The most imaginative people are the most credulous, for them

“The most imaginative people are the most credulous, for them everything is possible.” Thus spoke Alexander Chase, whose reflections on the human spirit carry the quiet insight of a philosopher observing the mysterious bond between wonder and belief. In these words, he reveals a paradox both ancient and eternal — that those who possess the greatest imagination also possess the greatest faith, for their minds do not confine themselves to what is seen or proven. The imaginative soul lives in the vast landscape of possibility; it looks beyond the visible horizon and whispers, “Why not?” Such people may be called credulous — easily believing — yet in their belief lies the seed of every miracle humanity has ever wrought.

Chase’s words remind us that imagination and credulity are not enemies, but companions. The mind that can picture new worlds must first believe that they can exist. To imagine is to have faith — faith not necessarily in the supernatural, but in the unseen, the untested, the not yet. The skeptic, bound by evidence and fear of error, may see the world as it is; but the imaginative sees the world as it could be. And so, as Chase observes, the imaginative person is “credulous” — not because they are naïve, but because they have the courage to believe in the impossible. To them, the universe is not a closed system of laws, but a living poem still being written by dreamers.

From the dawn of time, it has been the credulous dreamers who have reshaped the fate of humankind. Consider Christopher Columbus, who set sail not for certainty, but for a dream. To many, his vision of another world across the uncharted sea was folly — a fantasy without proof. Yet his belief carried him beyond the limits of the known, and though his voyage was fraught with error and imperfection, his imagination expanded the boundaries of the world itself. So too with every great innovator — Galileo, Da Vinci, Curie, Einstein — each believed in something unseen, something ridiculed, something that others called impossible. Their credulity was not foolishness; it was courageous faith in the unseen possibilities of life.

And yet, Chase’s insight also carries warning, for credulity without discernment can lead one astray. The imaginative person must balance wonder with wisdom, lest their belief become self-deception. The same mind that sees possibilities can also be ensnared by illusions. Throughout history, charlatans and tyrants have preyed upon the credulous, twisting their hope into fear, their belief into obedience. The lesson is not to silence imagination, but to temper it — to let belief and reason walk side by side. For imagination gives wings, but reason gives direction. Without one, we cannot fly; without the other, we cannot steer.

Still, it is better to be too open to possibility than too closed to wonder. The cynic, who trusts nothing and dreams of nothing, builds no bridges, writes no poems, discovers no stars. The imaginative soul, though vulnerable, lives richly — for every dawn is a new creation, every failure a beginning. To believe that everything is possible is not childishness, but the very essence of creation. The greatest artists and prophets have all lived with this faith. William Blake, who saw angels in the trees and eternity in a grain of sand, was mocked as a madman — yet his vision has outlived the judgments of his age. His credulity was his genius, his imagination his gateway to the infinite.

Thus, Chase’s wisdom stands as both praise and challenge: to imagine deeply is to believe deeply. It is to live as one who knows that reality is not fixed, but fluid; that each thought, each dream, each act of courage reshapes the world’s boundaries. The imaginative person may stumble more often than the cautious one, but they also climb higher. Their mistakes are the price of their miracles. Their belief opens doors the skeptic never knew were there.

So, dear seeker of truth, guard not your heart too tightly against wonder. Cultivate imagination, but also reflection; let yourself believe, but also discern. When the world says “impossible,” dare to ask, “What if?” For it is from that question that progress, beauty, and discovery are born. As Alexander Chase teaches, those who believe that everything is possible may sometimes be deceived — but those who believe in nothing at all will never awaken the power of creation within them. Better, then, to live credulously with vision than skeptically in the dust. For it is the dreamers, not the doubters, who move the stars.