Heretics

Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith), 1874-1936Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 363K words
Chapters: 37

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Heretics by G. K. ChestertonAuthor: Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith), 1874-1936,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Mar 1, 1996

Editor's review

Chesterton's Heretics is a distinctive collection of intellectual essays in which the author, with wit, irony and paradox, examines one by one the prevailing ideas and figures of his day. Its subjects are both specific "heretics" and the unexamined default assumptions of modern thought. Its value lies not in offering a systematic theory but in training readers to stay alert to judgments they take for granted: Chesterton is adept at turning common sense on its head, so that you are first offended, then persuaded, and finally realize that what he is really defending is a plainer and more solid rationality. The prose is dense and full of aphorisms, suited to slow reading and excerpting. For Chinese readers the book is also a window onto the intellectual atmosphere and essay tradition of early twentieth-century Britain. It is best read in quiet hours, essay by essay, leaving time after each to savor the path of its argument rather than seeking plot momentum.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy intellectual essays and aphoristic writing
Those who want to train critical thinking and resist fashionable ideas
Readers interested in English literature and early twentieth-century intellectual history
Commuters who need short, easily set-down reading material

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a continuous plot or novelistic narrative
Readers who prefer systematic philosophical argument and tightly built systems
Readers whose English is not yet strong enough for long sentences and irony

Reading tips

Read essay by essay, and after each, restate its central rebuttal in your own words.
Keep pen and paper to note paradoxical aphorisms, then judge which hold up and which are rhetoric.
Start with the table of contents and pick the "heretics" that interest you; you need not read in order.
If the English is hard, use a reliable translation to chart the argument, then return to the original for tone.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is Heretics a novel or a philosophical treatise?

It is neither a novel nor a strictly systematic philosophical treatise, but a collection of intellectual essays on the prevailing ideas and figures of the time. Each piece stands relatively on its own and consists mainly of commentary and rebuttal, written with wit and much paradox; read it as short intellectual prose, not as a search for continuous plot or a complete theoretical framework.

Can I read this book without a philosophy background?

Yes, but it takes patience. The book involves the intellectual and personal background of early twentieth-century Britain, and some references are unfamiliar to today's readers. Begin by grasping each essay's basic stance and the target of its rebuttal; do not stop over unfamiliar names, but focus on the argument and the style. Readers with a philosophy background will more easily see the argumentative strategy.

Why do the sentences feel long and convoluted?

Chesterton habitually uses long sentences, irony and deliberately inverted formulations, pushing common views to extremes before revealing their absurdity. This manner is itself part of the argument, not a flaw in translation or typesetting. Slow down, divide the text into sentence groups, first grasp what the author opposes and then see how he turns the argument; after two or three essays you will grow used to the rhythm.

What should I keep in mind when reading the electronic edition?

The book comes from a public-domain ebook project; the text is in English and the layout is mainly plain text, and it may lack notes and an introduction. Use reading software with adjustable font size and a dictionary, and prepare background material yourself; if you need notes, read alongside an edition with an introduction, but do not insist on understanding every historical reference.

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About the author

Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith), 1874-1936 Author

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936) was an English writer known for his essays, fiction and poetry. The collection here holds 44 of his works across several genres: Orthodoxy defends Christian belief through witty argument, while The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare uses absurd plots to explore order and freedom; The Napoleon of Notting Hill and the Father Brown detective stories display his narrative gifts. There are also essay collections such as What I Saw in America and Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens, as well as poems including The Ballad of the White Horse. His style favors paradox, humour and vivid imagery, often drawing reflections on modern society from everyday subjects, and he has influenced later detective fiction and Christian apologetics. Public sources are limited, so biographical details are not pursued here.