The Ball and the Cross

by G.K. Chesterton

Is not bloodshed a great sin?" "No," said MacIan, speaking for the first time. "Well, really, really!" said the peacemaker. "Murder is a sin," said the immovable Highlander. "There is no sin of bloodshed." "Well, we won't quarrel about a word," said the other, pleasantly. "Why on earth not?" said MacIan, with a sudden asperity. "Why shouldn't we quarrel about a word? What is the good of words if they aren't important enough to quarrel over? Why do we choose one word more than another if there isn't any difference between them? If you called a woman a chimpanzee instead of an angel, wouldn't there be a quarrel about a word? If you're not going to argue about words, what are you going to argue about? Are you going to convey your meaning to me by moving your ears? The Church and the heresies always used to fight about words, because they are the only things worth fighting about. I say that murder is a sin, and bloodshed is not, and that there is as much difference between those words as there is between the word 'yes' and the word 'no'; or rather more difference, for 'yes' and 'no', at least, belong to the same category. Murder is a spiritual incident. Bloodshed is a physical incident. A surgeon commits bloodshed. "Ah, you're a casuist!" said the large man, wagging his head. "Now, do you know what I always say to casuists...?"