,,the ,,grand ,,inquisitor ,by ,feodor ,dostoevsky 7,translation by ,h4,p4 ,blavatsky7 ,dedicated by the ,translator to those sceptics who clamour so loudly1 both in print and private letters--,show us the wonder-working ',brothers1' let them come out publicly--and we will believe in them6 ,the following is an extract from ,m4 ,dostoevsky's celebrated novel1 ,the ,brothers ,karamazof1 the last publication from the pen of the great ,russian novelist1 who died a few months ago1 just as the concluding chapters appeared in print4 ,dostoevsky is beginning to be recognized as one of the ablest and profoundest among ,russian writers4 ,his characters are invariably typical portraits drawn from various classes of ,russian society1 strikingly life-like and realistic to the highest degree4 ,the following extract is a cutting satire on modern theology generally and the ,roman ,catholic religion in particular4 ,the idea is that ,christ revisits earth1 coming to ,spain at the period of the ,inquisition1 and is at once arrested as a heretic by the ,grand ,inquisitor4 ,one of the three brothers of the story1 ,ivan1 a rank materialist and an atheist of the new school1 is supposed to throw this conception into the form of a poem1 which he describes to ,alyosha--the youngest of the brothers1 a young ,christian mystic brought up by a saint in a monastery--as follows3 7--,ed4 ,theosophist1 ,nov41 #ahha7 ,quite impossible1 as you see1 to start without an introduction1 laughed ,ivan4 ,well1 then1 ,i mean to place the event described in the poem in the sixteenth century1 an age--as you must have been told at school--when it was the great fashion among poets to make the denizens and powers of higher worlds descend on earth and mix freely with mortals444 ,in ,france all the notaries' clerks1 and the monks in the cloisters as well1 used to give grand performances1 dramatic plays in which long scenes were enacted by the ,madonna1 the angels1 the saints1 ,christ1 and even by ,god ,himself4 ,in those days1 everything was very artless and primitive4 ,an instance of it may be found in ,victor ,hugo's drama1 ,notre ,dame de ,paris1 where1 at the ,municipal ,hall1 a play called ,le ,bon ,jugement de la ,tres-sainte et ,graciuse ,vierge ,marie1 is enacted in honour of ,louis ,,xi1 in which the ,virgin appears personally to pronounce her 'good judgment4' ,in ,moscow1 during the prepetrean period1 performances of nearly the same character1 chosen especially from the ,old ,testament1 were also in great favour4 ,apart from such plays1 the world was overflooded with mystical writings1 'verses'--the heroes of which were always selected from the ranks of angels1 saints and other heavenly citizens answering to the devotional purposes of the age4 ,the recluses of our monasteries1 like the ,roman ,catholic monks1 passed their time in translating1 copying1 and even producing original compositions upon such subjects1 and that1 remember1 during the ,tarter period6444 ,in this connection1 ,i am reminded of a poem compiled in a convent--a translation from the ,greek1 of course--called1 ',the ,travels of the ,mother of ,god among the ,damned1' with fitting illustrations and a boldness of conception inferior nowise to that of ,dante4 ,the ',mother of ,god' visits hell1 in company with the archangel ,michael as her cicerone to guide her through the legions of the 'damned4' ,she sees them all1 and is witness to their multifarious tortures4 ,among the many other exceedingly remarkably varieties of torments--every category of sinners having its own--there is one especially worthy of notice1 namely a class of the 'damned' sentenced to gradually sink in a burning lake of brimstone and fire4 ,those whose sins cause them to sink so low that they no longer can rise to the surface are for ever forgotten by ,god1 i4e41 they fade out from the omniscient memory1 says the poem--an expression1 by the way1 of an extraordinary profundity of thought1 when closely analysed4 ,the ,virgin is terribly shocked1 and falling down upon her knees in tears before the throne of ,god1 begs that all she has seen in hell--all1 all without exception1 should have their sentences remitted to them4 ,her dialogue with ,god is colossally interesting4 ,she supplicates1 she will not leave ,him4 ,and when ,god1 pointing to the pierced hands and feet of her ,son1 cries1 ',how can ,i forgive ,his executioners8' ,she then commands that all the saints1 martyrs1 angels and archangels1 should prostrate themselves with her before the ,immutable and ,changeless ,one and implore ,him to change ,his wrath into mercy and--forgive them all4 ,the poem closes upon her obtaining from ,god a compromise1 a kind of yearly respite of tortures between ,good ,friday and ,trinity1 a chorus of the 'damned' singing loud praises to ,god from their 'bottomless pit1' thanking and telling ,him3 ,thou art right1 ,o ,lord1 very right1 ,thou hast condemned us justly4 ,my poem is of the same character4 ,in it1 it is ,christ who appears on the scene4 ,true1 ,he says nothing1 but only appears and passes out of sight4 ,fifteen centuries have elapsed since ,he left the world with the distinct promise to return 'with power and great glory'2 fifteen long centuries since ,his prophet cried1 ',prepare ye