Authors From England

"He pictured the peace of the ransomed soul, that knows itself safe in the arms of God; that rejoices, even in this world, in the Light of His Face and the ecstasy of His embrace; that dwells by waters of comfort and lies down in the green pastures of the Heavenly Love; while, round this little island of salvation in an ocean of terror, the thunders of wrath sound only as the noise of surge on a far-off reef."

"Surely the King of Love needed no herald when Himself was here."

"Whenever your soul begins to be disturbed and anxious, put yourself in His Hands, and refuse to decide for yourself. It is so easy, so easy."

"Speak from your heart...Be bold, yet not overbold."

"Every man may err, but not the whole gathered together; for the whole hath a promise, but so hath not every particular man."

"Cast away Authority, and authority shall forsake you."

"Nothing is so bad as not trusting God."

"The tragedy of a child over a broken doll is not less poignant than the anguish of a worshipper over a broken idol, or of a king over a ruined realm."

"It is scarcely likely that men on fire with success, whether military or commercial, will be patient of the restraints of religion."

"The sense of home-coming was stronger than all else — that strange passion for a particular set of inanimate things — or, at the most, for an association of ideas — that has no parallel in human emotions."

"He stood a moment or two at the door after his wife had gone, drinking in reassurance from that glorious vision of solid sense that spread itself before his eyes: the endless house-roofs; the high glass vaults of the public baths and gymnasiums; the pinnacled schools where Citizenship was taught each morning; the spider-like cranes and scaffoldings that rose here and there; and even the few pricking spires did not disconcert him. There it stretched away into the grey haze of London, really beautiful, this vast hive of men and women who had learnt at least the primary lesson of the gospel that there was no God but man, no priest but the politician, no prophet but the schoolmaster."

"The one condition of progress and the building of Jerusalem, on the planet that happened to be men’s dwelling place, was peace, not the sword which Christ brought or that which Mahomet wielded; but peace that arose from, not passed, understanding; the peace that sprang from a knowledge that man was all and was able to develop himself only by sympathy with his fellows. To Oliver and his wife, then, the last century seemed like a revelation; little by little the old superstitions had died, and the new light broadened; the Spirit of the World had roused Himself, the sun had dawned in the west; and now with horror and loathing they had seen the clouds gather once more in the quarter whence all superstition had had its birth."

""Until our Lord comes back," he thought to himself; and for an instant the old misery stabbed at his heart. How difficult it was to hold the eyes focussed on that far horizon when this world lay in the foreground so compelling in its splendour and its strength!"

"Now, we Catholics, remember, are losing; we have lost steadily for more than fifty years. I suppose that we have, nominally, about one-fortieth of America now—and that is the result of the Catholic movement of the early twenties. In France and Spain we are nowhere; in Germany we are less. We hold our position in the East, certainly; but even there we have not more than one in two hundred—so the statistics say—and we are scattered. In Italy? Well, we have Rome again to ourselves, but nothing else; here, we have Ireland altogether and perhaps one in sixty of England, Wales and Scotland; but we had one in forty seventy years ago. Then there is the enormous progress of psychology—all clean against us for at least a century. First, you see, there was Materialism, pure and simple—that failed more or less—it was too crude—until psychology came to the rescue. Now psychology claims all the rest of the ground; and the supernatural sense seems accounted for. That’s the claim. No, father, we are losing; and we shall go on losing, and I think we must even be ready for a catastrophe at any moment."

"You say Christianity is absurd and impossible. Now, you know, it cannot be that! It may be untrue,— I am not speaking of that now, even though I am perfectly certain that it is absolutely true—but it cannot be absurd so long as educated and virtuous people continue to hold it. To say that it is absurd is simple pride; it is to dismiss all who believe in it as not merely mistaken, but unintelligent as well."

