Finished Reading “Heretics”

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  "G. K. Chesterton, the "Prince of Paradox," is at his witty best in this collection of twenty essays and articles from the turn of the twentieth century. Focusing on  "heretics" - those who pride themselves on their superiority to Christian views - Chesterton appraises prominent figures who fall into that category from the literary and art worlds... those who hold incomplete and inadequate views about "life, the universe, and everything." He is, in short, criticizing all that host of non-Christian views of reality, as he demonstrated in his follow-up book Orthodoxy. The book is both an easy read and a difficult read. But he manages to demonstrate, among other things, that our new 21st century heresies are really not new because he himself deals with most of them." (Goodreads)

The Greatest

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Louis XIV died September 1, 1715. This same Louis who called himself "the Great" is also the same monarch who declared, "I am the State!" His court was the most magnificent in Europe (he reigned for 72 years), and his funeral was said to be quite spectacular.

During the funeral, as his body lay in a golden coffin, orders were given that the cathedral would remain dimly lighted, and a single special candle was set above the coffin.

Thousands waited in hushed silence.

Bishop Massilon began to speak: slowly reaching down, he snuffed out the single candle and said, "Only God is Great!"

The dying words of "the Great" were, "Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina (O Lord, make haste to help me)."

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