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Thursday, August 5, 2010

Chesterton Conference Starts Today

I'm an aspiring Chestertonian. I say "aspiring" because the only things I've read are a book of essays, portions of Orthodoxy, and the Fr. Brown stories. So I'm just a baby when it comes to plumbing the depths of Chesterton's thinking. The conference, which is being held at Mount St. Mary's in Emmitsburg, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Chesterton's short work, What's Wrong with the World. I'm reading it to get ready and have already found the source of one of my favorite Chesterton quotes:
Christian ideals have not been tried and found wanting; they've been found difficult and left untried.
My brother tells me that another favorite quote of mine is also from this book:
Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.
I'm on the lookout for it. It's not in the first third of the book, but I've checked quite a few passages along the way that may become new favorites.

One thing about Chesterton is that he's ever fresh. He wrote about unchanging truths which makes much of his work as relevant today as it was in the early years of the 20th century when he wrote it.

Do you have a favorite Chesterton quote? If you aren't familiar with his amazing wit you can check out some Chesteronian witticisms here. Visit The American Chesterton Society for more information on this amazing Catholic witness. (By the way, Chesterton was a convert.)

2 comments:

  1. I'm a great fan of Chesterton and have been for many many years. When I was in a state of confusion in my late teens and early twenties, it was Chesterton (and Lewis) who showed me that what I was taught in simple form as a child was complex and reasonable enough to be believed by an adult.

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  2. Mary Ann,

    Chesterton said, "...if a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly" in his book "What's Wrong with the World."

    I, too, am becoming a Chestertonian - thanks to Dale Ahlquist and his books on Chesterton (not to mention his show on EWTN on Sunday nights).

    In Mr. Ahlquist's book - "The Apostle of Common Sense" - there are hundreds of quotes by Chesterton.

    I have underlined so many quotes (not to mention Mr. Ahlquist as well) and made *many* notes in the book - I may have to go get a new one!

    Favorite quote (on relatvists and secularists):

    "No skeptic (relativist) who believes that truth is subjective has any hesitation about treating it as objective."

    Absolutely, G.K., absolutely.

    Catechist, Kevin Lents

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