"It is understood now, by fanatic barbarians as well as by civilised nations, that the reign of War is ended. 'Not peace but a sword,' said ; and bitterly true have those words proved to be. 'Not a sword but peace' is the retort, articulate at last, from those who have renounced Christ’s claims or have never accepted them. The principle of love and union learned however falteringly in the West during the last century, has been taken up in the East as well. There shall be no more an appeal to arms, but to justice; no longer a crying after a God Who hides Himself, but to Man who has learned his own Divinity. The Supernatural is dead; rather, we know now that it never yet has been alive. What remains is to work out this new lesson, to bring every action, word and thought to the bar of Love and Justice; and this will be, no doubt, the task of years. Every code must be reversed; every barrier thrown down; party must unite with party, country with country, and continent with continent. There is no longer the fear of fear, the dread of the hereafter, or the paralysis of strife. Man has groaned long enough in the travails of birth; his blood has been poured out like water through his own foolishness; but at length he understands himself and is at peace."

"Friendliness took the place of charity, contentment the place of hope, and knowledge the place of faith."

"Persecution was not to be feared. It would no doubt cause apostasies, as it had always done, but these were deplorable only on account of the individual apostates. On the other hand, it would reassure the faithful, and purge out the half-hearted. Once, in the early ages, Satan’s attack had been made on the bodily side, with whips and fire and beasts; in the sixteenth century it had been on the intellectual side; in the twentieth century on the springs of moral and spiritual life. Now it seemed as if the assault was on all three planes at once."

"Men have thought—led astray by seducers—that the unity of nations was the greatest prize of this life, forgetting the words of our Saviour, Who said that He came to bring not peace but a sword, and that it is through many tribulations that we enter God’s Kingdom. First, then, there should be established the peace of man with God, and after that the unity of man with man will follow. Seek ye first, said Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God—and then all these things shall be added unto you."

"Might not this mystic Birth once more do what it had done before—bring into subjection through the might of its weakness every proud thing that exalts itself above all that is called God? It had drawn wise Kings once across the desert, as well as shepherds from their flocks. It had kings about it now, kneeling with the poor and foolish, kings who had laid down their crowns, who brought the gold of loyal hearts, the myrrh of desired martyrdom, and the incense of a pure faith. Could not republics, too, lay aside their splendour, mobs be tamed, selfishness deny itself, and wisdom confess its ignorance?"

"The Three Evangelical Counsels shall be the foundation of the Rule, to which we add a fourth intention, namely, that of a desire to receive the crown of martyrdom and a purpose of embracing it."

"We offer no rewards except those which God Himself has promised to those that love Him, and lay down their life for Him; no promise of peace, save of that which passeth understanding; no home save that which befits pilgrims and sojourners who seek a City to come; no honour save the world’s contempt; no life, save that which is hid with Christ in God."

"Well, what they call the Incarnation is really the point. Everything else flows from that. And, once a man believes that, I must confess that all the rest follows—even down to scapulars and holy water." "Mr. Francis, I don’t understand a word you’re saying." He smiled indulgently. "Of course not," he said; "it is all incredible nonsense. But, you know, I did really believe it all once." "But it’s unreasonable," she said. He made a little demurring sound. "Yes," he said, "in one sense, of course it is—utterly unreasonable. But in another sense——"

"Religion always is and always has been at the root of every world-movement."

"The State can only give for economic reasons, however conscientious and individually charitable statesmen may be; while the Church gives for the Love of God, and the Love of God never yet destroyed any man's self-respect."

"The Socialist saw plainly the rights of the Society; the Anarchist saw the rights of the Individual. How therefore were these to be reconciled? The Church stepped in at that crucial point and answered, By the Family — whether domestic or religious. For in the Family you have both claims recognized: there is authority and yet there is liberty. For the union of the Family lies in Love; and Love is the only reconciliation of authority and liberty."

"The real and only satisfactory motive for submission does not lie in superficial things, but in the deep, still current of faith that comes from God direct, and bears the soul along."

"Just as in social things the essential bourgeois is one who, being tolerably well off, is completely complacent with his position—unlike the lowest class which has no position to be complacent about, and the highest class which does not think about it at all either way; so in matters of mind. 'How hardly shall they who trust in riches,' says our Lord, 'enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.'"

"Men must have facts first and explanations afterwards."

