Platitudes Undone: A Facsimile Edition of Holbrook Jackson's "Platitudes in the Making" with Original Handwritten Responses by G.K. Chesterton

by G.K. Chesterton, Holbrook Jackson

In 1955, in a used bookstore in San Francisco, Dr. Alfred Kessler, an avid collector of the works of G. K. Chesterton, uncovered a rare treasure - Chesterton's personal copy of a privately published edition of Holbrook Jackson's Platitudes in the Making (1911), with original responses by Chesterton written in green pencil between the lines of Jackson's book. Since 1911, this hitherto unknown Chesterton "book within a book" has been seen only by a privileged few. Now, Ignatius Press is pleased to present this beautiful facsimile edition in which admirers of Chesterton everywhere will have the opportunity for an extraordinary glimpse of the remarkable wisdom and humor of this literary giant "at play."

Genres: Humor, Philosophy, Literary Criticism, Nonfiction, Classics

92 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1911

About the author

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an English writer, philosopher, lay theologian, and literary and art critic.

He was educated at St. Paul’s, and went to art school at University College London. In 1900, he was asked to contribute a few magazine articles on art criticism, and went on to become one of the most prolific writers of all time. He wrote a hundred books, contributions to 200 more, hundreds of poems, including the epic Ballad of the White Horse, five plays, five novels, and some two hundred short stories, including a popular series featuring the priest-detective, Father Brown. In spite of his literary accomplishments, he considered himself primarily a journalist. He wrote over 4000 newspaper essays, including 30 years worth of weekly columns for the Illustrated London News, and 13 years of weekly columns for the Daily News. He also edited his own newspaper, G.K.’s Weekly.

Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism, history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology.

Reviews

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In 1955, in a used bookstore in San Francisco, Dr. Alfred Kessler, an avid collector of the works of G.K. Chesterton, uncovered a rare treasure-Chesterton's personal copy of a privately published edition of Holbrook Jackson's Platitudes in the Making (1911) with original responses by Chesterton written in green pencil between the lines of Jackson's book." -From the inside cover.

Those of us who know and love Chesterton for his Father Brown mysteries will enjoy his clever repartee to Jackson's assertions.

This brief book is filled with, in my opinion, extremely arrogant platitudes by Holbrook Jackson, a man I had never heard of before and probably with good reason. People like him deserve to be obsolete. Most of his "pearls" are unproveable nonsense that show a contempt for mankind while trying to appear clever.

Why read this book? Because G.K. Chesterton has written his personal responses to Jackson's platitudes which show Jackson's wisdom to be farcical while demonstrating Chesterton's authentic humor and insight.

Here are a couple of examples:

Jackson: As soon as an idea is accepted it is time to reject it.
Chesterton: No: it is time to build another idea on it. You are always rejecting: and you build nothing.

J: A lie is that which you do not believe.
C: This is a lie: so perhaps you don't believe it.

J: Familiarity breeds not contempt, but indifference.
C: Bu U (sic.) can breed surprise. Try saying "boots' ninety times

J: The god of theology: a power that creates to destroy.
C: No: that is obviously the god of modern science.

[Lancelot Schaubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious way to consider responding to philosophers — especially modern thinkers — in their own text. The best case of modern marginalia we have.

[Justine Olawsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly enjoyable little artifact of G.K. Chesterton's ways of engaging with ideas. To read it gives one the sense of being in a pub with two friends engaged in a civilized argument and one of them is a jolly genius.

It seems that at some point in 1911, literary gadfly Holbrook Jackson had privately printed a slender volume of his original one-to-three-liner observations about religion, societal norms, art, etc. He titled it Platitudes in the Making and sent copies to his circle of friends, one of whom was Gilbert Keith Chesterton. Not only did Chesterton read his friend's tedious aphorisms, he took the trouble of commenting on almost every one of them, in green pen even. It would seem, though this cannot be verified, that Jackson wrote this book for the very purpose of eliciting such a response from GKC.

Somehow, this annotated copy made its way to a used bookshop in San Francisco where, in 1955, it was discovered and rescued by Dr. Alfred Kessler. Reprinted as a facsimile edition by Ignatius Press, this sublime back-and-forth between one of the great thinkers of the 20th century and Holbrook Jackson is a must-have tour of thought for any admirer of G.K. Chesterton.

