Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all... As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.
Gilbert K. ChestertonWhen a politician is in opposition he is an expert on the means to some end; and when he is in office he is an expert on the obstacles to it.
Gilbert K. ChestertonSuch professions as the soldier and the lawyer ... give ample opportunity for crimes but not much for mere illusions. ... If you have lost a battle you cannot believe you have won it; if your client is hanged you cannot pretend that you have gotten him off.
Gilbert K. ChestertonTeach to the young, men's enduring truths, and let the learned amuse themselves with their passing errors.
Gilbert K. Chesterton