G.K. Chesterton Quotes from One of the Greatest Writers of His Time

These G.K. Chesterton quotes show why he was known by some as being the greatest writer of the 20th century.

There is a lot to be said about G.K. Chesterton.

In the simplest explanation, he was a writer.

However, when you dive into who he really was and the accomplishments of his work, you quickly discover that G.K. Chesterton’s work made a big impact on people.

Chesterton wrote thousands of articles, hundreds of short stories and poems, plays, and even 80 books.

His work is credited for helping C.S. Lewis become a Christian and for inspiring Michael Collins to work for Irish Independence.

Enjoy some of the words of one of the most impactful writers of the 20th century.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.

Our inspirational quote category page has even more inspirational and educational quotes.

Inspirational G.K. Chesterson quotes

1. “The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.” – G.K. Chesterson

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2. “There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.” – G.K. Chesterson

3. “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” – G.K. Chesterson

4. “An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.” – G.K. Chesterson

5. “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” – G.K. Chesterson

6. “To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.” – G.K. Chesterson

7. “The simplification of anything is always sensational.” – G.K. Chesterson

8. “The man of the true religious tradition understands two things: liberty and obedience. The first means knowing what you really want. The second means knowing what you really trust.” – G.K. Chesterson

9. “Art consists of limitation. The most beautiful part of every picture is the frame.” – G.K. Chesterson

10. “I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” – G.K. Chesterson

Wise G.K. Chesterson quotes

11. “Just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.” – G.K. Chesterson

12. “To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.” – G.K. Chesterson

13. “And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.” – G.K. Chesterson

14. “The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” – G.K. Chesterson

15. “Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” – G.K. Chesterson

16. “Marriage is an adventure, like going to war.” – G.K. Chesterson

17. “Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere.” – G.K. Chesterson

18. “People generally quarrel because they cannot argue.” – G.K. Chesterson

19. “A man does not know what he is saying until he knows what he is not saying.” – G.K. Chesterson

20. “Journalism is popular, but it is popular mainly as fiction. Life is one world, and life seen in the newspapers is another.” – G.K. Chesterson

G.K. Chesterson quotes about life

21. “The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally, they are the same people.” – G.K. Chesterson

22. “To be clever enough to get all that money, one must be stupid enough to want it.” – G.K. Chesterson

23. “A teacher who is not dogmatic is simply a teacher who is not teaching.” – G.K. Chesterson

24. “Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become theirs that they may more perfectly respect it.” – G.K. Chesterson

25. “The paradox of courage is that a man must be a little careless of his life even in order to keep it.” – G.K. Chesterson

Which of these G.K. Chesterson quotes resonated with you best?

Many people have not heard of G.K. Chesterton before even though many can’t put their finger on why.

Some believe it’s because he doesn’t fit into one category of writing and others believe it’s because he argued for and against some ideas that others didn’t agree with.

Whatever the reason is, G.K. Chesterton wrote some powerful pieces and should be recognized for the accomplished writer that he was.

If you’re interested in checking out some of his work, his best-known novel is The Man Who Was Thursday and he’s famously known for a priest-detective character that showed up throughout his short stories.

Which of these G.K. Chesterson quotes and sayings resonated with you best?

Do you have any other inspirational quotes to add?

Let us know in the comment section below.

By

Stephanie Kirby

Writer, Entrepreneur and Inspirational quote curator

August 10, 2022 6:08 AM EST