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Meaning
This reads as an argument that joy is not a luxury but a truer center of personality. Chesterton can be taken to mean that grief should not be denied, only kept from becoming the whole story, and that a human being shows most fully when delight leads. It lands in moments of recovery, when someone needs permission to treat happiness as serious rather than frivolous.
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Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
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About G.K. Chesterton
English Christian apologist and writer
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an English Christian apologist and writer. He was a major presence in early 20th-century literature, known for his wit, his fondness for paradox, and his defence of tradition. His work and public writing were shaped by a style that often turned ideas on their head to make a point. He is remembered for arguments grounded in Christian belief and for a voice that was sharp, playful, and attentive to older social and cultural traditions.
More from G.K. Chesterton (260 quotes) →More quotes by G.K. Chesterton
- “We may fight for the cause of international peace because we are very fond of fighting.”G.K. Chesterton
- “There is the great lesson of 'Beauty and the Beast,' that a thing must be loved before it is lovable.”G.K. Chesterton
- “Strike a glass and it will not endure an instant. Simply do not strike it and it will endure a thousand years.”G.K. Chesterton
- “It is quite certain that the skirt means female dignity, not female submission; it can be proved by the simpl…”G.K. Chesterton
Grief: more sayings
- “That's just how it is. Grief and love are conjoined, you don't get one without the other.”Jandy Nelson
- “He felt lighter than he had in weeks, and he realized that the monster he had been running from wasn’t really…”Lilli Jolgren Day
- “Sometimes I felt as if we were all wading around in grief, reluctant to admit to others how far we were wavin…”Jojo Moyes
Explore Joy
- “Truth is neither joyful nor sad, neither good nor bad. It is simply truth.”Robert Ludlum
- “He felt lighter than he had in weeks, and he realized that the monster he had been running from wasn’t really…”Lilli Jolgren Day
- “I wish you a joyful time at Christmas and throughout the New Year.”Lailah Gifty Akita