"Modern man cannot even keep his eyes open"

"THERE is a sense in which men may be made normally happy; but there is another sense in which we may truly say, without undue paradox, that what they want is to get back to their normal unhappiness. At present they are suffering from an utterly abnormal unhappiness. They have got all the tragic elements essential to the human lot to contend with; time and death and bereavement and unrequited affection and dissatisfaction with themselves. But they have not got the elements of consolation and encouragement that ought normally to renew their hopes or restore their self-respect. They have not got vision or conviction, or the mastery of their work, or the loyalty of their household, or any form of human dignity. Even the latest Utopians, the last lingering representatives of that fated and unfortunate race, do not really promise the modern man that he shall do anything, or own anything, or in any effectual fashion be anything. They only promise that, if he keeps his eyes open, he will see something; he will see the Universal Trust or the World State or Lord Melchett coming in the clouds in glory. But the modern man cannot even keep his eyes open. He is too weary with toil and a long succession of unsuccessful Utopias. He has fallen asleep."

 ~G.K. Chesterton: G.K.'s Weekly, Oct. 20, 1928. (Quoted in Gilbert Keith Chesterton, the definitive biography by Maisie Ward)

"Imperialism"

"I recently received a pamphlet from an honest Indian gentleman who has a new religion that will establish universal peace. I confess that the impression produced on my mind by the excellent Hindu humanitarian was that he might very well unite all human beings, if only all human beings were Hindus. But I hasten to add that this humanitarian illusion is very far from being confined to Hindus. It seems to me that exactly the same error is made by the most energetic and scientific humanitarians of the West—as by Mr. Wells and the upholders of a World State. What is the matter with internationalism is that it is imperialism. It is the imposition of one ideal of one sect on the vital varieties of men."

~G.K. Chesterton: Illustrated London News, June 17, 1922.

"The average autochthonous Irishman"

"THE average autochthonous Irishman is close to patriotism because he is close to the earth; he is close to domesticity because he is close to the earth; he is close to doctrinal theology and elaborate ritual because he is close to the earth. In short, he is close to the heavens because he is close to the earth."

~G.K. Chesterton: George Bernard Shaw.

Joseph

If the stars fell; night's nameless dreams
Of bliss and blasphemy came true,
If skies were green and snow were gold,
And you loved me as I love you;

O long light hands and curled brown hair,
And eyes where sits a naked soul;
Dare I even then draw near and burn
My fingers in the aureole?

Yes, in the one wise foolish hour
God gives this strange strength to a man.
He can demand, though not deserve,
Where ask he cannot, seize he can.

But once the blood's wild wedding o'er,
Were not dread his, half dark desire,
To see the Christ-child in the cot,
The Virgin Mary by the fire?

~G.K. Chesterton

St. Joseph with the child Jesus, by Guido Reni.
Oil on canvas, c. 1635; The Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

"The desire to know what is"

"THE present importance of the Book of Job cannot be expressed adequately even by saying that it is the most interesting of ancient books. We may almost say of the Book of Job that it is the most interesting of modern books. In truth, of course, neither of the two phrases covers the matter, because fundamental human religion and fundamental human irreligion are both at once old and new; philosophy is either eternal or it is not philosophy. The modern habit of saying, "This is my opinion, but I may be wrong," is entirely irrational. If I say that it may be wrong I say that is not my opinion. The modern habit of saying "Every man has a different philosophy; this is my philosophy and its suits me"; the habit of saying this is mere weak-mindedness. A cosmic philosophy is not constructed to fit a man; a cosmic philosophy is constructed to fit a cosmos. A man can no more possess a private religion than he can possess a private sun and moon. The first of the intellectual beauties of the Book of Job is that it is all concerned with this desire to know the actuality; the desire to know what is, and not merely what seems."

~G.K. Chesterton: Introduction to The Book of Job.

When the Morning Stars Sang Together,
by William Blake (from the Butts set).
Pen and black ink, gray wash, and watercolour,
over traces of graphite; June 1805.

"Scoundrels"

“IT'S not that we don’t have enough scoundrels to curse; it’s that we don’t have enough good men to curse them.”

~G.K. Chesterton: Illustrated London News, March 14, 1908.

"Man is an exception"

"MAN is an exception, whatever else he is. If he is not the image of God, then he is a disease of the dust. If it is not true that a divine being fell, then we can only say that one of the animals went entirely off its head."

 ~G.K. Chesterton: All Things Considered.