ANCIENT& not so ancient WISDOM
offering a weekly positive perspective

October 7, 2004

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. "He that will lose his life, the same shall save it," is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. The paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his life if he will risk it on the precipice. He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. He must not merely cling to live, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine.

- GK Chesterton (1874-1936) 

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in London to a middle-class family. His father, Edward, was a member of the Kensington auctioneer and estate agents business of Chesterton and his mother, Marie-Louise, was of Franco-Scottish ancestry. He did not learn to read until he was eight. One of his teachers is reported to have told him, "If we opened your head, we should not find brain but only a lump of white fat."

At the age of sixteen, he started a magazine called The Debater.  Eventually, Chesterton studied at University College and the Slade School of  Art. He did not graduate from either.

In 1900, he was asked to contribute a few magazine articles on art criticism. His works now include over a hundred books, contributions to 200 other books, hundreds of poems, five plays, five novels, and over two hundred short stories.

He described himself as a journalist. During his life, he wrote over 4000 newspaper essays, including 30 years worth of weekly columns for the Illustrated London News, and 13 years of weekly columns for the Daily News. He also edited his own newspaper, G.K.’s Weekly.

He has been called the “prince of paradox” because his dogma is often hidden beneath a light, energetic, and whimsical style. An amusing artist, he illustrated books by Hilaire Belloc, his friend and collaborator. George Bernard Shaw said, "The world is not thankful enough for Chesterton.", and T.S. Eliot said that Chesterton, "deserves a permanent claim on our loyalty."

Wishing you the joy of laughter on your journey.  

Sincerely,

P.S. Check out a related sales article Only the Courageous Thrive in Sales and a new book by Kieran T. Bird .