r/GKChesterton • u/svenjacobs3 • Jun 06 '25

Chesterton as a Young Man

Hey all - in one of Chesterton's books, he recalls an instance where he talks to a young man as a young man (I thought at college) about some degeneracy (which isn't mentioned) the young man was involved in, and it was a turning point for Chesterton who seemed to speak up against it. The young man said something to the effect of "well I don't know how I could get on if that were true" or some such. I know this sounds all very ambiguous and unclear, but I couldn't remember where I read that. Any of you Chesterton readers know what I'm talking about?

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u/StrategyKnight Jun 06 '25

It was neither ambiguous nor unclear. I knew exactly which essay you meant: The Diabolist. (One that has given me chills to think about ever since.)

http://www.gkc.org.uk/gkc/books/diabolist.html

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u/SPMicron Jun 07 '25

What does the diabolist's last sentence mean?

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u/StrategyKnight Jun 07 '25

We don't know.  That's what makes it so chilling, to me at least. What is the thing that someone "who has done everything else" will not do?