“Every man, however brave, who begins by worshipping violence, must…”

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Every man, however brave, who begins by worshipping violence, must end in mere timidity. Every man, however wise, who begins by worshipping success, must end in mere mediocrity.

Heretics

by G.K. Chesterton · published 1905 · read 2021-06-03

★★★☆☆

Chesterton is an utter bastard, and enjoying himself while he's at it. As a result, I enjoyed myself, too: He's unrepentant in how conservative he is, and he likes using a handful of cheap tricks to make himself seem both very clever and very plausible. He's neither as clever nor as plausible as he thinks he is, but if I have to read an opposing viewpoint (and is he ever), I might as well enjoy myself. Though it would have been nice if he hadn't planned his chapters to lead from one witticism to the next – it's a bit obvious and tiring in the long run.