approached upon the matter, and begins to say, in the arid manner of the Schoolmen, ' Let us first of all consider, my brethren, the value of Light. If light be in itself good ' At this point he is somewhat excusably knocked down. All the people make a rush for the lamp-post, the lamp-post is down...
Page 200 - ... be we shall rise the last as Frenchmen rose the first, Our wrath come after Russia's wrath and our wrath be the worst. It may be we are meant to mark with our riot and our rest God's scorn for all men governing. It may be beer is best. But we are the people of England ; and we have not spoken yet.
Page 101 - ... efficient, notover-sympathetic men, and without the harsh processes of discipline by which this legion is made. It is a brutal truth that unless a great many people practised the Kipling ethos there would be neither security nor leisure for any people to practise a finer ethos. As Chesterton admits, ' We may fling ourselves into a hammock in a fit of divine carelessness ; but we are glad that the maker did not make the hammock in a fit of divine carelessness.
Page 89 - I believe the above statement (answer 2) and a large number of other mystical dogmas, ranging from the mystical dogma that man is the image of God to the mystical dogma that all men are equal and that babies should not be strangled." "Why do you believe it?" Gilbert: "Because I perceive life to be logical and workable with these beliefs and illogical and unworkable without them.
Page 176 - Every detail points to something, certainly; but generally to the wrong thing. Facts point in all directions, it seems to me, like the thousands of twigs on a tree.
Page 99 - ... practicality. But as things go on they do not work out so easily. Some people have pulled the lamp-post down because they wanted the electric light; some because they wanted old iron; some because they wanted darkness, because their deeds were evil. Some thought it not enough of a lamp-post, some too much; some acted because they wanted to smash municipal machinery; some because they wanted to smash something. And there is war in the night, no man knowing whom he strikes. So, gradually and inevitably,...