Hilaire Belloc: Trending quotes

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Hilaire Belloc: 182 quotes8 likes

“What! Would you slap the Porcupine?
Unhappy child — desist!
Alas! That any friend of mine
Should turn Tupto-philist.”

"The Porcupine"
More Beasts for Worse Children (1897)

“Physicians of the Utmost Fame
Were called at once; but when they came
They answered, as they took their Fees,
"There is no Cure for this Disease."”

Hilaire Belloc book Cautionary Tales for Children

"Henry King, Who Chewed Bits of String, and Was Early Cut off in Dreadful Agonies"
Cautionary Tales for Children (1907)

“When the ephemeral vision's lure is past
All, all, must face their Passion at the last.”

Heroic Poem in Praise of Wine (1932)

“Now the Faith is old and the Devil is bold,
Exceedingly bold indeed;
And the masses of doubt that are floating about
Would smother a mortal creed.
But we that sit in a sturdy youth,
And still can drink strong ale,
Oh—let us put it away to infallible truth,
That always shall prevail.
[semi-chorus:]
And thank the Lord
For the temporal sword,
And howling heretics too;
And all good things
Our Christendom brings,
But especially barley brew!”

the "Pelagian" drinking song, p. 50
The Four Men: A Farrago (1911)

“The accursed power which stands on Privilege
(And goes with Women, and Champagne and Bridge)
Broke — and Democracy resumed her reign:
(Which goes with Bridge, and Women and Champagne).”

"On a Great Election"
Hilaire Belloc (1925)

“And what is there else but pleasure, and to what else does beauty move on?”

Source: The Path to Rome (1902), p. 421

“Gentlemen, I am a Catholic. As far as possible, I go to Mass every day. This [taking a rosary out of his pocket] is a rosary. As far as possible, I kneel down and tell these beads every day. If you reject me on account of my religion, I shall thank God that He has spared me the indignity of being your representative.”

Speech to voters of South Salford (1906), quoted in Robert Speaight, The Life of Hilaire Belloc (London: Hollis & Carter, 1957), p. 204
Response to his Tory opponent's slogan, "Don't vote for a Frenchman and a Catholic". On polling day, 13 January 1906, Belloc, standing as a Liberal, overturned a Conservative majority to win by 852 votes, winning again four years later, though by an even slimmer margin.

“The moment a man talks to his fellows he begins to lie.”

The Silence of the Sea (1940)

“The Economic definition of Wealth is subtle and diflicult to appreciate, but it is absolutely essential to our study to get it clear at the outset and keep it firmly in mind.”

Source: Economics for Helen (1924), Ch. 1 : What is Wealth?

“Of all fatiguing, futile, empty trades, the worst, I suppose, is writing about writing.”

"On Books"
The Silence of the Sea (1940)

“The Science of Economics does not deal with true happiness nor even with well-being in material things. It deals with a strictly limited field of what is called "Economic Wealth," and if it goes outside its own boundaries it goes wrong.”

Source: Economics for Helen (1924), Ch. 1 : What is Wealth?

“Oh! let us never, never doubt
What nobody is sure about!”

"The Microbe"
More Beasts for Worse Children (1897)

“Oh, my friends, be warned by me,
That Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, and Tea
Are all the Human Frame requires.”

Hilaire Belloc book Cautionary Tales for Children

"Henry King, Who Chewed Bits of String, and Was Early Cut off in Dreadful Agonies"
Cautionary Tales for Children (1907)

“Is there no Latin word for Tea? Upon my soul, if I had known that I would have left the vulgar stuff alone.”

"On Tea", On Nothing and Kindred Subjects (1908)

“[P]rofessional politics is a trade in which the sly outweigh the wise.”

Source: The Cruise of the 'Nona (1925), p. 116

“[M]others of large families (who claim to common sense)
Will find a Tiger well repay the trouble and expense.”

Hilaire Belloc book The Bad Child's Book of Beasts

"The Tiger"
The Bad Child's Book of Beasts (1896)

“Man may […] be master of his fate, but he has a precious poor servant. It is easier to command a lapdog or a mule for a whole day than one's own fate for half-an-hour.”

Source: The Path to Rome (1902), p. 299

“… and as to what may be in this book, do not feel timid nor hesitate to enter. There are more mountains than molehills …”

caption to the frontispiece, p. ii
The Path to Rome (1902)

“[A]lways keep a-hold of Nurse
For fear of finding something worse”

Hilaire Belloc book Cautionary Tales for Children

"Jim, Who Ran Away From His Nurse, and Was Eaten by a Lion"
Cautionary Tales for Children (1907)

“Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,
It made one Gasp and Stretch one's Eyes;
Her Aunt, who from her Earliest Youth,
Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
Attempted to Believe Matilda:
The effort very nearly killed her.”

Hilaire Belloc book Cautionary Tales for Children

"Matilda, Who Told Lies, and Was Burned to Death"
Cautionary Tales for Children (1907)