Rating: ★★★

Author: G. K. Chesterton was a devoutly Catholic journalist, poet and novelist of the early 20th century. His most apt nickname is “The Prince of Paradox.”

Genre: Essays, articles.

Overview:

As I Was Saying (1936) is the last among Chesterton’s many compilations of articles and essays, the first of which (The Defendant) had appeared in 1901. In his later life, he was releasing one book of articles annually in addition to several other works: Generally Speaking (1928), Come to Think of It (1930), All Is Grist (1931), All I Survey (1933), Avowals and Denials (1934), The Well and the Shallows (1935), and, lastly, As I Was Saying (1936).

All of Chesterton’s compilations are a joy to read. Ironically, these later essays are not as easy to come by as his earlier works. Perhaps they were not as popular. The themes include several authors of his time (George Meredith, William Morris), and various political, literary, and religious themes. They have the same infinite pith of his earlier works. He also deals with many themes that will sound quite modern to native Chestertonians (“About Traffic,” “About the Telephone”, “About the Films”).

Meat:

There are five essays in this book that are worthy of anything Chesterton ever wrote: “About Beliefs,” “About Meredith,” “About Relativity,” “About Darwinism,” and “About Sacrifice.”

“About Beliefs” is a short article dealing with the Resurrection of Christ. “About Sacrifice” likewise is sublime in its theme:

The idea of giving up a thing not because it is bad, but because it is good.

“About Relativity” and “About Darwinism” both deal with phases of modern thought that have been lost in time:

Whatever else was evolved, evolution was not evolved. . . . [The idea] came with far too much of a rush; it became, as the phrase goes, all the rage, with some of its exponents rather unmistakably raging.

Bones:

Probably a downside to these later essays for many readers is that they have become increasingly political. It is perhaps natural for a man to become more firm in his beliefs over time.

In As I Was Saying, Chesterton is also frequently concerned about changes taking place in Germany (“About Loving Germans”):

In short, it is thought an insult to call Germans sausages; but it is a compliment to call them sausage-machines.

Being by this time a thorough Catholic and an opponent of a materialistic worldview, Chesterton shows no sympathy for the Nazi movement, and precious little for German culture itself, as I have written elsewhere.