Reflecting on Words: More on Chesterton

For the past few days, I've immersed myself in Gilbert Magazine, the bi-monthly publication of the American Chesterton Society, which means I've been thinking about words. I doubt Chesterton ever made a statement or used a word without having a clear thought behind it. Woe is me, I cannot claim the same thing. I often make silly or stupid statements when my mouth is running before my brain is in gear. But there is a cure for that: READ MORE CHESTERTON. And then reflect on it.

Today, after reading Fr. James Schall's essay in the Nov/Dec issue (alas, I'm way behind as usual), I was intrigued enough to look up Chesterton's essay, The Silliness of Educated People. What a gem! His analysis of the statement of a British M.P. is hilarious:

Now and then one gets a sentence of monstrous and entangled unintelligence; and it is remarkable to observe that it is almost always quoted from some person of social importance -- a man in what is called a good position; a man with letters after his name. In this case the man was a Member of Parliament; and the words that came forth from him were these: "Any law which enables a man to resist temptation by preventing him from doing wrong, is a good law."