the way of the ,lord6' since ,he ,himself had foretold1 while yet on earth1 ',of that day and hour knoweth no man1 no1 not the angels of heaven but my ,father only4' ,but ,christendom expects ,him still4 444 ,it waits for ,him with the same old faith and the same emotion2 aye1 with a far greater faith1 for fifteen centuries have rolled away since the last sign from heaven was sent to man1 ,and blind faith remained alone ,to lull the trusting heart1 ,as heav'n would send a sign no more4 ,true1 again1 we have all heard of miracles being wrought ever since the 'age of miracles' passed away to return no more4 ,we had1 and still have1 our saints credited with performing the most miraculous cures2 and1 if we can believe their biographers1 there have been those among them who have been personally visited by the ,queen of ,heaven4 ,but ,satan sleepeth not1 and the first germs of doubt1 and ever-increasing unbelief in such wonders1 already had begun to sprout in ,christendom as early as the sixteenth century4 ,it was just at that time that a new and terrible heresy first made its appearance in the north of ,germany499 99,luther's reform ,a great star 'shining as it were a lamp444 fell upon the fountains waters'444 and 'they were made bitter4' ,this 'heresy' blasphemously denied 'miracles4' ,but those who had remained faithful believed all the more ardently1 the tears of mankind ascended to ,him as heretofore1 and the ,christian world was expecting ,him as confidently as ever2 they loved ,him and hoped in ,him1 thirsted and hungered to suffer and die for ,him just as many of them had done before4444 ,so many centuries had weak1 trusting humanity implored ,him1 crying with ardent faith and fervour3 ',how long1 ,o ,lord1 holy and true1 dost ,thou not come6' ,so many long centuries hath it vainly appealed to ,him1 that at last1 in ,his inexhaustible compassion1 ,he consenteth to answer the prayer4444 ,he decideth that once more1 if it were but for one short hour1 the people--,his long-suffering1 tortured1 fatally sinful1 his loving and child-like1 trusting people--shall behold ,him again4 ,the scene of action is placed by me in ,spain1 at ,seville1 during that terrible period of the ,inquisition1 when1 for the greater glory of ,god1 stakes were flaming all over the country4 ,burning wicked heretics1 ,in grand auto-da-fes4 ,this particular visit has1 of course1 nothing to do with the promised ,advent1 when1 according to the programme1 'after the tribulation of those days1' ,he will appear 'coming in the clouds of heaven4' ,for1 that 'coming of the ,son of ,man1' as we are informed1 will take place as suddenly 'as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west4' ,no2 this once1 ,he desired to come unknown1 and appear among ,his children1 just when the bones of the heretics1 sentenced to be burnt alive1 had commenced crackling at the flaming stakes4 ,owing to ,his limitless mercy1 ,he mixes once more with mortals and in the same form in which ,he was wont to appear fifteen centuries ago4 ,he descends1 just at the very moment when before king1 courtiers1 knights1 cardinals1 and the fairest dames of court1 before the whole population of ,seville1 upwards of a hundred wicked heretics are being roasted1 in a magnificent auto-da-fe ad majorem ,dei gloriam1 by the order of the powerful ,cardinal ,grand ,inquisitor4 ,he comes silently and unannounced2 yet all--how strange--yea1 all recognize ,him1 at once6 ,the population rushes towards ,him as if propelled by some irresistible force2 it surrounds1 throngs1 and presses around1 it follows ,him4444 ,silently1 and with a smile of boundless compassion upon ,his lips1 ,he crosses the dense crowd1 and moves softly on4 ,the ,sun of ,love burns in ,his heart1 and warm rays of ,light1 ,wisdom and ,power beam forth from ,his eyes1 and pour down their waves upon the swarming multitudes of the rabble assembled around1 making their hearts vibrate with returning love4 ,he extends ,his hands over their heads1 blesses them1 and from mere contact with ,him1 aye1 even with ,his garments1 a healing power goes forth4 ,an old man1 blind from his birth1 cries1 ',lord1 heal me1 that ,i may see ,thee6' and the scales falling off the closed eyes1 the blind man beholds ,him444 ,the crowd weeps for joy1 and kisses the ground upon which ,he treads4 ,children strew flowers along ,his path and sing to ,him1 ',hosanna6' ,it is ,he1 it is ,himself1 they say to each other1 it must be ,he1 it can be none other but ,he6 ,he pauses at the portal of the old cathedral1 just as a wee white coffin is carried in1 with tears and great lamentations4 ,the lid is off1 and in the coffin lies the body of a fair-child1 seven years old1 the only child of an eminent citizen of the city4 ,the little corpse lies buried in flowers4 ',he will raise the child to life6' confidently shouts the crowd to the weeping mother4 ,the officiating priest who had come to meet the funeral procession1 looks perplexed1 and frowns4 ,a loud cry is suddenly heard1 and the bereaved mother prostrates herself at ,his feet4 ',if it be ,thou1 then bring back my child to life6' she cries beseechingly4 ,the procession halts1 and the little coffin is gently lowered at his feet4 ,divine compassion beams forth from ,his eyes1 and as ,he looks at the child1 ,his lips are heard to whisper once more1 ',talitha ,cumi'--and 'straightway the damsel arose4' ,the child rises in her coffin4 ,her little hands still hold the nosegay of white roses which after death was placed in them1 and1 looking round with large astonished eyes she smiles sweetly 4444 ,the crowd is violently excited4 ,a terrible commotion rages among them1 the populace shouts and loudly weeps1 when suddenly1 before the cathedral door1 appears the ,cardinal ,grand ,inquisitor himself4444 ,he is tall1 gaunt-looking old man of nearly four-score years and ten1 with a stern1 withered face1 and deeply sunken eyes1 from the cavity of which glitter two fiery sparks4 ,he has laid aside his gorgeous cardinal's robes in which he had appeared before the people at the auto da-fe of the enemies of the ,romish ,church1 and is now clad in his old1 rough1 monkish cassock4 ,his sullen assistants and slaves of the 'holy guard' are following at a distance4 ,he pauses before the crowd and observes4 ,he has seen all4 ,he has witnessed the placing of the little coffin at ,his feet1 the calling back to life4 ,and now1 his dark1 grim face has grown still darker2 his bushy grey eyebrows nearly meet1 and his sunken eye flashes with sinister light4 ,slowly raising his finger1 he commands his minions to arrest ,him4444 ,such is his power over the well-disciplined1 submissive and now trembling people1 that the thick crowds immediately give way1 and scattering before the guard1 amid dead silence and without one breath of protest1 allow them to lay their sacrilegious hands upon the stranger and lead ,him away4444 ,that same populace1 like one man1 now bows its head to the ground before the old ,inquisitor1 who blesses it and slowly moves onward4 ,the guards conduct their prisoner to the ancient building of the ,holy ,tribunal2 pushing ,him into a narrow1 gloomy1 vaulted prison-cell1 they lock ,him in and retire4444 ,the day wanes1 and night--a dark1 hot breathless ,spanish night--creeps on and settles upon the city of ,seville4 ,the air smells of laurels and orange blossoms4 ,in the ,cimmerian darkness of the old ,tribunal ,hall the iron door of the cell is suddenly thrown open1 and the ,grand ,inquisitor1 holding a dark lantern1 slowly stalks into the dungeon4 ,he is alone1 and1 as the heavy door closes behind him1 he pauses at the threshold1 and1 for a minute or two1 silently and gloomily scrutinizes the ,face before him4 ,at last approaching with measured steps1 he sets his lantern down upon the table and addresses ,him in these words3 ',it is ,thou6 444 ,thou6' 444 ,receiving no reply1 he rapidly continues3 ',nay1 answer not2 be silent6 444 ,and what couldst ,thou say8 444 ,i know but too well ,thy answer4444 ,besides1 ,thou hast no right to add one syllable to that which was already uttered by ,thee before4444 ,why shouldst ,thou now return1 to impede us in our work8 ,for ,thou hast come but for that only1 and ,thou knowest it well4 ,but art ,thou as well aware of what awaits ,thee in the morning8 ,i do not know1 nor do ,i care to know who thou mayest be3 be it ,thou or only thine image1 to-morrow ,i will condemn and burn ,thee on the stake1 as the most wicked of all the heretics2 and that same people1 who to-day were kissing ,thy feet1 to-morrow at one bend of my finger1 will rush to add fuel to ,thy funeral pile444 ,wert ,thou aware of this8' he adds1 speaking as if in solemn thought1 and never for one instant taking his piercing glance off the meek ,face before him44444 ,i can hardly realize the situation described--what is all this1 ,ivan8 suddenly interrupted ,alyosha1 who had remained silently listening to his brother4 ,is this an extravagant fancy1 or some mistake of the old man1 an impossible quid pro quo8 ,let it be the latter1 if you like1 laughed ,ivan1 since modern realism has so perverted your taste that you feel unable to realize anything from the world of fancy4444 ,let it be a quid pro quo1 if you so choose it4 ,again1 the ,inquisitor is ninety years old1 and he might have easily gone mad with his one idee fixe of power2 or1 it might have as well been a delirious vision1 called forth by dying fancy1 overheated by the auto-da-fe of the hundred heretics in that forenoon4444 ,but what matters for the poem1 whether it was a quid pro quo or an uncontrollable fancy8 ,the question is1 that the old man has to open his heart2 that he must give out his thought at last2 and that the hour has come when he does speak it out1 and says loudly that which for ninety years he has kept secret within his own breast4 ,and his prisoner1 does ,he never reply8 ,does ,he keep silent1 looking at him1 without saying a word8 ,of course2 and it could not well be otherwise1 again retorted ,ivan4 ,the ,grand ,inquisitor begins from his very first words by telling ,him that ,he has no right to add one syllable to that which ,he had said before4 ,to make the situation clear at once1 the above preliminary monologue is intended to convey to the reader the very fundamental idea which underlies ,roman ,catholicism--as well as ,i can convey it1 his words mean1 in short3 ',everything was given over by ,thee to the ,pope1 and everything now rests with him alone2 ,thou hast no