“We should probably come considerably nearer to the true conception of things if we treated all grown-up persons, of all titles and types, with precisely that dark affection and dazed respect with which we treat the infantile limitations.”

— G. K. Chesterton, book The Defendant

A Defence of Baby-Worship
The Defendant (1901)
Context: When we reverence anything in the mature, it is their virtues or their wisdom, and this is an easy matter. But we reverence the faults and follies of children.
We should probably come considerably nearer to the true conception of things if we treated all grown-up persons, of all titles and types, with precisely that dark affection and dazed respect with which we treat the infantile limitations.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "We should probably come considerably nearer to the true conception of things if we treated all grown-up persons, of all…" by G. K. Chesterton?

G. K. Chesterton photo

G. K. Chesterton229

English mystery novelist and Christian apologist 1874–1936

Related quotes

“We should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.”

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet

“Whether we are based on carbon or on silicon makes no fundamental difference; we should each be treated with appropriate respect.”

Arthur C. Clarke book 2010: Odyssey Two

Source: 2010: Odyssey Two

“In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics? How should we treat them? Surely we should treat them with the same consideration and kindness as we show to other humans; and as we recognize human rights, so too should we recognize the rights of the great apes? Yes.”

Jane Goodall (1934) British primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist

"Chimpanzees - Bridging the Gap", in Paola Cavalieri, Peter Singer, The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity (1996), p. 14

“All of life is Divine, and when we treat all of life as Divine we change everything. When we treat everyone as Divine, there will be war no more.”

Neale Donald Walsch (1943) American writer

“PETA has a proven track record of success. Each victory PETA wins for the animals is a stepping stone upon which we build a more compassionate world for all beings - and we will never give up our fight until all animals are treated with respect and kindness.”

Bea Arthur (1922–2009) actress, singer, comedian

Interview, The Human Society, January 7, 2004

“We’ll advance human dignity by standing up for the rights of minorities, because no one’s equality should ever be denied. We will stand up for freedom of religion -- the right of every person to practice their faith as they choose -- because we are all children of God, and we are all fallible. And the notion that we, as a majority, or the state should tell somebody else what to believe with respect to their faith, is against our basic values. We will stand up for our gay and lesbian fellow citizens, because they need to be treated equally under the law. We will stand up for the rights and futures of our wives and daughters and partners, because I believe that the best measure of whether a nation is going to be successful is whether they are tapping the talents of their women and treating them as full participants in politics and society and the econ.”

Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America

2014, Queensland University Address (November 2014)

“Of all creatures that can feel and think,
we women are the worst treated things alive”

Euripidés Medea

Source: Medea

“When we consider that women are treated as property it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit.”

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) Suffragist and Women's Rights activist

“All troubles which we encounter in our life are due to treating the world as real.”

Shantananda Saraswati (1934–2005) Hindu spiritual teacher

Good Company. The Study Society. 2009

“Susie and I choose the vegetarian way of life because for us, there really is no other choice. We must evolve as a race and as a planet, and evolution includes learning and changing from our mistakes. We will never truly grow until we as a whole come to the realization that all beings on this Earth should be treated with love and respect.”

Corey Feldman (1971) American actor

"What’s Your Favorite Corey Feldman Movie?" https://www.peta.org/blog/whats-favorite-corey-feldman-movie/, PETA (July 15, 2008).

Related topics