1,399 Quotes by Gilbert K. Chesterton

It is the mark of our whole modern history that the masses are kept quiet with a fight. They are kept quiet by the fight because it is a sham-fight; thus most of us know by this time that the Party System has been popular only in the sense that a football match is popular.

A beetle may or may not be inferior to a man — the matter awaits demonstration; but if he were inferior by ten thousand fathoms, the fact remains that there is probably a beetle view of things of which a man is entirely ignorant. If he wishes to conceive that point of view, he will scarcely reach it by persistently revelling in the fact that he is not a beetle.

Gratitude, being nearly the greatest of human duties, is also nearly the most difficult.

And they that rule in England, in stately conclaves met, alas, alas for England they have no graves as yet.

The center of every man's existence is a dream.

There are no wise few. Every aristocracy that has ever existed has behaved, in all essential points, exactly like a small mob.

A nation that has nothing but its amusements will not be amused for long.

Once abolish the God and the government becomes the God.

All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change.