In the 15th century men cross-examined and tormented a man because he preached some immoral attitude; in the 19th century we feted and flattered Oscar Wilde because he preached such an attitude, and then broke his heart in penal servitude because he carried it out.
It is the most sincere compliment to an author to misquote him. It means that his work has become a part of our mind and not merely of our library.
Progress should mean that we are always changing the world to fit the vision; instead we are always changing the vision.
[The form GKC filled in to get an American visa] was a little like a freer form of the game called ‘Confessions’ which my friends and I invented in our youth; an examination paper containing questions like ‘If you saw a rhinoceros in the front garden, what would you do?’ One of my friends, I remember, wrote: ‘Take the pledge’.
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