The Vatican swindle

THE VATICAN SWINDLE
ALSO BY ANDRÉ GIDE STRAIT IS THE GATE
“Deservedly the book which made André Gide famous. It is one of the great classics of French fiction since the death of Flaubert.”—Ernest Boyd in The New Republic .
( Les Caves Du Vatican ) Translated from the French of ANDRÉ GIDE by Dorothy Bussy New York ALFRED·A·KNOPF Mcmxxv COPYRIGHT, 1925, BY ALFRED A. KNOPF, INC. MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

“ Pour ma part, mon choix est fait. J’ai opté pour l’athéisme social. Cet athéisme, je l’ai exprimé depuis une quinzaine d’années, dans une série d’ouvrages ....”
—Georges Palante.
Chronique philosophique du Mercure de France (December, 1912).
In 1890, during the pontificate of Leo XIII, Anthime Armand-Dubois, unbeliever and freemason, visited Rome in order to consult Dr. X, the celebrated specialist for rheumatic complaints.
“What!” cried Julius de Baraglioul, his brother-in-law. “Is it your body you are going to treat in Rome? Pray Heaven you may realise when you get there that your soul is in far worse case.”
To which Armand-Dubois replied in a tone of excessive commiseration:
“My poor dear fellow, just look at my shoulders.”