Every page is a jewel of observation. Here is a sample from Jackson's chapter on "The Inner Temple," by which he means religion:
Holbrook: No two men have exactly the same religion: a church, like society, is a compromise.
Chesterton: The same religion has the two men. The sun shines on the evil and the good. But the sun does not compromise.
Holbrook: Theology and religion are not the same thing. When the churches are controlled by the theologians, religious people stay away.
Chesterton: Theology is simply that part of religion that requires brains.
Holbrook: The object of life is life.
Chesterton: Good. Eternal life, I presume.

I received this as a Christmas present from a very dear friend who knows me well. I spent the morning after opening this gift following my husband around the house, reading him various selections, and laughing uproariously whilst slapping my knee. Such a hoot!

One last tidbit: In a section on general life advice, Holbrook writes, "Don't think—do!" to which Chesterton replies, "Do think! Do!" This little volume of Chesterton speaking across the century will make you think, even as he makes you laugh. Which is the most Chestertonian thing of all.

[mwr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top notch.

Probably worth giving to any student before a class on Nietzsche, or any in which they are going to be reading aphorisms.

[Prince Cad Ali Cad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chesterton knew Holbrook, and had even written reviews of Holbrook's work praising the man's ability. They were not ideologically aligned, as Holbrook had even written a book praising Bernard Shaw and the man's philosophy for life. But Holbrook, who must have been good humored himself, sent the good humored Chesterton a book of platitudes authored by Holbrook himself, no doubt interested in Chesterton's response and possibly attempting to provoke him in some jovial way. Whether or not Chesterton ever let Holbrook read his commentary to Holbrook's platitudes I do not know, but he ranges from agreeable (sometimes with a simple "excellent!") to witty reply undoing the platitude entirely. It's not a very long book, and Chesterton may have got through the whole thing in one go. Below are some of the platitudes and their responses:

H (Holbrook): "To drink to forget is to abuse drink."
GK: "Thoroughly sound. One should drink to remember."

H: "Friendship is the only respectable form of human intimacy."
GK: "Puritan!"

H: "Sacrifice is a form of bargaining."
GK: "And bargaining of sacrifice: but it modern commerce it is human sacrifice."

H: "He who reason is lost."
GK: "He who never reasons is not worth finding."

H: "Love is protective only when it is free."
GK: "Love is never free."

H: "The most hopeful sign of the present age is the decline of the birth rate.*
GK: "Christ! What an age!"

H: "Woman is not undeveloped man, but man is."
GK: "Witty. Five marks."

H: "Women cannot be impersonal; that is why they are irresistible -- and detestable."
GK: "Yes."

H: "The individual saves the State. Socialism invites the State to return the compliment."
GK: "But Baal has gone a hunting."

H: "Commercial profit is legalized loot."
GK: "Not always - depends on the lawyers."

H: "Only the rich preach content to the poor."
GK: "When they are not preaching socialism."

H: "The supremacy of the lawyer in politics is a menace to freedom."
GK: "Quite good."

There are some better than these shown, but length precluded their inclusion.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Chesteron… how I used to devour his writing. This is quite an interesting little tome. Chesterton's personal copy of Platitudes in the Making by Holbrook Johnson was found a few years ago, complete with green-pencilled responses to the socialist, atheistic platitudes invented by Johnson. It's Johnson's book, but G.K. dominates it! Two of my favorites:

HJ: "To drink to forget is to abuse drink."
GKC: "Thoroughly sound. One should drink to remember."

HJ: "Morality is the child of self-consciousness."
GKC: "No wonder self-consciousness is a little vain. A fine child."

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful book! It is a facsimile of a book Chesterton read (by a pundit of the time, Holbrook Jackson), and shows Chesterton's extensive comments on the "platitudes" of Jackson. Chesterton turns Jackson's wit against him and displays his own magnificent wit in the process.

[John Doman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply a must-buy. Funny and unique. Don't know why anyone would give it less than five stars. Worth the price!

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great.