# II: On the Negative Spirit explained — Heretics

> Chapter companion for Heretics by G. K. Chesterton.

## What happens

Chesterton contrasts the 'monkish morbidity' of visionary religion with the 'incurable morbidity of modern ethics,' arguing that the former at least contemplates an ideal of perfect health and happiness, while the latter fixates on disease and evil. He critiques modern literature, particularly Ibsen, for lacking a positive ideal of good, and extends this critique to modern concepts like liberty, progress, and education, which he sees as dodges to avoid defining what is good. He also references Mr. Bernard Shaw's 'Quintessence of Ibsenism' and Mr. H. G. Wells's 'Mankind in the Making' as examples of this negative spirit.

## Themes in this chapter

### Critique of Modern Morality

Chesterton argues that modern ethics lacks a positive ideal of good, focusing only on the knowledge of evil, as seen in Ibsen's work and the 'negative spirit' of the age.

### Orthodoxy vs. Heresy

The chapter contrasts the 'monkish morbidity' of visionary religion, which at least contemplates an ideal of perfection, with the modern morality that has no such ideal, implicitly defending a form of orthodoxy.

### Role of Ritual and Frivolity

Chesterton praises the 'jollier' aspect of mystic morality, which contemplates strength and happiness, in contrast to the grim focus on disease in modern ethics.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. G. W. Foote

Chesterton references Foote's pamphlet 'Beer and Bible' and his argument that a picture of a drunkard's liver is more efficacious for temperance than prayer, embodying the morbidity of modern ethics.

### Ibsen

Chesterton discusses Ibsen's work, particularly 'Ghosts' and 'The Wild Duck', as lacking a positive ideal of good, focusing instead on the exposure of evil.

### Mr. Bernard Shaw

Chesterton references Shaw's 'Quintessence of Ibsenism' and his summary of Ibsen's teaching as 'The golden rule is that there is no golden rule.'

### Mr. H. G. Wells

Chesterton critiques Wells's 'Mankind in the Making' for focusing on parenthood without first defining what is good in being a man, calling it an example of unconscious shirking.

### Stevenson

Chesterton quotes Stevenson's phrase 'the lost fight of virtue' to illustrate the idea of triumph in the ethical ideal.

### Dante

Chesterton contrasts Dante's 'Divine Comedy' with Ibsen's 'Ghosts', noting that Dante describes Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell, while Ibsen only has Hell.

## Key lines

> the lost fight of virtue

the virtuous struggle that ultimately fails

_Chesterton uses Stevenson's phrase to describe the ethical ideal that visionary religion can contemplate._

> The golden rule is that there is no golden rule.

The fundamental principle is that there are no fixed principles.

_Chesterton quotes Shaw's summary of Ibsen's teaching to illustrate the absence of a positive ideal in modern ethics._

> We are fond of talking about 'liberty'; that, as we talk of it, is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good.

Our frequent invocation of 'liberty' is a way to evade the question of what is truly good.

_Chesterton argues that modern concepts like liberty, progress, and education are used to avoid defining a positive moral ideal._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/heretics_se/chapters/ii-on-the-negative-spirit
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/heretics_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/heretics_se/chapters