The Ball and the Cross is a philosophical satirical novel by G. K. Chesterton. It follows a Catholic believer and an atheist who try to fight a duel over their beliefs, only to be constantly interrupted by modern society. It is worth listening to for its witty debate on faith, doubt, and religious liberty.
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Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
THE BALL AND THE CROSS By G.K. Chesterton I. A DISCUSSION SOMEWHAT IN THE AIR II. THE RELIGION OF THE STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE III. SOME OLD CURIOSITIES IV. A DISCUSSION AT DAWN V. THE PEACEMAKER VI. THE OTHER PHILOSOPHER VII. THE VILLAGE OF GRASSLEY-IN-THE-HOLE VIII. AN INTERLUDE OF ARGUMENT IX. THE STRANGE LADY X. THE SWORDS REJOINED XI. A SCANDAL IN THE VILLAGE
XII. THE DESERT ISLAND
XIII. THE GARDEN OF PEACE
XIV. A MUSEUM OF SOULS
XV. THE DREAM OF MACIAN
XVI. THE DREAM OF TURNBULL
XVII. THE IDIOT
XVIII. A RIDDLE OF FACES
XIX. THE LAST PARLEY
XX. DIES IRAE
I. A DISCUSSION SOMEWHAT IN THE AIR
The flying ship of Professor Lucifer sang through the skies like a silver arrow; the bleak white steel of it, gleaming in the bleak blue emptiness of the evening. That it was far above the earth was no expression for it; to the two men in it, it seemed to be far above the stars. The professor had himself invented the flying machine, and had also invented nearly everything in it. Every sort of tool or apparatus had, in consequence, to the full, that fantastic and distorted look which belongs to the miracles of science. For the world of science and evolution is far more nameless and elusive and like a dream than the world of poetry and religion; since in the latter images and ideas remain themselves eternally, while it is the whole idea of evolution that identities melt into each other as they do in a nightmare.
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