| Title | : | Common Sense 101: Lessons from Chesterton |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1586171399 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781586171391 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 316 |
| Publication | : | First published March 31, 2006 |
Common Sense 101: Lessons from Chesterton Reviews
-
The first half of this book is a great read, filled with wonderful quotes such as:
"A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it."
"Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere."
"The way to love anything is to realize it might be lost."
"Pride does not go before a fall. Pride is a fall."
"Men rush towards complexity, but they yearn towards simplicity. They try to be kings; but they dream of being shepherds."
Yeah. Good stuff. All in the first half of the book, that is. The second half lagged on for me, I suspect because there was less of Chesterton's writing and more of the author (Dale Ahlquist) who put this book together. Plus I wasn't really interested in a defense of the Catholic Church, though I understand that Chesterton was passionate about it.
I give this a 3.5 out of 5. -
Nancy and I read this book aloud together, really enjoying it. Chesterton is just a delight, even when he is exasperatingly wrong. Some of those areas are unintentionally brought out by the author, who beats the Catholic drum a little too loudly. But even that didn't wreck a delightful book.
-
I liked this book but didn't totally love it -- there was too much Dale Ahlquist in here and not enough G.K. Chesterton, frankly. With that said, this is a great central reference on all things Chesterton that will lead you to all manner of reading by this great, great writer. If he's new to you, never fear -- Chesterton never for once second got as heavyhanded as Alquist does in this book. Read the quotes by this great thinker and find more of his work to read in the footnotes and the biliography in back. The book offers the opportunity to let the reader choose between his detective stories, his other fiction, poetry, social criticism, newspaper writing and all the other grillions of words he poured out in his life for us to enjoy.
-
This is good. Ahlquist is more readable than Chesterton. I can see that what he is saying is leading up to something, whereas when I read Chesteron directly, I sometimes have to re-read paragraphs because I don't get his train of thought; he always is running away from me, or meandering here and there. Good stuff:
"The key to happiness and the key to wonder is humility. [...:] Humility means being small enough to see the greatness of something and to feel unworthy of it, and privileged to be able to enjoy it. [...:] Ironically, both the skeptic and the believer think the Gospel is too good to be true. But the skeptic scorns it, and the believer falls on his knees." (p. 33.)
Chapter 9 (Science and Secondary Things) is rather controversial, and I wanted to argue with page 124! I understand that he meant to fight against scientism - science out of its proper place, attempting to answer questions it is not meant to answer, to force philosophy that claims to be impartial, but is in fact biased, biased against religion... Okay, I may have overreacted; when viewed in that context page 124 is okay. But at the first reading it seemed as though he'd throw the baby out with the bath water, and start attack on the theory of evolution, Big Bang, which in my view are not incompatible with religion...
There were a lot of good insights in Chapter 12 (The "D" Word - meaning Democracy and Distributivism), although I wished some indication of how one can put it in practice. And I guess it was rather brief discussion of a complicated topic.
Funny Chesterton's quote from page 182:
"I remember once arguing with an honest young atheist, who was very much shocked at my disputing some of the assumptions which were absolute sanctities to him ... and he at length fell back upon this question, which he delivered with an honourable heat of defiance and indignation: "Well, can you tell me any man of intellect, great in science of philosophy, who accepted the miraculous?" I said, "With pleasure. Descartes, Dr. Johnston, Newton, Faraday, Newman, Gladstone, Pasteur, Browning, Brunetiere -- as many more as you please." To which that admirable young man made this astonishing reply -- "Oh, but of course they had to say that; they were Christians." First he challenged me to find a black swan, and then he ruled out all my swans because they were black. The fact that all these great intellects had come to the Christian view was somehow or other a proof either that they were not great intellects or that they had not really come to that view."
Excellent book overall, and makes me want to read more of Chesterton. -
As Ahlquist says, this is not a book about Chesterton, but a book about everything else from a Chestertonian perspective. It takes key Chestertonian explanations and groups them under subject headings, sets them in context, and explains their relevance to the issues (intellectual, academic, philosophical, ideological, moral) of our time. Thus it introduces a new audience to Chesterton's wisdom, perhaps in a way that younger readers and non-philosophers could understand more easily.
