“ A man chooses to have an emotion about the largeness of the world; why should he not choose to have an emotion about its smallness? ”
G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (1908). copy citation
| Author | G. K. Chesterton |
|---|---|
| Source | Orthodoxy |
| Topic | smallness emotions |
| Date | 1908 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/130/pg130-images.html |
Context
“One is as good as the other; they are both mere sentiments. It is mere sentiment to rejoice that the sun is larger than the earth; it is quite as sane a sentiment to rejoice that the sun is no larger than it is. A man chooses to have an emotion about the largeness of the world; why should he not choose to have an emotion about its smallness?
It happened that I had that emotion. When one is fond of anything one addresses it by diminutives, even if it is an elephant or a life-guardsman. The reason is, that anything, however huge, that can be conceived of as complete, can be conceived of as small.”
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