business to return and thus hinder us in our work4' ,in this sense the ,jesuits not only talk but write likewise4 ',hast thou the right to divulge to us a single one of the mysteries of that world whence ,thou comest8' enquires of ,him my old ,inquisitor1 and forthwith answers for ,him4 ',nay1 ,thou has no such right4 ,for1 that would be adding to that which was already said by ,thee before2 hence depriving people of that freedom for which ,thou hast so stoutly stood up while yet on earth4444 ,anything new that ,thou would now proclaim would have to be regarded as an attempt to interfere with that freedom of choice1 as it would come as a new and a miraculous revelation superseding the old revelation of fifteen hundred years ago1 when ,thou didst so repeatedly tell the people3 ,the truth shall make you free4 ,behold then1 ,thy free people now6' adds the old man with sombre irony4 ',yea6444 it has cost us dearly4' he continues1 sternly looking at his victim4 ',but we have at last accomplished our task1 and--in ,thy name4444 ,for fifteen long centuries we had to toil and suffer owing to that freedom3 but now we have prevailed and our work is done1 and well and strongly it is done4 4444,believest not ,thou it is so very strong8 444 ,and why should ,thou look at me so meekly as if ,i were not worthy even of ,thy indignation8444 ,know then1 that now1 and only now1 ,thy people feel fully sure and satisfied of their freedom2 and that only since they have themselves and of their own free will delivered that freedom unto our hands by placing it submissively at our feet4 ,but then1 that is what we have done4 ,is it that which ,thou has striven for8 ,is this the kind of freedom ,thou has promised them8' ,now again1 ,i do not understand1 interrupted ,alyosha4 ,does the old man mock and laugh8 ,not in the least4 ,he seriously regards it as a great service done by himself1 his brother monks and ,jesuits1 to humanity1 to have conquered and subjected unto their authority that freedom1 and boasts that it was done but for the good of the world4 ',for only now1' he says 7speaking of the ,inquisition7 'has it become possible to us1 for the first time1 to give a serious thought to human happiness4 ,man is born a rebel1 and can rebels be ever happy8444 ,thou has been fairly warned of it1 but evidently to no use1 since ,thou hast rejected the only means which could make mankind happy2 fortunately at ,thy departure ,thou hast delivered the task to us4444 ,thou has promised1 ratifying the pledge by ,thy own words1 in words giving us the right to bind and unbind444 and surely1 ,thou couldst not think of depriving us of it now6' ,but what can he mean by the words1 ',thou has been fairly warned'8 asked ,alexis4 ,these words give the key to what the old man has to say for his justification444 ,but listen-- ',the terrible and wise spirit1 the spirit of self annihilation and non-being1' goes on the ,inquisitor1 'the great spirit of negation conversed with ,thee in the wilderness1 and we are told that he tempted ,thee444 ,was it so8 ,and if it were so1 then it is impossible to utter anything more truthful than what is contained in his three offers1 which ,thou didst reject1 and which are usually called temptations4 ,yea2 if ever there was on earth a genuine striking wonder produced1 it was on that day of ,thy three temptations1 and it is precisely in these three short sentences that the marvelous miracle is contained4 ,if it were possible that they should vanish and disappear for ever1 without leaving any trace1 from the record and from the memory of man1 and that it should become necessary again to devise1 invent1 and make them reappear in ,thy history once more1 thinkest ,thou that all the world's sages1 all the legislators1 initiates1 philosophers and thinkers1 if called upon to frame three questions which should1 like these1 besides answering the magnitude of the event1 express in three short sentences the whole future history of this our world and of mankind--dost ,thou believe1 ,i ask ,thee1 that all their combined efforts could ever create anything equal in power and depth of thought to the three propositions offered ,thee by the powerful and all-wise spirit in the wilderness8 ,judging of them by their marvelous aptness alone1 one can at once perceive that they emanated not from a finite1 terrestrial intellect1 but indeed1 from the ,eternal and the ,absolute4 ,in these three offers we find1 blended into one and foretold to us1 the complete subsequent history of man2 we are shown three images1 so to say1 uniting in them all the future axiomatic1 insoluble problems and contradictions of human nature1 the world over4 ,in those days1 the wondrous wisdom contained in them was not made so apparent as it is now1 for futurity remained still veiled2 but now1 when fifteen centuries have elapsed1 we see that everything in these three questions is so marvelously foreseen and foretold1 that to add to1 or to take away from1 the prophecy one jot1 would be absolutely impossible6 ',decide then thyself4' sternly proceeded the ,inquisitor1 'which of ye twain was right3 ,thou who didst reject1 or he who offered8 ,remember the subtle meaning of question the first1 which runs thus3 ,wouldst ,thou go into the world