If you have not read G.K. Chesterton's writing or, worse, if you have not even heard of him, you are missing out on one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. G.K. Chesterton is one of those writers that has been sadly neglected and yet was an absolute genius. Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was born in London, went to art school but not college, was asked to write a few articles on art criticism, and went on to write hundreds of books, poems, short stories, plays, and novels. He considered himself primarily a journalist with an additional four thousand newspaper essays and decades' worth of weekly newspaper columns.
Though his prolific writing alone would be staggering, the fact that all of it is good is astounding. He wasn't merely writing words but expressing thoughts that were sound and intelligent and worth every stroke of the pen. Chesterton's style is markedly recognizable: witty, paradoxical, and always consistent. He knew literary criticism as well as theology and influenced many well-known names: C.S. Lewis, Michael Collins, and Mohandas Gandhi. He debated many relativist and skeptical intellectuals of his time and usually emerged victorious, to the ironic affection of his opponents. Chesterton argued against many of modern ideas today from materialism to agnosticism and showed why both socialism and capitalism are the enemies of freedom and justice. He instead defended the common man and the poor and the family. He advocated real beauty and argued eloquently for Christianity and the Catholic Church.
Since first discovering him about three years ago, I have poured through his writings, learning, puzzling, astonishing, and, best of all, laughing. This man will make you laugh again and again and that, I think, is a real mark of a great mind.
Here are just a few of my favorite quotes to whet your appetite:
“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” -What's Wrong with the World
“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.”
“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.” -G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
Give G.K. Chesterton a try. You won't be disappointed.
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This is a post for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge, which involves writing one post every day for the entire month, using the alphabet as a theme. I hope to see you tomorrow for the letter D!
