“All government is an ugly necessity.”

— G. K. Chesterton, A Short History of England, 1917

About G. K. Chesterton

1874 – 1936

English writer, critic and Christian apologist, author of the Father Brown mysteries and 'Orthodoxy'.

“The center of every man's existence is a dream.”

“Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.”

“Impartiality is a pompous name for indifference, which is an elegant name for ignorance.”

“The one duty we owe to history is to rewrite it.”

“Where there is great power there is great responsibility.”

“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

“The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest.”

“Our popular Government has often been called an experiment.”