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

— 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.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”