Now, Mr. Kipling is certainly wrong in his worship of militarism,
but his opponents are, generally speaking, quite as wrong as he.
The evil of militarism is not that it shows certain men to be fierce
and haughty and excessively warlike. The evil of militarism is that it
shows most men to be tame and timid and excessively peaceable.
The professional soldier gains more and more power as the general
courage of a community declines. Thus the Pretorian guard became
more and more important in Rome as Rome became more and more
luxurious and feeble. The military man gains the civil power
in proportion as the civilian loses the military virtues.
And as it was in ancient Rome so it is in contemporary Europe.
There never was a time when nations were more militarist.
There never was a time when men were less brave. All ages and all epics
have sung of arms and the man; but we have effected simultaneously
the deterioration of the man and the fantastic perfection of the arms.
Militarism demonstrated the decadence of Rome, and it demonstrates
the decadence of Prussia.
-Heretics (1905)
Quotes by and posts relating to one of the most influential authors of the 20th century, G.K. Chesterton
A blog dedicated to providing quotes by and posts relating to one of the most influential (and quotable!) authors of the twentieth century, G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936). If you do not know much about GKC, I suggest visiting the webpage of the American Chesterton Society as well as this wonderful Chesterton Facebook Page by a fellow Chestertonian
I also have created a list detailing examples of the influence of Chesterton if you are interested, that I work on from time to time.
(Moreover, for a list of short GKC quotes, I have created one here, citing the sources)
"...Stevenson had found that the secret of life lies in laughter and humility."
-Heretics (1905)
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I also have created a list detailing examples of the influence of Chesterton if you are interested, that I work on from time to time.
(Moreover, for a list of short GKC quotes, I have created one here, citing the sources)
"...Stevenson had found that the secret of life lies in laughter and humility."
-Heretics (1905)
_____________________
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