Gilbert K. Chesterton Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Gilbert K. Chesterton quotes, Gilbert K. Chesterton sayings, and Gilbert K. Chesterton proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

To say that a man is an idealist is merely to say that he is a man. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Monotony has nothing to do with a place; monotony, either in its sensation or its infliction, is simply the quality of a person. There are no dreary sights; there are only dreary sight seers. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Progress is a comparative of which we have not settled the superlative. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Instead of the machine being a giant to which the man is the pygmy, we must at last reverse the proportions until man is a giant to whom the machine is the toy. Gilbert K. Chesterton
A dying monarchy is always one that has too much power, not too little; a dying religion always interferes more than it ought, not less. Gilbert K. Chesterton
The right kind of monarchy is one where everybody goes about with the permanent conviction that the king can do no wrong. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Classic literature is still something that hangs in the air like a song. Gilbert K. Chesterton
The true savage is a slave, and is always talking about what he must do; the true civilised man is a free man, and is always talking about what he may do. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Thanks are the highest form of thought. Gilbert K. Chesterton
You cannot grow a beard in a moment of passion. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf; is better than a whole loaf. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Pride juggles with her toppling towers, They strike the sun and cease, But the firm feet of humility They grip the ground like trees. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Only man can be absurd: for only man can be dignified. Gilbert K. Chesterton
The academic mind reflects infinity, and is full of light by the simple process of being shallow and standing still. Gilbert K. Chesterton
When men have come to the edge of a precipice, it is the lover of life who has the spirit to leap backwards, and only the pessimist who continues to believe in progress. Gilbert K. Chesterton
The humorous look of children is perhaps the most endearing of all the bonds that hold the Cosmos together. Gilbert K. Chesterton
When we really worship anything, we love not only its clearness but its obscurity. We exult in its very invisibility. Gilbert K. Chesterton
The cross cannot be defeated for it is defeat. Gilbert K. Chesterton
This is, first and last, the real value of Christmas; in so far as the mythology remains at all it is a kind of happy mythology. Personally, of course, I believe in Santa Claus; but it is the season of forgiveness, and I will forgive others for not doing so. Gilbert K. Chesterton
All but the hard hearted man must be torn with pity for this pathetic dilemma of the rich man, who has to keep the poor man just stout enough to do the work and just thin enough to have to do it. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel. Gilbert K. Chesterton
The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Man does not live by soap alone; and hygiene, or even health, is not much good unless you can take a healthy view of it or, better still, feel a healthy indifference to it. Gilbert K. Chesterton
One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak. Gilbert K. Chesterton
One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak. Gilbert K. Chesterton
One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak. Gilbert K. Chesterton
Let a man walk ten miles steadily on a hot summer's day along a dusty English road, and he will soon discover why beer was invented. Gilbert K. Chesterton
The Museum is not meant either for the wanderer to see by accident or for the pilgrim to see with awe. It is meant for the mere slave of a routine of self- education to stuff himself with every sort of incongruous intellectual food in one indigestible meal. Gilbert K. Chesterton