Orthodoxy by {author}: summary and why it matters

What it argues

Chesterton tells how he tried to work out a philosophy of his own and found, to his surprise, that he had reinvented orthodox Christianity. He recounts it as an adventure, like an explorer who discovers England thinking he has found a new island.

He argues that the modern skeptic's problems arise from the loss of balance: the madman is not the man who has lost his reason but the one who has lost everything except his reason. Against the idea of progress as endless change, he defends tradition as the democracy of the dead and gives the dead a vote. He claims that Christianity alone holds together opposing virtues, such as pride and humility, anger and mercy, and that the creed is the only thing that has remained roomy enough for the full range of human life.

The style is paradox and wit, with a joy that carries the argument.

Why it matters

The book is a favorite of conservative Christians and of non-believers who enjoy its prose, and its defense of tradition and common sense has affected many writers, including C. S. Lewis. It shows that a conservative disposition can be cheerful rather than gloomy.

About the author

G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was an English journalist, novelist and poet who wrote the Father Brown stories and The Man Who Was Thursday. He published Orthodoxy in 1908, as a reply to critics who had challenged him to explain his beliefs, and entered the Catholic Church in 1922. He wrote some hundred books and thousands of essays.

Who should read it

Readers who like essays and arguments in a lively voice. The chapter titled The Ethics of Elfland is a good sample.