The wisdom of Father Brown, G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton

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by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton · 1874–1936

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"The Wisdom of Father Brown" by G. K. Chesterton is a collection of mystery stories written in the early 20th century. The book introduces Father Brown, an unconventional priest with a knack for solving crimes that baffle the authorities, using his keen insight into human nature rather than traditional detective methods. The stories often weave themes of morality and the interplay between innocence and guilt, all set against a backdrop of quaint English settings and broader philosophical discussions. At the start of the collection, we meet Father Brown as he finds himself embroiled in a peculiar case involving two families and a mystery surrounding a young man named James Todhunter. After Todhunter is discovered bound and apparently drugged in his lodgings, suspicion falls upon his neighbor, Mr. Glass, and the circumstances lead to a confrontation between the priest and a distinguished criminologist, Dr. Orion Hood. As the tale unfolds, Brown reveals his unique blend of humor, insight, and moral conviction, turning the investigation on its head and showcasing his talents in deduction through lively dialogue and keen observation, ultimately challenging conventional notions of justice and appearance.

Summary generated automatically by Project Gutenberg.

Read time
326 min
Words
71,652
Chapters
3
Paragraphs
1,166
Price
Free
  • Brown, Father (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
  • Catholics -- Fiction
  • Clergy -- Fiction
  • Detective and mystery stories, English
  • England -- Fiction
The wisdom of Father BrownLUCIAN OLDERSHAW

M. MAURICE BRUN and M. Armand Armagnac were crossing the sunlit Champs Elysee with a kind of vivacious respectability.

M. MAURICE BRUN und M. Armand Armagnac überquerten die sonnendurchfluteten Champs Elysee mit einer Art lebhafter Anständigkeit.

They were both short, brisk and bold.

Beide waren klein, geschäftig und kühn.

They both had black beards that did not seem to belong to their faces, after the strange French fashion which makes real hair look like artificial.

Beide hatten schwarze Bärte, die nicht zu ihren Gesichtern zu gehören schienen, nach der seltsamen französischen Mode, die echtes Haar wie künstlich aussehen lässt.

M. Brun had a dark wedge of beard apparently affixed under his lower lip.

M. Brun hatte einen dunklen Keilbart, der scheinbar unter seinem Unterkinn befestigt war.

M. Armagnac, by way of a change, had two beards; one sticking out from each corner of his emphatic chin.

M. Armagnac hatte der Abwechslung halber zwei Bärte; einen, der aus jeder Ecke seines markanten Kinns herausragte.

They were both young.

Beide waren jung.

They were both atheists, with a depressing fixity of outlook but great mobility of exposition.

Beide waren Atheisten, mit einer deprimierenden Starrheit der Einstellung, aber großer Beweglichkeit der Darstellung.

They were both pupils of the great Dr Hirsch, scientist, publicist and moralist.

Beide waren Schüler des großen Dr. Hirsch, Wissenschaftler, Publizist und Moralist.

M. Brun had become prominent by his proposal that the common expression “Adieu” should be obliterated from all the French classics, and a slight fine imposed for its use in private life.

M. Brun war durch seinen Vorschlag bekannt geworden, dass der allgemeine Ausdruck „Adieu“ aus allen französischen Klassikern getilgt und für seine Verwendung im Privatleben eine leichte Geldstrafe verhängt werden sollte.

“Then,” he said, “the very name of your imagined God will have echoed for the last time in the ear of man.”

„Dann“, sagte er, „wird der Name Ihres eingebildeten Gottes zum letzten Mal im Ohr des Menschen widerhallt haben.“

M. Armagnac specialized rather in a resistance to militarism, and wished the chorus of the Marseillaise altered from “Aux armes, citoyens” to “Aux greves, citoyens”.

M. Armagnac spezialisierte sich eher in einem Widerstand gegen den Militarismus und wünschte, dass der Chorgesang der Marseillaise von „Aux armes, citoyens“ zu „Aux greves, citoyens“ geändert werde.

But his antimilitarism was of a peculiar and Gallic sort.

Aber sein Antimilitarismus war von einer eigentümlichen und gallischen Art.

An eminent and very wealthy English Quaker, who had come to see him to arrange for the disarmament of the whole planet, was rather distressed by Armagnac’s proposal that (by way of beginning) the soldiers should shoot their officers.

Ein angesehener und sehr wohlhabender englischer Quäker, der gekommen war, um ihn zu sehen, um die Abrüstung des gesamten Planeten zu vereinbaren, war eher bestürzt über Armagnacs Vorschlag, dass (als Anfang) die Soldaten ihre Offiziere erschießen sollten.

And indeed it was in this regard that the two men differed most from their leader and father in philosophy.

Und tatsächlich unterschieden sich die beiden Männer in dieser Hinsicht am meisten von ihrem Führer und Vater der Philosophie.

Dr Hirsch, though born in France and covered with the most triumphant favours of French education, was temperamentally of another type--mild, dreamy, humane; and, despite his sceptical system, not devoid of transcendentalism.

Dr. Hirsch, obwohl in Frankreich geboren und mit den triumphierendsten Gunstbeweisen der französischen Bildung überschüttet, war von Natur aus ein anderer Typ – mild, träumerisch, human; und trotz seines skeptischen Systems nicht frei von Transzendentalismus.

He was, in short, more like a German than a Frenchman; and much as they admired him, something in the subconsciousness of these Gauls was irritated at his pleading for peace in so peaceful a manner.

Er war, kurzum, mehr wie ein Deutscher als ein Franzose; und so sehr sie ihn bewunderten, etwas im Unterbewusstsein dieser Gallier war gereizt über sein Plädoyer für Frieden auf so friedliche Weise.

To their party throughout Europe, however, Paul Hirsch was a saint of science.

Zu seiner Partei in ganz Europa jedoch war Paul Hirsch ein Heiliger der Wissenschaft.

His large and daring cosmic theories advertised his austere life and innocent, if somewhat frigid, morality; he held something of the position of Darwin doubled with the position of Tolstoy.

Seine großen und kühnen kosmischen Theorien warben für sein strenges Leben und seine unschuldige, wenn auch etwas steife Moral; er nahm eine Position ein, die der von Darwin verdoppelt mit der Position von Tolstoi war.

But he was neither an anarchist nor an antipatriot; his views on disarmament were moderate and evolutionary--the Republican Government put considerable confidence in him as to various chemical improvements.

Aber er war weder ein Anarchist noch ein Antipatriot; seine Ansichten zur Abrüstung waren moderat und evolutionär – die republikanische Regierung setzte beträchtliches Vertrauen in ihn hinsichtlich verschiedener chemischer Verbesserungen.

He had lately even discovered a noiseless explosive, the secret of which the Government was carefully guarding.

Er hatte kürzlich sogar ein geräuschloses Explosivmittel entdeckt, dessen Geheimnis die Regierung sorgfältig hütete.

About the author

G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton1874–1936

G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton was a prolific English writer born in 1874 and died in 1936.

All 2 G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton books, easiest first →

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Book details

Original language
English
Translation
German, machine translation
Source text
Project Gutenberg #223
Licence
Public domain worldwide

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