Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

G.K. CHESTERTON'S "ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI"

I find myself recommending G.K. Chesterton's "St. Francis of Assisi" to people from time to time, and with the new pope taking the name Pope Francis, it is perhaps more timely than ever for us to re-study the life of the original St. Francis.  I can think of no more delightful introduction than G.K. Chesterton's biography.   It's a slim, easy read and available in various editions.  If you want to save money, you can read it free on the internet.  Here's one source:  http://archive.org/stream/francisofassisi00chesuoft#page/n9/mode/2up

* Previous posts on Chesterton:

G.K. Chesterton: Unfailing in Wit, Wisdom, and Sanity

G.K. CHESTERTON ON "THE INNOCENCE OF SEX"

Quote of the Day - G. K. Chesterton on Original Sin, Beggars, and Kings

"100 YEARS OF WIT AND WISDOM" - G. K. Chesterton's Book "Orthodoxy"

G.K. CHESTERTON: REASON NEEDS TO BE BALANCED BY POETRY AND IMAGINATION

G.K. CHESTERTON - UNFAILING IN WIT, WISDOM AND SANITY

G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), the witty, brilliant, acutely logical author, journalist, essayist, debater, and poet once penned lines that I find helpful to recall from time to time.   From Orthodoxy,  ch. 2 - "The Maniac":

"Poetry is sane because it floats easily in an infinite sea; reason seeks to cross the infinite sea, and so make it finite.  The result is mental exhaustion...   To accept everything is an exercise, to understand everything a strain.  The poet only desires exaltation and expansion, a world to stretch himself in.  The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head.  And it is his head that splits."

The wikipedia article on Chesterton is very good, to the credit, no doubt, of Chesterton aficionados.

Previous posts on Chesterton:    

G.K. CHESTERTON ON "THE INNOCENCE OF SEX"

Quote of the Day - G. K. Chesterton on Original Sin, Beggars, and Kings

"100 YEARS OF WIT AND WISDOM" - G. K. Chesterton's Book "Orthodoxy"

G.K. CHESTERTON: REASON NEEDS TO BE BALANCED BY POETRY AND IMAGINATION

G.K. CHESTERTON ON "THE INNOCENCE OF SEX"

I've been having a friendly little go-round with a recent post from Wintery Knight Blog.   My latest reply is to quote a passage from G.K. Chesterton's St. Francis of Assisi in which GKC offers some astute observations on the "innocence" of sex.  GKC writes:

“What had happened to the human imagination, as a whole, was that the whole world was coloured by dangerous and rapidly deteriorating passions; by natural passions becoming unnatural passions. Thus the effect of treating sex as only one innocent natural thing was that every other innocent natural thing became soaked and sodden with sex. For sex cannot be admitted to a mere equality among elementary emotions or experiences like eating and sleeping. The moment sex ceases to be a servant it becomes a tyrant. There is something dangerous and disproportionate in its place in human nature, for whatever reason; and it does really need a special purification and dedication. The modern talk about sex being free like any other sense, about the body being beautiful like any tree or flower, is either a description of the Garden of Eden or a piece of thoroughly bad psychology, of which the world grew weary two thousand years ago.” (From ch. 2, “The World St. Francis Found")

Quote of the Day - G. K. Chesterton on Original Sin, Beggars, and Kings

From G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy  -

Christianity preaches an obviously unattractive idea, such as original sin; but when we wait for its results, they are pathos and brotherhood, and a thunder of laughter and pity; for only with original sin can we at once pity the beggar and distrust the king.

Me:  One could draw all manner of applications from this quote, but perhaps the most relevant would be to distrust all would-be "messiahs."  There are none, except Christ alone.  All who suppose otherwise will have their hopes and dreams dashed.   

"100 YEARS OF WIT AND WISDOM" - G. K. Chesterton's Book "Orthodoxy"

The year 2008 marks 100 years since Chesterton (1874-1936) published his masterful little book, Orthodoxy.  GKC was a major influence on C.S. Lewis, and it was because of Lewis that I personally began reading GKC.  A couple months ago I posted Chesterton's perspective on the need for reason  to be balanced by poetry and imagination.

Today I noticed that Christianity Today has interviewed Lyle Dorsett (a C.S. Lewis scholar) on Chesterton.  The magazine introduces the interview with these words:

Since he published Orthodoxy in 1908, G. K. Chesterton has inspired Christians and challenged skeptics with his unique wit and wisdom. He delivered biting analysis still relevant today: "A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed." And he composed poignant prose that still touches the heart: "Love is not blind; that is the last thing that it is. Love is bound; and the more it is bound the less it is blind.

A few days ago I began a re-reading of Orthodoxy.  For any who may be interested, I have jotted down a few quotes:

G.K. CHESTERTON: REASON NEEDS TO BE BALANCED BY POETRY AND IMAGINATION

Recently I experienced an unusual weariness; indeed, a kind of mental strain. I had begun to find it difficult to concentrate heavily on anything without feeling pressure on my head.  This experience reminded me of the astute observation G.K. Chesterton makes in his book Orthodoxy:

"Poetry is sane because it floats easily in an infinite sea; reason seeks to cross the infinite sea, and so make it finite.  The result is mental exhaustion...  To accept everything is an exercise, to understand everything a strain.  The poet only desires exaltation and expansion, a world to stretch himself in.  The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens.  It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens into his head.  And it is his head that splits.

Let no one draw the false conclusion that GKC has no use for reason.  Not so.  But he is making the point that reason has limitations and the healthy mind needs a balancing dose of imagination, poetry, mystery, and mysticism as well.  GKC is one of a group of writers who have been extraordinarily influential in my life.