Wednesday, September 2, 2009

on G.K. Chesterton


In the last few days I have stumbled upon more than one quote by G.K. Chesterton…


Gilbert Keith Chesterton, possibly one of the most influential English writers of the 20th century. “Prince of paradox” he’s been called, according to Wikipedia, he wrote around 80 books, several hundred poems, around 200 short stories, 4000 essays, and several plays. Wow. He was one busy man.

Here is what I read on my friend Marisa’s blog - {Marisa Writes} - a few days ago:


“It is easy to be heavy, hard to be light.”


Then the next day I read this online somewhere:


“There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”


So, last night, I did a search for more by G.K. Chesterton, here is what I found:


“The simplification of anything is always sensational.”


“The rich are the scum of the earth in every country.”


To me, all of these quotes go together quite seamlessly. All speak of simplicity and the simple idea that wealth is not found in the abundance of things.


I asked Curtis if he’d ever read any G.K. Chesterton and he proudly responded, “I think I have one of his books.”


So he went to look and I continued by online reading. A few minutes later, he descended the stairs with a little orange paperback entitled, Orthodoxy. Not quite what I was expecting. I read the first few paragraphs of the tiny writing and was confused. There must be hidden gems inside these tiny pages, I thought to myself as I carried the book to my nightstand last night. We will see, it just might take a while.


I will leave you with this quote, not from G.K. Chesterton, but by Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States. He wrote:


“There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no one independence quite so important as living within your means.”

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