empty-handed8 ,would ,thou venture thither with ,thy vague and undefined promise of freedom1 which men1 dull and unruly as they are by nature1 are unable so much as to understand1 which they avoid and fear8--for never was there anything more unbearable to the human race than personal freedom6 ,dost ,thou see these stones in the desolate and glaring wilderness8 ,command that these stones be made bread--and mankind will run after ,thee1 obedient and grateful like a herd of cattle4 ,but even then it will be ever diffident and trembling1 lest ,thou should take away ,thy hand1 and they lose thereby their bread6 ,thou didst refuse to accept the offer for fear of depriving men of their free choice2 for where is there freedom of choice where men are bribed with bread8 ,man shall not live by bread alone--was ,thine answer4 ,thou knewest not1 it seems1 that it was precisely in the name of that earthly bread that the terrestrial spirit would one day rise against1 struggle with1 and finally conquer ,thee1 followed by the hungry multitudes shouting3 ,who is like unto that ,beast1 who maketh fire come down from heaven upon the earth6 ,knowest ,thou not that1 but a few centuries hence1 and the whole of mankind will have proclaimed in its wisdom and through its mouthpiece1 ,science1 that there is no more crime1 hence no more sin on earth1 but only hungry people8 ,feed us first and then command us to be virtuous6 will be the words written upon the banner lifted against ,thee--a banner which shall destroy ,thy ,church to its very foundations1 and in the place of ,thy ,temple shall raise once more the terrible ,tower of ,babel2 and though its building be left unfinished1 as was that of the first one1 yet the fact will remain recorded that ,thou couldst1 but wouldst not1 prevent the attempt to build that new tower by accepting the offer1 and thus saving mankind a millennium of useless suffering on earth4 ,and it is to us that the people will return again4 ,they will search for us catacombs1 as we shall once more be persecuted and martyred--and they will begin crying unto us3 ,feed us1 for they who promised us the fire from heaven have deceived us6 ,it is then that we will finish building their tower for them4 ,for they alone who feed them shall finish it1 and we shall feed them in ,thy name1 and lying to them that it is in that name4 ,oh1 never1 never1 will they learn to feed themselves without our help6 ,no science will ever give them bread so long as they remain free1 so long as they refuse to lay that freedom at our feet1 and say3 ,enslave1 but feed us6 ,that day must come when men will understand that freedom and daily bread enough to satisfy all are unthinkable and can never be had together1 as men will never be able to fairly divide the two among themselves4 ,and they will also learn that they can never be free1 for they are weak1 vicious1 miserable nonentities born wicked and rebellious4 ,thou has promised to them the bread of life1 the bread of heaven2 but ,i ask ,thee again1 can that bread ever equal in the sight of the weak and the vicious1 the ever ungrateful human race1 their daily bread on earth8 ,and even supposing that thousands and tens of thousands follow ,thee in the name of1 and for the sake of1 ,thy heavenly bread1 what will become of the millions and hundreds of millions of human beings to weak to scorn the earthly for the sake of ,thy heavenly bread8 ,or is it but those tens of thousands chosen among the great and the mighty1 that are so dear to ,thee1 while the remaining millions1 innumerable as the grains of sand in the seas1 the weak and the loving1 have to be used as material for the former8 ,no1 no6 ,in our sight and for our purpose the weak and the lowly are the more dear to us4 ,true1 they are vicious and rebellious1 but we will force them into obedience1 and it is they who will admire us the most4 ,they will regard us as gods1 and feel grateful to those who have consented to lead the masses and bear their burden of freedom by ruling over them--so terrible will that freedom at last appear to men6 ,then we will tell them that it is in obedience to ,thy will and in ,thy name that we rule over them4 ,we will deceive them once more and lie to them once again--for never1 never more will we allow ,thee to come among us4 ,in this deception we will find our suffering1 for we must needs lie eternally1 and never cease to lie6 ,such is the secret meaning of temptation the first1 and that is what ,thou didst reject in the wilderness for the sake of that freedom which ,thou didst prize above all4 ,meanwhile ,thy tempter's offer contained another great world-mystery4 ,by accepting the bread1 ,thou wouldst have satisfied and answered a universal craving1 a ceaseless longing alive in the heart of every individual human being1 lurking in the breast of collective mankind1 that most perplexing problem--whom or what shall we worship8 ,there exists no greater or more painful anxiety for a man who has freed himself from all religious bias1 than how he shall soonest find a new object or idea to worship4 ,but man seeks to bow before that only which is recognized by the greater majority1 if not by all his fellow-men1 as having a right to be worshipped2 whose rights are so unquestionable that men