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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Chesterton say concerning the boundaries of the will?
(a) The will is limiting to the man.
(b) The will defines a man's actions fully.
(c) The will has boundaries only if it is not a free action.
(d) The will frees a man.

2. According to Chesterton, at the beginning of Chapter Two, what happens to the men who believe in themselves?
(a) They end up in insane asylums.
(b) They have difficulty maintaining that belief.
(c) They are never properly appreciated.
(d) They achieve far more than other men do.

3. What does Chesterton assert as a necessity for the human mind?
(a) Belief in the power of progress.
(b) Some type of religious grounding.
(c) Belief in the Christian God.
(d) Belief in objective truth.

4. How does today's skeptic compare to the skeptic of the French Revolution, according to Chesterton?
(a) Today's skeptic is a true revolutionary.
(b) Today's skeptic is not a Jacobin.
(c) Today's skeptic is not nearly so violent.
(d) Today's skeptic cannot even define what he trusts.

5. According to Chesterton in Chapter Two, what is comparable to curing a madman?
(a) Casting out a demon.
(b) Tilting the earth on its axis.
(c) Arguing with a learned philosopher.
(d) Shifting the foundations of the sea.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chesterton's story about the sailor, what mistake does the man make?

2. Why does Chesterton assert that tall towers are an example of humility?

3. What does Chesterton name as the second principle of democracy?

4. What is the problem with taking change as the ideal in a man's life, according to Chesterton?

5. What examples does Chesterton give of lunatic thinking?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Chesterton say that the act of willing is a limiting act? Could it be freeing instead? What happens if you attempt to free something from the laws of its nature?

2. What does Chesterton say is the spirit of the law in fairy land? Why is this not inconsistent?

3. The author says people can justly call him a fool because he is a fool. What does this reveal about the man himself? How does this set up expectations for the rest of the book?

4. The only authority for Chesterton's argument is the Apostles' Creed. Is this more or less effective than appealing to the Bible as the sole authority?

5. Humility is chiefly understood chiefly as a restraint on a man's arrogance and boasting. What is Chesterton's argument concerning humility? What example does he give to illustrate a humble view of the world?

6. Chesterton explains that a madman's mind moves in a small, perfect circle. What does he mean with this picture? How does it relate to the movements of a sane man's mind?

7. Why does Chesterton's second notion of fairyland entail praise?

8. In the example of the explorer who only discovers his own land, Chesterton says that his first emotion might be foolishness. This should not be the sole emotion, though. Why does Chesterton name foolishness as the first emotion and how might this fit the religious explorer?

9. Chapter II, The Maniac, begins with the idea that man believing in himself is a weakness. Chesterton asserts this in the face of modern thinking, which says believing in oneself is the strongest way to live. What reasons does Chesterton give for asserting this statement?

10. What is "the false theory of progress" (Chesterton 2000, pg 196)? What implications does it have for daily life?

(see the answer keys)

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