Orthodoxy

by G.K. Chesterton

Thoroughly worldly people never understand even the world; they rely altogether on a few cynical maxims which are not true.

Complete self-confidence is not merely a sin; complete self-confidence is a weakness.

The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone.

A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed.

For the old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will make him stop working altogether.

Well, I left the fairy tales lying on the floor of the nursery, and I have not found any books so sensible since.

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. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore. Heaven may encore the bird who laid an egg.

The more transcendental is your patriotism, the more practical are your politics.

The Christian optimism is based on the fact that we do not fit in to the world.

It is always easy to let the age have its head; the difficult thing is to keep one’s own.