agree unanimously to bow down to it4 ,for the chief concern of these miserable creatures is not to find and worship the idol of their own choice1 but to discover that which all others will believe in1 and consent to bow down to in a mass4 ,it is that instinctive need of having a worship in common that is the chief suffering of every man1 the chief concern of mankind from the beginning of times4 ,it is for that universality of religious worship that people destroyed each other by sword4 ,creating gods unto themselves1 they forwith began appealing to each other3 ,abandon your deities1 come and bow down to ours1 or death to ye and your idols6 ,and so will they do till the end of this world2 they will do so even then1 when all the gods themselves have disappeared1 for then men will prostrate themselves before and worship some idea4 ,thou didst know1 ,thou couldst not be ignorant of1 that mysterious fundamental principle in human nature1 and still thou hast rejected the only absolute banner offered ,thee1 to which all the nations would remain true1 and before which all would have bowed--the banner of earthly bread1 rejected in the name of freedom and of bread in the kingdom of ,god6 ,behold1 then1 what ,thou hast done furthermore for that freedom's sake6 ,i repeat to ,thee1 man has no greater anxiety in life than to find some one to whom he can make over that gift of freedom with which the unfortunate creature is born4 ,but he alone will prove capable of silencing and quieting their consciences1 that shall succeed in possessing himself of the freedom of men4 ,with daily bread an irresistible power was offered ,thee3 show a man bread and he will follow ,thee1 for what can he resist less than the attraction of bread8 ,but if1 at the same time1 another succeed in possessing himself of his conscience--oh6 then even ,thy bread will be forgotten1 and man will follow him who seduced his conscience4 ,so far ,thou wert right4 ,for the mystery of human being does not solely rest in the desire to live1 but in the problem--for what should one live at all8 ,without a clear perception of his reasons for living1 man will never consent to live1 and will rather destroy himself than tarry on earth1 though he be surrounded with bread4 ,this is the truth4 ,but what has happened8 ,instead of getting hold of man's freedom1 ,thou has enlarged it still more6 ,hast ,thou again forgotten that to man rest and even death are preferable to a free choice between the knowledge of ,good and ,evil8 ,nothing seems more seductive in his eyes than freedom of conscience1 and nothing proves more painful4 ,and behold6 instead of laying a firm foundation whereon to rest once for all man's conscience1 ,thou hast chosen to stir up in him all that is abnormal1 mysterious1 and indefinite1 all that is beyond human strength1 and has acted as if ,thou never hadst any love for him1 and yet ,thou wert ,he who came to lay down ,his life for ,his friends6 ,thou hast burdened man's soul with anxieties hitherto unknown to him4 ,thirsting for human love freely given1 seeking to enable man1 seduced and charmed by ,thee1 to follow ,thy path of his own free-will1 instead of the old and wise law which held him in subjection1 ,thou hast given him the right henceforth to choose and freely decide what is good and bad for him1 guided but by ,thine image in his heart4 ,but hast ,thou never dreamt of the probability1 nay1 of the certainty1 of that same man one day rejected finally1 and controverting even ,thine image and ,thy truth1 once he would find himself laden with such a terrible burden as freedom of choice8 ,that a time would surely come when men would exclaim that ,truth and ,light cannot be in ,thee1 for no one could have left them in a greater perplexity and mental suffering than ,thou has done1 lading them with so many cares and insoluble problems4 ,thus1 it is ,thyself who hast laid the foundation for the destruction of ,thine own kingdom and no one but ,thou is to be blamed for it4 ',meantime1 every chance of success was offered ,thee4 ,there are three ,powers1 three unique ,forces upon earth1 capable of conquering for ever by charming the conscience of these weak rebels--men--for their own good2 and these ,forces are3 ,miracle1 ,mystery and ,authority4 ,thou hast rejected all the three1 and thus wert the first to set them an example4 ,when the terrible and all-wise spirit placed ,thee on a pinnacle of the temple and said unto ,thee1 ,if ,thou be the son of ,god1 cast ,thyself down1 for it is written1 ,he shall give ,his angels charge concerning ,thee3 and in their hands they shall bear ,thee up1 lest at any time ,thou dash ,thy foot against a stone6--for thus ,thy faith in ,thy father should have been made evident1 ,thou didst refuse to accept his suggestion and didst not follow it4 ,oh1 undoubtedly1 ,thou didst act in this with all the magnificent pride of a god1 but then men--that weak and rebel race--are they also gods1 to understand ,thy refusal8 ,of course1 ,thou didst well know that by taking one single step forward1 by making the slightest motion to throw ,thyself down1 ,thou wouldst have tempted the ,lord ,thy ,god1 lost suddenly all faith in ,him1 and dashed ,thyself to atoms against that same earth which ,thou camest to save1 and thus wouldst have allowed the wise spirit which tempted ,thee to triumph and rejoice4 ,but1 then1 how many such as ,thee are to be found on this globe1 ,i ask ,thee8 ,couldst ,thou ever for a moment imagine that men would have the same strength to resist such a temptation8 ,is human nature calculated to reject miracle1 and trust1 during the most terrible moments in life1 when the most momentous1 painful and perplexing problems struggle within man's soul1 to the free decisions of his heart for the true solution8 ,oh1 ,thou knewest well that that action of ,thine would remain recorded in books for ages to come1 reaching to the confines of the globe1 and ,thy hope was1 that following ,thy example1 man would remain true to his ,god1 without needing any miracle to keep his faith alive6 ,but ,thou knewest not1 it seems1 that no sooner would man reject miracle than he would reject ,god likewise1 for he seeketh less ,god than a sign from ,him4 ,and thus1 as it is beyond the power of man to remain without miracles1 so1 rather than live without1 he will create for himself new wonders of his own making2 and he will bow to and worship the soothsayer's miracles1 the old witch's sorcery1 were he a rebel1 a heretic1 and an atheist a hundred times over4 ,thy refusal to come down from the cross when people1 mocking and wagging their heads were saying to ,thee--,save ,thyself if ,thou be the son of ,god1 and we will believe in ,thee1 was due to the same determination--not to enslave man through miracle1 but to obtain faith in ,thee freely and apart from any miraculous influence4 ,thou thirstest for free and uninfluenced love1 and refuses the passionate adoration of the slave before a ,potency which would have subjected his will once for ever4 ,thou judgest of men too highly here1 again1 for though rebels they be1 they are born slaves and nothing more4 ,behold1 and judge of them once more1 now that fifteen centuries have elapsed since that moment4 ,look at them1 whom ,thou didst try to elevate unto ,thee6 ,i swear man is weaker and lower than ,thou hast ever imagined him to be6 ,can he ever do that which ,thou art said to have accomplished8 ,by valuing him so highly ,thou hast acted as if there were no love for him in ,thine heart1 for ,thou hast demanded of him more than he could ever give--,thou1 who lovest him more than ,thyself6 ,hadst ,thou esteemed him less1 less wouldst ,thou have demanded of him1 and that would have been more like love1 for his burden would have been made thereby lighter4 ,man is weak and cowardly4 ,what matters it1 if he now riots and rebels throughout the world against our will and power1 and prides himself upon that rebellion8 ,it is but the petty pride and vanity of a school-boy4 ,it is the rioting of little children1 getting up a mutiny in the class-room and driving their schoolmaster out of it4 ,but it will not last long1 and when the day of their triumph is over1 they will have to pay dearly for it4 ,they will destroy the temples and raze them to the ground1 flooding the earth with blood4 ,but the foolish children will have to learn some day that1 rebels though they be and riotous from nature1 they are too weak to maintain the spirit of mutiny for any length of time4 ,suffused with idiotic tears1 they will confess that ,he who created them rebellious undoubtedly did so but to mock them4 ,they will pronounce these words in despair1 and such blasphemous utterances will but add to their misery--for human nature cannot endure blasphemy1 and takes her own revenge in the end4 ',and thus1 after all ,thou has suffered for mankind and its freedom1 the present fate of men may be summed up in three words3 ,unrest1 ,confusion1 ,misery6 ,thy great prophet ,john records in his vision1 that he saw1 during the first resurrection of the chosen servants of ,god--the number of them which were sealed in their foreheads1 twelve thousand of every tribe4 ,but were they1 indeed1 as many8 ,then they must have been gods1 not men4 ,they had shared ,thy ,cross for long years1 suffered scores of years' hunger and thirst in dreary wildernesses and deserts1 feeding upon locusts and roots--and of these children of free love for ,thee1 and self-sacrifice in ,thy name1 ,thou mayest well feel proud4 ,but remember that these are but a few thousands--of gods1 not men2 and how about all others8 ,and why should the weakest be held guilty for not being able to endure what the strongest have endured8 ,why should a soul incapable of containing such terrible gifts be punished for its weakness8 ,didst ,thou really come to1 and for1 the elect alone8 ,if so1 then the mystery will remain for ever mysterious to our finite minds4 ,and if a mystery1 then were we right to proclaim it as one1 and preach it1 teaching them that neither their freely given love to ,thee nor freedom of conscience were essential1 but only that incomprehensible mystery which they must blindly obey even against the dictates of their conscience4 ,thus did we4 ,we corrected and improved ,thy teaching and based it upon ,miracle1 ,mystery1 and ,authority4 ,and men rejoiced at finding themselves led once more like a herd of cattle1 and at finding their hearts at last delivered of the terrible burden laid upon them by ,thee1 