Some pearls:
Wonder
There is no excuse for being bored. The world is overflowing with more than enough beauties and fascinations and mysteries to fill several lifetimes.
Art: the Signature of Man
In creating art man resembles God, and his creation should serve a higher purpose than itself. (Ahlquist explains that Chesterton never went to college, he went to art school. That is why he writes visually, because art, too is about being articulate)
The Daily Truth
Why do we turn to what is new (the News) rather than what is true?
Uneducating the Educated
Chesterton's critique of education guided by ideas contrary to those held at home (and thus the right of parents to have a say in the education of their children).
Feminism and other fads
How temporary things are always attacking the permanent things.
A Sacramental Understanding
Rather than going to the extremes of materialism or spiritualism, 'sacramentalism' is the true combination of matter and spirit.
Moments Filled with Eternity
The breadth and depth of Love: a sacramental mystery, uniting the physical with the spiritual, involving binding oneself to the beloved. These are moments filled with eternity.
Recovering the Lost Art of Common Sense
... just brilliant.
www.GoodReadingGuide.com -
Chock-full of philosophical critiques, shorts bits of wisdom, cheesy wit, and common sense. It was surprisingly a much faster read than I thought it'd be, but every sentence held something valuable. Even if you don't care to learn anything about Chesterton, this book is precious and useful simply for the way it could enlighten the ignorant masses of today.
Ahlquist is in love with Chesterton, but being president of the society devoted to the man, I don't see why he shouldn't be. He also ardently defends conservatism and Christianity, and it seems the Catholic Church can do no wrong. But there's much to be appreciated without and beside Ahlquist's biases. I still enjoyed reading his praises and condemnations, sensing the bigger issue he's always trying to tackle. There are places where he could have lightened up, just a tad, or given more detail about how specifically Chesterton wrote on the topic at hand. But I was blown away in the first 100 pages of this book, and would recommend it to anyone in need of discovery or reinforcement of some traditional common sense in life.
While this book is mainly about issues Chesterton wrote on, you do get a sense of who the man was. It's quite right that "this book isn't about Chesterton, but about everything else from a Chestertonian perspective." -
This book has completely changed my outlook on the Catholic Church and it’s teachings. Filled with so many incredible GK Chesterton quotes.
“Being willing to die, for our faith is the supreme sacrifice. But being willing to live, for our faith is sometimes even more difficult.”
“We put so much emphasis on the pursuit of happiness, rather than on the happiness itself. All the things that we need to make us reasonably happy lie within our grasp.“
“ Ironically, both the skeptic, and the believer think the Gospel is too good to be true, but the skeptic scorns it, and the believer falls on his knees. He sees that even goodness is too good to be true, along with the truth that is too good to be true.“
“The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of Man.”
“ We have intoxicated ourselves with self-esteem. And at what cost? At the considerable cost of our souls.”
“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.“
“ The modern world, curses, the church for not saving the world, which does not wish to be saved.”
“For it seems to me that you only pardon
the sins that you don’t really think sinful. You only forgive criminals when they commit what you don’t regard as crimes, but rather as conventions…. You forgive, because there isn’t anything to be forgiven…..Go on your own Primrose Path pardoning all of your favorite vices, and being generous to your fashionable crimes”
“The sacrament of confirmation is about standing up before God and congregation of witnesses and declaring “This is what I believe.“ It is a sacrament that is then put to the test for the rest of our lives. Time after Time, as doubt or sorrow, or tragedy, befalls us, it is as if God were asking “Do you really believe it? Do you believe it even now?“. -
I was laughing on the first page and through much of the rest of the book - I just love Chesterton's style and wit. I agree with Doug Wilson's comment that the author "beats the Catholic drum a little too loud," and this took away from the enjoyment of the second half of the book.
Nevertheless, Ahlquist did a lovely job stitching together so many wonderful quotes and anecdotes that really filled out my understanding of Chesterton's thought, life, and personality. Really a unique figure in history as far as I am aware, and one that I will gladly continue reading more of. In fact, I'm partway through my first set of Father Brown stories at this moment. -
GK Chesterton's genius and heart most certainly comes out in this biography. I liked the first half better than the second half... Definitely will be reading more Chesterton! :)
-
If you want humor, read the comics. If you want history, grab a biography. If you want critique, read the critics. If you want theology, open your Bible. If you want philosophy, consult the sages. If you want them all, read Chesterton.
