But we like contradictions in terms. Man is a contradiction in terms; he is a beast whose superiority to other beasts consists in having fallen. That cross is, as you say, an eternal collision; so am I. That is a struggle in stone. Every form of life is a struggle in flesh. The shape of the cross is irrational, just as the shape of the human animal is irrational. You say the cross is quadruped with on limb longer than the rest. I say man is a quadruped who only uses two of his legs.
-- Father Michael (chapter 1 paragraph 5)

Importance: This passage embodies the rational of Father Michael's case for the need for religion in the world. He compares the shape of man to the shape of the cross, and says that while both are contradictions, both are as natural as the sphere upon which the cross rests.

Evan lived like a man walking on...
-- Narrator (chapter 2 paragraph 3)