Chesterton's Shoes

Reading G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy has many benefits, not the least of which is a feeling similar to the one a small boy gets while clomping around in his father's shoes.

This reader has the distinct impression he has floundered into thoughts he can only make a clumsy attempt at wearing, but he has no choice but to forge ahead and glean as much as possible with each reading.

You can marvel at Chesterton's wit, which is considerable. You can study his insight, which is sweeping. Chesterton takes sanity as his starting point and proceeds to gather successive mountains of thought where lesser writers would have hewn out a logical succession of points.

Along the way, he uses observations and certain persistent realities to defend the supernatural and eventually Christian orthodoxy. By far the greatest benefit this first-time reader experienced, however, was the sense of having his feet more firmly on the ground, even if the shoes don't fit yet.