G.K. Chesterton, the great writer, Christian apologist, lay theologian, literary and cultural critic, poet, and more, might be the most “quotable” writer in history. While it is difficult to narrow down a few favorites, I will begin by offering five (a very few) of my favorites:
1 – “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” – from What’s Wrong with the World
2 – “When domesticity, for instance, is called drudgery, all the difficulty arises from a double meaning in the word. If drudgery only means dreadfully hard work, I admit the woman drudges in the home, as a man might drudge at the Cathedral of Amiens or drudge behind a gun at Trafalgar. But if it means that the hard work is more heavy because it is trifling, colorless and of small import to the soul, then as I say, I give it up; I do not know what the words mean. To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labors and holidays; to be Whiteley within a certain area, providing toys, boots, sheets cakes. and books, to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it. How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.” – from What’s Wrong with the World
3 – “Always be comic in a tragedy. What the deuce else can you do?” – from The Man Who Was Thursday
4 – “Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” – from Orthodoxy
5 – “Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” – from Alarms and Discursions
So, readers, let me know what you think. Is there another more “quotable” writer than G.K. Chesterton? What are some of your favorite “Chestertonisms”?
