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The Atheist's Mass

by Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850)

  • Free to read
  • 30 min read
  • Reading level: 7th grade

"The Atheist's Mass" by Honoré de Balzac is a short story published in 1836. When a doctor discovers his mentor—a renowned surgeon and fierce atheist—secretly attending mass four times a year, he confronts him about this puzzling contradiction. The surgeon reveals a deeply moving story about a humble water-carrier who rescued him from poverty during his student years. Their unlikely friendship and the dying man's final wish lead to an act of gratitude that transcends belief itself.

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  • French fiction · Translations into English

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Produced by Dagny

THE ATHEIST'S MASS

By Honore De Balzac

Translated by Clara Bell

This is dedicated to Auguste Borget by his friend De Balzac

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About this edition

This free edition of The Atheist's Mass by Honoré de Balzac comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #1220, released 2005-12-03. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: Short Stories, French Literature.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

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