Is it not quite clear that what we really hope for is one particular
management and proposition of these two things; a certain amount of restraint and respect, a certain amount of energy and mastery? If our life
is ever really as beautiful as a fairy-tale, we shall have to remember that all the beauty of a fairy-tale lies in this: that the prince has a
wonder which just stops short of being fear. If he is afraid of the giant, there is an end of him; but also if he is not astonished at the giant,
there is an end of the fairy-tale. The whole point
depends upon his being at once humble enough to wonder, and haughty enough to defy. So our attitude to the giant of the world must not merely be
increasing delicacy or increasing contempt: it must be one particular proportion of the two—which is exactly right. We must have in us enough
reverence for all things outside us to make us tread fearfully on the grass. We must also have enough disdain for all things outside us, to make
us, on due occasion, spit at the stars. Yet these two things (if we are to be good or happy) must be combined, not in any combination, but in one
particular combination. The perfect happiness of men on the earth (if it ever comes) will not be a flat and solid thing, like the satisfaction of
animals. It will be an exact and perilous balance; like that of a desperate romance. Man must have just enough faith in himself to have
adventures, and just enough doubt of himself to enjoy them.
Orthodoxy, first published in 1908, by G. K. Chesterton, is in the public domain, and available from Project Gutenberg. The previous post in this series is here. Thanks for reading! Read Chesterton.
Musings on science, the Bible, and fantastic literature (and sometimes basketball and other stuff).
God speaks to us through the Bible and the findings of science, and we should listen to both types of revelation.
The title is from Psalm 84:11.
The Wikipedia is usually a pretty good reference. I mostly use the World English Bible (WEB), because it is public domain. I am grateful.
License
I have written an e-book, Does the Bible Really Say That?, which is free to anyone. To download that book, in several formats, go here.
The posts in this blog are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You can copy and use this material, as long as you aren't making money from it. If you give me credit, thanks. If not, OK.
The posts in this blog are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You can copy and use this material, as long as you aren't making money from it. If you give me credit, thanks. If not, OK.
Sunday, October 04, 2015
Excerpts from Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton, 41
Labels:
adventures,
Chesterton,
G. K. Chesterton,
nature,
nature worship,
Orthodoxy
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment