'But you and all the kind of Christ
Are ignorant and brave,
And you have wars you hardly win
And souls you hardly save.'
The ballad of the white horse

Friday, February 18, 2011

Quotes

I stated before that Chesterton is 'very, very quotable'. Quotes from his books can not only be found in abundance all over the internet, they are also one of the ways people actually hear about Chesterton.
A few weeks ago, I read the following quote somewhere: "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered." This quote actually stems from the essay 'On running after one's hat' in the bundle 'All things considered'.
The essay discusses various inconveniences, such as the recent flooding of parts of London, having to run after one's hat, and waiting for the train. For the latter case, Chesterton points out that small boys would never complain about hanging about a railway station: for him 'to be inside a railway station is to be inside a cavern of wonder and a palace of poetical pleasures'. We too, might be able to accept some inconveniences, even enjoy them.
I immensely enjoy finding quotes in their own context: usually they become more comprehensible, beautiful and even easier to remember.

No comments:

Post a Comment