Dale Ahlquist, President of the American Chesterton Society, shows us Chesterton and his brilliance in Common Sense 101: Lessons From G.K. Chesterton. In many ways this is a primer on Chesterton -- not so much on his life (although we do get a sense of the man) -- rather, Chesterton the thinker, the literary critic, the man who cast a spell of joy, who believed in "promiscuous charity," whose trade was words, and whose greatest weapon was the the pen attached to his brilliant mind.
The brilliance of this book is the thoroughness with which Dale Ahlquist is acquainted with G.K. Chesterton; Chesterton the Catholic, the thinker, the novelist, the art and literary critic, the man of the world, that is the world governed by God.
Quotes I reference below surface in the chapters which are a collection of the eclectic topics Chesterton addressed: Riddles of God, words, education, history, courage, puritans and pagans, feminism, science, the Catholic faith, and his marriage (to name a few). The latter subject -- and what Ahlquist reveals about Chesterton's views -- is worth the price of the book (see "Moments Filled With Eternity).
This book made me want to read more Chesterton than I have, especially to dig into the Father Brown series and open the pages of my copy of Chesterton's biography of Dickens. This is not a book to be hurried and the time devoted to it will reap benefits far in excess of the price you pay in time and money. The book draws its title in part from the chapter, "Recovering the Lost Art of Common Sense." Chesterton said,"The first effect of not believing in God, is that you lose your common sense. p. 265
Ahlquist writes, "That means that in order for us to recover our common sense, we have to recover our faith" (p. 265). His chapter, "Recovering The Lost Art Of Common Sense" points us in that direction as it summarizes ten fundamental truths Chesterton believed. Reading this book and being exposed to those truths may not restore your faith, but it will certainly put you on the right path, and in traveling that path it will provide a healthy dose of common sense in large part because it will point you to Christ and to the Church.
The quotable Chesterton:
I will limit myself to a few quotes, but one should pick up this book for all the others I didn’t share. Perhaps, more importantly, for the context surrounding them which makes Chesterton's words the more prescient.
1. All evil began with some attempt at superiority. p. 16
2. An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered. . . . p. 20
3. When asked, "If you were stranded on a desert island with only one book, what book would you want it to be?" Chesterton quipped: "Thomas' guide to practical shipbuilding." p. 23
4. The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God's paradise on earth, is to fight a losing battle -- and not lose it. p. 25
5. The world will never lack want of wonders; but only for want of wonder. p. 27
6. Astonishment at the universe is not mysticism but it transcendental common sense. p. 38
7. Monogamy is romantic; it just happens to be merely practical, but “if ever monogamy is abandoned in practice, it will linger in legend and in literature. p. 41
8. In reference to Job, “The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man." p. 43
9. The self is more distant than any star. p.45
10. The mere pursuit of health always leads to something unhealthy. p. 45
11. On Jack the Giant-Killer, and paradox of courage and danger, "He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he has to cut his way out, needs to combined a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. p. 46
12. Also about paradox and the riddles of life: There is no way out of danger except the dangerous way. p. 47
13. Thinking means connecting things. p. 48
14. The worshiper never feels taller than when he bows. p. 52
15. A small artist is content with art; a great artist is content with nothing except everything. p. 61
16. Philosophy is always present in a work of art. p. 61
17. On love, "You cannot love a thing without wanting to fight for it. You cannot fight without something to fight for. To love a thing without wishing to fight for it is not love at all; it is lust." p. 63
18. We do not need a censorship of the press. We have a censorship by the press. p. 69
19. The higher critics are wholly deficient in the highest form of criticism, which is self-criticism. p. 79
20. The one thing that is never taught by any chance in the atmosphere of public schools is this: that there is a whole truth of things, and that in knowing it and speaking it we are happy. p. 104
21. It is the great paradox of the modern world that at the very time when the world decided that people should not be coerced about their form of religion, it also decided that they should be coerced about their form of education. p. 104
22. To say that the moderns are half-educated may be too complementary by half. p. 107
23. On history, “To compare the present and the past is like comparing a drop of water and the sea. p. 131
24. Theology is a product far more practical than chemistry. p. 182
25. Sin is in a man’s soul, not in his tools or his toys. p. 178
16. On marriage: I have known many happy marriages, but never a compatible one. The whole aim of marriage is to fight through and survive the instant when incompatibility becomes unquestionable. For a man and woman, as such, are incompatible. p. 255-6
Summary and Recommendation:
Ahlquist notes that "Chesterton said that we do not need a church that moves with the world; we need a church that will move the world. He added, “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.“ As Ahquist writes, "G.K. Chesterton was a living thing who went against the stream."
