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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Friday, August 12, 2011

"Holiday tasks are a mistake. Home-work is a mistake."

...I think the educational arrangement about holidays has long been a ludicrous mistake. Holiday tasks are a mistake. Home-work is a mistake. Give the boy or girl less holidays if you think they need less. But be sufficiently businesslike to get the best out of the boy or girl for whatever concession you make to them. If you can excuse anyone from work, you can excuse him from worry. Leisure is a food, like sleep; liberty is a food, like sleep. Leisure is a matter of quality rather than quantity. Five minutes lasts longer when one cannot be disturbed than five hours when one may be disturbed. Restrict the liberty in point of time; restrict it in point of space; but do not restrict it in point of quality. If you give somebody only three seconds' holiday - then, by all the remains of your ruined sense of honour, leave him alone for three seconds.

-May 21, 1914, New Witness, "On Holidays"

Found in The Spice of Life and Other Essays, collection of essays first published in 1964

4 comments:

Lauren (RoseinFaith) said...

Yes!! Glory be!! Good heavens, why has no one else said this?

Mike said...

LOL. Well, GK said it, so there we go. :-)

kitty said...

Yes! ;_; I can't stand holiday homework; it defeats the whole purpose of taking time off... >_>

Mike said...

Exactly! lol.