FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THE CATECHISM OF HOCKEY | A SURPRISING ANALOGY OF FAITH “As a bishop and a hockey player, I am grateful for this contribution which I pray will be an effective tool in helping people to grow in a deeper appreciation for the Catholic faith by viewing it through the lens of the […]
ACS Books Launches “The Catechism of Hockey” Read More »
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ‘Suitable Cleric’ Appointed to Investigate G.K. Chesterton’s Cause for Canonization Minneapolis, Minnesota (September 21, 2013). The Diocese of Northampton issued the following statement about the investigation into G.K. Chesterton’s Cause for Canonization: The Diocese of Northampton has taken the first steps to opening the Cause of G.K. Chesterton. In a
‘Suitable Cleric’ Appointed to Investigate G.K. Chesterton’s Cause for Canonization Read More »
Contact: Richard Aleman, Executive Director Phone: 516-508-1871 | E-Mail: [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bishop of Northampton, England, to Appoint Cleric for Investigation of G.K. Chesterton’s Cause for Canonization WORCESTER, Massachusetts (August 1, 2013) – In his opening address at the 32nd Annual Chesterton Conference held at Assumption College, Dale Ahlquist, President of the American Chesterton
QUESTION: I heard a talk by Bishop Sheen quoting Chesterton’s marriage proposal. Can you tell me where I can find the original? ANSWER: He was quoting from a letter Chesterton wrote to his fiance, Frances Blogg, which is reprinted in Maisie Ward’s 1942 biography, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, “To Frances”: “When we set up a house, darling
Chesterton’s Marriage Proposal Read More »
QUESTION: I have heard that the phrase, “America is a nation with the soul of a church,” is from Chesterton, but I can’t find the source. Can you help? ANSWER: In the first chapter of his 1922 book What I Saw in America (See The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, Vol. 21), Chesterton says that America
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QUESTION: What did Chesterton say about Birth Control? ANSWER: “What is quaintly called Birth Control… is in fact, of course, a scheme for preventing birth in order to escape control.” (“The Surrender upon Sex,” The Well and the Shallows) “Normal and real birth control is called self control.” (“Social Reform vs. Birth Control”) “Birth Control is
Birth Control: What did GKC say about it? Read More »
QUESTION: Didn’t Chesterton say something about the possibility that life on earth came from others planets? ANSWER: Yes. He said, “Saying that life on earth came from another planet is like saying that a ghost in a graveyard must have come from some other graveyard. It doesn’t explain anything.” (Illustrated London News, May 3, 1924)
Life From Other Planets Read More »
QUESTION: In the 1992 film “Peter’s Friends” one of the characters quotes Chesterton. It was something about being dropped down a chimney randomly and trying to get along with the people in the house. I have been looking for the correct wording and the source of this quotation. Can you help? ANSWER: “The best way that
Climb Down the Chimney Read More »
QUESTION: I saw a movie about basketball called “Heaven is a playground” and the line is supposed to be from Chesterton. Where’s it from? ANSWER: It’s from the essay “Oxford from Without” in the 1908 book, All Things Considered. Chesterton writes, “It might reasonably be maintained that the true object of all human life is play.
Heaven is a Playground Read More »
QUESTION: We’d like to know which poem contains lines about the Irish and “their wars are all (merry?) and their songs are sad.” ANSWER: It’s from Chesterton’s epic poem, “The Ballad of the White Horse”: For the Great Gaels of Ireland Are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are merry And all their songs
For All Their Wars Are Merry Read More »
QUESTION: I remember reading somewhere that John F. Kennedy quoted Chesterton as saying something about not taking a fence down until you know the reason why it was put it up. I think the idea was if someone says they don’t understand why something is the way it is and wants to destroy or change it,
Taking a Fence Down Read More »
QUESTION: After more than 50 years in a cottage attic, the Chesterton archive found a permanent home in 1990. Where is the archive housed and what is its history? ANSWER: We were wondering why this question was so frequently asked and in almost the same wording every time. Then we discovered that it is an exercise
Where Are the Chesterton Papers? Read More »
QUESTION: Didn’t Chesterton compare an open mind with an open mouth? ANSWER: Indeed, he did. But only twice. “An open mind is really a mark of foolishness, like an open mouth. Mouths and minds were made to shut; they were made to open only in order to shut.” (Illustrated London News. October 10, 1908) “The object
QUESTION: Is it true that The Times once sent out an inquiry to famous authors, asking the question, “What’s wrong with the world today?” and Chesterton responded simply, “Dear Sir, I am. Yours, G.K. Chesterton.” ANSWER: This story has been repeated so often about Chesterton that we suspect it is true. Also, it seems it is
What’s Wrong with the World? Read More »
QUESTION: Could you let me know the origin of Chesterton’s famous “3 acres and a cow” slogan, please? ANSWER: The slogan “three acres and a cow” dates back to the 1880s and was usually associated with Jesse Collings, a Devonshire MP and radical agrarian who promoted small holdings and land allocations. Collings became known derisively as
Origin of 3 Acres and a Cow Read More »
Quotations which might seem to be from Chesterton, but aren’t: If a man is not a socialist by the time he’s 20, he has no heart. If he’s still a socialist when he’s 40, he has no mind. It’s not from Chesterton. It’s not from Churchill. It’s not from Wendell Wilkie. But we don’t know
