The official blog of the American Chesterton Society where we talk about anything Chesterton talks about or writes about; including everything and everything else.
"You should not look a gift universe in the mouth." GKC
I cannot seem to find a way of informing our "septemeral colleague" of his desired reference, so I do it here.
That "lion" excerpt is from GKC's ILN essay for November 11, 1905, to be found in CW27:55-60. It is well worth reading for those of us who like fantasy, or logic, or investigation into the issues GKC explores in Orthodoxy and St. Thomas Aquinas:
It is as easy to be logical about things that do not exist as about things that do exist. If twice three is six, it is certain that three men with two legs each will have six legs between them. And if twice three is six, it is equally certain that three men with two heads each will have six heads between them. That there never were three men with two heads each does not invalidate the logic in the least. It makes the deduction impossible, but it does not make it illogical. Twice three is still six, whether you reckon it in pigs or in flaming dragons, whether you reckon it in cottages or in castles-in-the-air.
[Psst. Don't say that last (C-stl- in the a-r) too loud, it makes the demons very angry. See The Phantom Tollbooth (book or movie) for details. Hee hee.]
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I cannot seem to find a way of informing our "septemeral colleague" of his desired reference, so I do it here.
ReplyDeleteThat "lion" excerpt is from GKC's ILN essay for November 11, 1905, to be found in CW27:55-60. It is well worth reading for those of us who like fantasy, or logic, or investigation into the issues GKC explores in Orthodoxy and St. Thomas Aquinas:
It is as easy to be logical about things that do not exist as about things that do exist. If twice three is six, it is certain that three men with two legs each will have six legs between them. And if twice three is six, it is equally certain that three men with two heads each will have six heads between them. That there never were three men with two heads each does not invalidate the logic in the least. It makes the deduction impossible, but it does not make it illogical. Twice three is still six, whether you reckon it in pigs or in flaming dragons, whether you reckon it in cottages or in castles-in-the-air.
[Psst. Don't say that last (C-stl- in the a-r) too loud, it makes the demons very angry. See The Phantom Tollbooth (book or movie) for details. Hee hee.]
-- Dr. Thursday.