Tuesday, November 20, 2007

A Reader Writes

A reader wants to know where he can find this GKC quote: “I like children that are moderately well behaved, houses that are moderately clean, and their inhabitants that are moderately sober.”

I'm embarrassed to say that it doesn't even look familiar to me. Can anyone help?

1 comment:

The Thirsty Gargoyle said...

He didn't quite say that. In fact, from what I can gather - and this is more in tune with the G.K.C I'm sure most of much imagine - he rather frowned on such sentiments.

His Slade School Notebook for 1895 records his observation that 'A moderate is a man who wants his children to be moderately clean, houses to be moderately sanitary, and their inhabitants to be moderately sober.'

It's quoted in Alzina Stone Dale's "The Outline of Sanity: A Life of G.K. Chesterton", on page 38, if you're interested.