QUESTION: I understand that at some time around 1930 G.K. debated Clarence Darrow in New York City and did quite well. Where is this reported at any length? Is a transcript available? What else is known of this debate? How can I find more information about it? Thank You for your response. ANSWER: In January of 1931,
Clarence Darrow Debate Read More »
QUESTION: A child’s instinct is almost perfect in the matter of fighting. The child’s hero is always the man or boy who suddenly and splendidly defends himself against aggression. I am a student of martial-arts and came across this excellent quotation that gets to the heart of the ethics of self-defense. I would appreciate it
Chesterton on Self Defense Read More »
QUESTION: I would like to use the following Chesterton quote in a book I am co-writing on Catholic Home Education. However I cannot find the original source. I would greatly appreciate any help that you could give me. To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labors, and holidays; to be Whitely within
Chesterton on Homeschooling Read More »
QUESTION: I would really appreciate any information you can offer with regard to my search for details on the following G.K. Chesterton quote which begins: We all feel the riddle of the earth without anyone to point it out. The mystery of life is the plainest part of it. The above was quoted in a book
Riddle of the Earth Read More »
QUESTION: In his book, The True and Only Heaven: Progress and its Critics, Christopher Lasch writes: Niebuhr endorsed G.K.Chesterton’s observation that tolerance is the attitude of those who do not believe in anything. Could you reconstruct the original quote? ANSWER: Lasch was using the word “tolerance” for what Chesterton generally termed “impartiality.” Chesterton deplored impartiality, which he
Tolerance Is the Attitude of Those Who Do Not Believe in Anything Read More »
QUESTION: In the Tuesday, August 6, 1997 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle I read the following letter to the editor in regard to a recent demonstration calling itself Critical Mass which became a disturbance of the peace by a few thousand bicyclists in downtown San Francisco. It seems they wanted bike lanes and perhaps desired
You Get the Small Laws Read More »
QUESTION: Over recent months I have seen, in four separate and unrelated journals, Chesterton’s “Some things are too big to be seen.” Did he say it? Do you know where he said it? ANSWER: This is a paradox Chesterton returned to a number of times: “Men can always be blind to a thing so long as
Some Things Are Too Big to Be Seen Read More »
QUESTION: I am looking for the origin of or Chesterton reference to the idea that someone saying “My Country, right or wrong,” is like saying “My mother, drunk or sober.” ANSWER: The line is from Chesterton’s first book of essays, The Defendant (1901) from the chapter, “A Defence of Patriotism”: “‘My country, right or wrong,’ is
My Country Right or Wrong Read More »
QUESTION: I’ve heard this line quoted: “Tradition is the democracy of the dead. It means giving a vote to the most obscure of all classes: our ancestors.” It’s a great line. Where does it come from? ANSWER: It comes from Chesterton’s book, Orthodoxy, Chapter 4, “The Ethics of Elfland.” And the line is usually quoted backwards,
Tradition Is the Democracy of the Dead Read More »
QUESTION: Where did Chesterton say, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”? ANSWER: The line comes from Chesterton’s must-read book, What’s Wrong with the World, which we never get tired of saying, seems like it was written ten minutes ago. The line comes from Part
The Christian Ideal Read More »
QUESTION: I keep hearing people quote Chesterton as saying, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” Where did he say that? And what on earth did he mean by it? ANSWER: To answer your first question first, he said it in his wonderful and timely book, What’s Wrong with the World, which
A Thing Worth Doing Read More »
QUESTION When Man ceases to worship God he does not worship nothing but worships everything. What is the correct quote and where does it come from? ANSWER: This maxim may be the single most quoted line from Chesterton’s prolific pen. It has also been the source of a protracted search by curious fans of Chesterton
When Man Ceases to Worship God Read More »
QUESTION: Was it Chesterton who said, “Angels fly because they take themselves lightly”? ANSWER: A resounding Yes! The line, which has shown up on posters, cards, needlepoints, and calendars everywhere, actually reads “Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.” It comes from the chapter entitled “The Eternal Revolution,” in Chesterton’s great book, Orthodoxy.
QUESTION: I am trying to find out if Father Brown was partially modeled after a real priest and, if so, who? ANSWER: Chesterton’s idea for a detective character along the lines of Father Brown had been fermenting for a period of years before the first Father Brown story published in 1910. He was a voracious, life-long reader
Who Was Father Brown Modeled After? Read More »
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THE HOUND OF DISTRIBUTISM: A Solution for Our Social and Economic Crisis MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (March 27, 2012) – ACS Books announced today the release of its groundbreaking book on Distributism, the thought provoking idea that what is good for politics and business is not always good for society, but what is good for the family
ACS Books Launches “The Hound of Distributism” Read More »
Chesterton deals lightly with his own depression, helping us deal with ours
A Ballade of Suicide Read More »
Some of the most celebrated and notorious G.K. Chesterton quotations. Share them. All of them. Topics Timeless Truths Free Advice The Cult of Progress War and Politics Government and Politics Society and Culture Love, Marriage, and the Sexes Religion and Faith Christmas Morality and Truth Economic Theory and Distributism Art and Literature Past Words on
Quotations of G. K. Chesterton Read More »
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