"Charity, it has been said, is the pardoning of the unpardonable and the loving of the unlovable."

"Men are once more acting along the lines which are, after all, those sanctioned by our Blessed Lord Himself in the words, "By their fruits you shall know them.""

"Complacency is the one obstacle to progress, in finance, in art, in intellect, and in the things of the spirit."

"To-day as in Bethlehem, the bourgeois sits at home and discusses the Census, while Shepherds and Kings adore in the Stable."

"Robin felt a strange thrill of glory at the thought that he bore with him, in virtue of his priesthood only, so much consolation. He faced for the first time that tremendous call of which he had heard so much in Rheims—that desolate cry of souls that longed and longed in vain for those gifts which a priest of Christ could alone bestow."

"Since God is approaching man, it is not a degradation, but a triumph of His love, that He should come so far down to meet him."

"The man who says, 'Unless I feel, I will not believe,' is as narrow and foolish as the man who says, 'Unless I understand, I will not believe.'"

"The whole of Nature exists on the principle of vicarious suffering; and to reject Christianity because of the doctrine of the Atonement is to reject Nature itself on the same account."

"The Cross is the symbol of absolutely endless expansion; it is never content; it points for ever and ever to four indefinitely receding points."

"We all win from God exactly what we deserve. We all get from God exactly what we really want of Him."

"Real love...is a continual emptying and slaying of self, a continual immolation of self on the altar of the beloved. ... It is exactly this that distinguishes it from its caricature—its antichrist—from lust or liking. Lust and liking desire to acquire and to win; love to be acquired and to be won."

"You must believe he has enough drive to become king. Thorin must be physically capable of doing so."

"He was concerned now more with livelihood than with life: Goddess, Planet or Mortal, he had no longer any thought of ."

"Far beneath where our airmen fly, Slowly the Garrison guns go by. Breaking through bramble and thorn and gorse Towed by engines or dragged by horse, The great guns, The late guns, That slowly rumble up To enable Messrs. to converse with Messrs. ."

"By Charing Cross in London Town There runs a road of high renown, Where antique books are ranged on shelves As dark and dusty as themselves. And many booklovers have spent Their substance there with great content, And vexed their wives and filled their homes With faded prints and massive tomes."

"By the canal in Flanders I watched a barge’s prow Creep slowly past the poplar-trees; and there I made a vow That when these wars are over and I am home at last However much I travel I shall not travel fast. Horses and cars and yachts and planes: I’ve no more use for such; For in three years of war’s alarms I’ve hurried far too much; And now I dream of something sure, silent and slow and large; So when the War is over — why, I mean to buy a barge."

"Monte Carlo itself is a fairy city given over to the worship of the hazard: a toy town, designed for the entertainment of the idle and the rich: a stage, particularly furnished with properties to deceive the vulgar, to intrigue folk of a small imagination. ... It is a shrine at which the artificial is natural: the useless, of use: the unreal, real: the false, true: a temple in which the painted cardboard is gold and silver: the wooden sword, Excalibur; and the paste, jewels. But Monaco, or rather the harbour of Monaco, is of a reverse order, for, here, the natural is artificial: not the useless of use, but the useful, useless: not the unreal, real, but the real, unreal. It is a place of essential and primitive things which are, here, accidental and secondary."

"Never have I though so much, ever have I realized my own existence so much, been so much alive, been so much myself if may so say, as in those journeys which I have made alone and afoot. Walking has something in it which animates and heightens my ideas: I can scarcely think when I stay in one place; my body must be set a-going if my mind is to work."

"There are more "Don't's" in golf than there are in any other avocation in life."

"Those who think their God has revealed himself in the Canonical Books will go to their Bible; those who think he has chosen the channel of a Church will derive ghostly strength from their spiritual counsellors; but those who think the Nameless has nowhere so plainly shown himself as in his works, will seek in the face and lineaments of Nature that consoling smile which every lonely soul so miserably craves; and fortunate it is that not over his works, but only over his words, theologians so wrathfully wrangle."

"Don't worry about your caddie. He may be an irritating little wretch; but for eighteen holes he is your caddie."