Merely having an open mind is nothing; the object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.

This remark is widely attributed to G. K. Chesterton in the context of his early-20th-century polemics against what he saw as fashionable skepticism and intellectual “open-mindedness” treated as an end in itself. Chesterton—an essayist, journalist, and Christian apologist—often argued that modern thought prized perpetual doubt and novelty while neglecting the need for assent, judgment, and commitment to truth. The line is commonly cited in discussions of education, critical thinking, and public debate, where it functions as a warning that inquiry should culminate in warranted conclusions rather than endless suspension of belief.

Chesterton uses a vivid analogy: an open mouth is not the goal of eating; it is a means to take in nourishment. Likewise, an “open mind” is valuable as a posture of receptivity and examination, but only insofar as it enables one to grasp something real—evidence, truth, or a coherent principle. The epigram criticizes a performative or complacent open-mindedness that refuses to discriminate among ideas or to decide. It defends the notion that intellectual virtue includes closure: the capacity to judge, to commit, and to hold beliefs firmly when they are well grounded.