Nonsense, argues G. K. Chesterton, deserves more serious attention than we may initially assume. It is in nonsense that we regain a sense of wonder at the world – by appreciating the pure serendipitousness of the beauty that fills our lives.

This essay is one in a series titled The Defendant, first published as a collection in 1901, after the individual essays were published in The Speaker. Here, a selection of these essays has been reissued by Voices of Today for a new generation.