chesterton

gilbert keith chesterton lived 1874-1936. he was an englishman and a brilliant wordsmith. he wrote for several british publications for many years, and wrote several novels, of which i have only read 'the man who was tuesday'. but even at that, he is still one of my absolute favorite authors, up there with lewis, austen and macdonald.

when i read anything of his, weather a novel or just a quote, i always have the impression that both he and i know his depth of understanding is far superior to mine, and he's telling the tale almost as a grandfather would to a small child. not in condescension, but with the explanation necessary for my little brain to wrap around it. his wit, humor and imagination never cease to amaze me.

here are some of his quotes...

A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.
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A room without books is like a body without a soul.
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There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and the tired man who wants a book to read.
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Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.
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Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere.
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Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.
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I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean.
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I say that a man must be certain of his morality for the simple reason that he has to suffer for it.
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It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.
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To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.
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But a somewhat more liberal and sympathetic examination of mankind will convince us that the cross is even older than the gibbet, that voluntary suffering was before and independent of compulsory; and in short that in most important matters a man has always been free to ruin himself if he chose.
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If there were no God, there would be no Atheists.
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The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.
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The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.