...But nature does not say that cats are more valuable than mice; nature makes no remark on the subject. She does not even say that the cat is enviable or the mouse pitiable. We think the cat superior because we have (or most of us have) a particular philosophy to the effect that life is better than death. But if the mouse were a German pessimist mouse, he might not think that the cat had beaten him at all. He might think he had beaten the cat by getting to the grave first. G.K. Chesterton on animals
No animal ever invented anything as bad as drunkeness or as good as drink. G.K. Chesterton on animals
Brave men are all vertebrates; they have their softness on the surface and their toughness in the middle. G.K. Chesterton on courage
Courage is almost a contradiction in terms: it means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die. G.K. Chesterton on courage
I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act. G.K. Chesterton on destiny
When you have really exhausted an experience you always reverence and love it. G.K. Chesterton on experience
We ought to see far enough into a hypocrite to see even his sincerity. G.K. Chesterton on hypocrisy
Love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all. G.K. Chesterton on inspiration
The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost. G.K. Chesterton on love