George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw

by Gilbert K. Chesterton

Chesterton and Shaw were famous friends and enjoyed their arguments and discussions. Although rarely in agreement, they both maintained good-will towards and respect for each other. However, in his writing, Chesterton expressed himself very plainly on where they differed and why. In Heretics he writes of Shaw: “After belabouring a great many people for a great many years for being unprogressive, Mr. Shaw has discovered, with characteristic sense, that it is very doubtful whether any existing human being with two legs can be progressive at all. Having come to doubt whether humanity can be combined with progress, most people, easily pleased, would have elected to abandon progress and remain with humanity. Mr. Shaw, not being easily pleased, decides to throw over humanity with all its limitations and go in for progress for its own sake. If man, as we know him, is incapable of the philosophy of progress, Mr. Shaw asks, not for a new kind of philosophy, but for a new kind of man. It is rather as if a nurse had tried a rather bitter food for some years on a baby, and on discovering that it was not suitable, should not throw away the food and ask for a new food, but throw the baby out of window, and ask for a new baby.” Shaw represented the new school of thought, humanism, which was rising at the time. Chesterton's views, on the other hand, became increasingly more focused towards the church. In Orthodoxy he writes: “The worship of will is the negation of will. . . If Mr. Bernard Shaw comes up to me and says, "Will something," that is tantamount to saying, "I do not mind what you will," and that is tantamount to saying, "I have no will in the matter." You cannot admire will in general, because the essence of will is that it is particular. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Authors

Gilbert K. Chesterton image

Chesterton wrote around 80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories, 4,000 essays (mostly newspaper columns), and several plays. He was a literary and social critic, historian, playwright,...

Books by Gilbert K. Chesterton

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

Papéis Avulsos Cover image

Papéis Avulsos by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

Papéis Avulsos é uma coleção de contos do renomado escritor brasileiro Machado de Assis, publicada em 1882. O livro explora temas universais como a na...

Solitude (Pope) Cover image

Solitude (Pope) by Alexander Pope

LibriVox volunteers bring you 17 different recordings of Solitude by Alexander Pope. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of February 17th,...

Bible (ASV) 05: Deuteronomy Cover image

Bible (ASV) 05: Deuteronomy by American Standard Version

Deuteronomy, meaning 'second law' in Greek, is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and the culmination of the Torah or Pentateuch. Authored by Moses, i...

Bible (LSG, 1910) NT 04: Évangile selon Jean Cover image

Bible (LSG, 1910) NT 04: Évangile selon Jean by Louis Segond Bible

Ce quarante-troisième livre de la Bible, traduite par Louis Segond, au XIXe siècle et publiée au début du siècle suivant, nous est parvenu comme étant...

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Cover image

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Patanjali

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a foundational text in yoga philosophy, offering a comprehensive guide to achieving spiritual liberation through the c...

Leviathan (Books I and II) Cover image

Leviathan (Books I and II) by Thomas Hobbes

Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil, commonly called Leviathan, is a book written in 1651 by Thomas...

Geschichte der Abderiten Cover image

Geschichte der Abderiten by Christoph Martin Wieland

Die "Geschichte der Abderiten" von Christoph Martin Wieland ist ein satirischer Roman, der die Schwächen und Dummheiten der Menschheit auf humorvolle...

Bible (WEB) NT 01-27: The New Testament Cover image

Bible (WEB) NT 01-27: The New Testament by World English Bible

The World English Bible is a translation of the Bible into modern English. Work on the project began in 1997, but the translation has been released di...

Brennende Erde Cover image

Brennende Erde by Erich Mühsam

**Brennende Erde** (Burning Earth) is a collection of poems by Erich Mühsam, a prominent German writer, anarchist, and activist. The poems, spanning t...

Paul Clifford Cover image

Paul Clifford by Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Paul Clifford is a complex and compelling novel that explores the nature of crime and society. The novel follows the story of Paul Clifford, a young m...

Reviews for George Bernard Shaw

No reviews posted or approved, yet...