Reading this book will help us to go with him. I highly recommend it.
About the Chesterton Bibliography . . .
Common Sense 101 also includes "AN ALMOST BRIEF, SLIGHTLY ANNOTATED, MOSTLY CHRONOLOGICAL CHESTERTON BIBLIOGRAPHY." These thirty-two pages are a gift to the reader. For those, like me, who may only be familiar with Chesterton's Orthodoxy, or The Everlasting Man, or perhaps mildly familiar with his Father Brown detective stories, this provides the reader with a more complete range of Chesterton‘s work. It is an exceptional resource. -
This is wonderful. It is strange to think that I would recommend a book not written by Chesterton as an introduction to Chesterton, but Ahlquist is remarkable at letting Chesterton speak. Given that Chesterton wrote 100 books and 4000 essays, along with hundreds of other things, it can be difficult to know where to begin. I say begin here. Ahlquist will help you navigate the major arguments and thrusts of Gilbert without it feeling like cliff notes. On the contrary, this will make you want to pick up some GKC.
-
I love Chesterton. So much. It always amazes me how much insight the man had - it's so hard to believe that he's been more than 100 years dead when his words and critiques speak so poignantly to today's issues. He brings truth with winsome charity - doesn't excuse misconduct, but points out how, even in our sinfulness, God continues to draw us near to Him and pursue us unrelentingly. Ahlquist also provides some deep commentary and expansion on Chesterton's ideas and helps provide clarity to some of the more challenging passages.
My only complaint is all of the praise for the Catholic Church and condemnation for Protestants - I have found that most of the disagreements that this book addresses between Protestants and Catholics have seriously misunderstood why the two don't get along and makes light of some of the deeper issues lying under this disagreement. I think Chesterton would have some pretty sharp critiques of the Catholic church today, especially in regards to the current Pope, but overall, I think both Chesterton and I could agree that faith is really about a personal relationship with Christ, being held accountable for sins, repenting wholeheartedly, and embracing the life that is offered through Christ's death on the cross. -
I mean, Chesterton is one of the greats, so a Greatest Hits could not be anything but profound, but the ultimate feeling of this text is of Sparknotes, patchwork, 'n' political commentary that goes too far.
I don't think this is a great book, but it's comprised of some of the greatest bits of thought I've heard. Of course the end result is it makes you want to (re)read yr Chesterton collection. So, inspiring enough there!
Ahlquist does do one thing admirably, which is show beyond a doubt that he is devoted to spreading the GKC gospel (& perhaps canonization?). I don't think his book made a coherent case for understanding Chesterton better, but I did get that this dude really loves Chesterton. (& so do I.) In this way, it reminds me of some of Chesterton's books on saints - they aren't really packed with key information, but you get by the end of 'em that GKC really liked the saint in question. (eg. Aquinas : Chesterton :: Chesterton : Ahlquist - if that makes sense.) -
This book was an invigorating introduction to the thought of GK Chesterton. It made me wish I could have him over for dinner to bask in his joyful spirit, witty repartee, and love of life. It has definitely inspired me to read more Chesterton and to try to be more joyful and humble myself.
-
I want to read much more of GK Chesterton's works after reading this book!
-
Lots of quotes with wisdom.
-
This is very good book if you are looking for an overview of G. K. Chesterton. Occasionally Ahlquist gets a little too far into his personal views but overall he does good job.
-
Reeeeeeally wish more people thought and spoke like G.K. He is amazing at seeing the forest through the trees, and always very witty.
-
First introduction to Chesterton.
Simply wow! What an amazing book and a breathe of fresh air in a world gone mad. I can't recommend this book enough. -
Thank you, Dale Alquist, for getting to the heart of GKC in an entertaining and highly readable fashion. I've lent this to friends, but now I want it back!