which caused them so much suffering4 ,tell me1 were we right in doing as we did4 ,did not we show our great love for humanity1 by realizing in such a humble spirit its helplessness1 by so mercifully lightening its great burden1 and by permitting and remitting for its weak nature every sin1 provided it be committed with our authorization8 ,for what1 then1 hast ,thou come again to trouble us in our work8 ,and why lookest ,thou at me so penetratingly with ,thy meek eyes1 and in such a silence8 ,rather shouldst ,thou feel wroth1 for ,i need not ,thy love1 ,i reject it1 and love ,thee not1 myself4 ,why should ,i conceal the truth from ,thee8 ,i know but too well with whom ,i am now talking6 ,what ,i had to say was known to ,thee before1 ,i read it in ,thine eye4 ,how should ,i conceal from ,thee our secret8 ,if perchance ,thou wouldst hear it from my own lips1 then listen3 ,we are not with ,thee1 but with him1 and that is our secret6 ,for centuries have we abandoned ,thee to follow him1 yes--eight centuries4 ,eight hundred years now since we accepted from him the gift rejected by ,thee with indignation2 that last gift which he offered ,thee from the high mountain when1 showing all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them1 he saith unto ,thee3 ,all these things will ,i give ,thee1 if ,thou will fall down and worship me6 ,we took ,rome from him and the glaive of ,caesar1 and declared ourselves alone the kings of this earth1 its sole kings1 though our work is not yet fully accomplished4 ,but who is to blame for it8 ,our work is but in its incipient stage1 but it is nevertheless started4 ,we may have long to wait until its culmination1 and mankind have to suffer much1 but we shall reach the goal some day1 and become sole ,caesars1 and then will be the time to think of universal happiness for men4 ',thou couldst accept the glaive of ,caesar ,thyself2 why didst ,thou reject the offer8 ,by accepting from the powerful spirit his third offer ,thou would have realized every aspiration man seeketh for himself on earth2 man would have found a constant object for worship2 one to deliver his conscience up to1 and one that should unite all together into one common and harmonious ant-hill2 for an innate necessity for universal union constitutes the third and final affliction of mankind4 ,humanity as a whole has ever aspired to unite itself universally4 ,many were1 the great nations with great histories1 but the greater they were1 the more unhappy they felt1 as they felt the stronger necessity of a universal union among men4 ,great conquerors1 like ,timoor and ,tchengis-,khan1 passed like a cyclone upon the face of the earth in their efforts to conquer the universe1 but even they1 albeit unconsciously1 expressed the same aspiration towards universal and common union4 ,in accepting the kingdom of the world and ,caesar's purple1 one would found a universal kingdom and secure to mankind eternal peace4 ,and who can rule mankind better than those who have possessed themselves of man's conscience1 and hold in their hand man's daily bread8 ,having accepted ,caesar's glaive and purple1 we had1 of course1 but to deny ,thee1 to henceforth follow him alone4 ,oh1 centuries of intellectual riot and rebellious free thought are yet before us1 and their science will end by anthropophagy1 for having begun to build their ,babylonian tower without our help they will have to end by anthropophagy4 ,but it is precisely at that time that the ,beast will crawl up to us in full submission1 and lick the soles of our feet1 and sprinkle them with tears of blood and we shall sit upon the scarlet-colored ,beast1 and lifting up high the golden cup full of abomination and filthiness1 shall show written upon it the word ,mystery6 ,but it is only then that men will see the beginning of a kingdom of peace and happiness4 ,thou art proud of ,thine own elect1 but ,thou has none other but these elect1 and we--we will give rest to all4 ,but that is not the end4 ,many are those among thine elect and the laborers of ,thy vineyard1 who1 tired of waiting for ,thy coming1 already have carried and will yet carry1 the great fervor of their hearts and their spiritual strength into another field1 and will end by lifting up against ,thee ,thine own banner of freedom4 ,but it is ,thyself ,thou hast to thank4 ,under our rule and sway all will be happy1 and will neither rebel nor destroy each other as they did while under ,thy free banner4 ,oh1 we will take good care to prove to them that they will become absolutely free only when they have abjured their freedom in our favor and submit to us absolutely4 ,thinkest ,thou we shall be right or still lying8 ,they will convince themselves of our rightness1 for they will see what a depth of degrading slavery and strife that liberty of ,thine has led them into4 ,liberty1 ,freedom of ,thought and ,conscience1 and ,science will lead them into such impassable chasms1 place them face to face before such wonders and insoluble mysteries1 that some of them--more rebellious and ferocious than the rest--will destroy themselves2 others--rebellious but weak--will destroy each other2 while the remainder1 weak1 helpless and miserable1 will crawl back to our feet and cry3 ',yes2 right were ye1 oh ,fathers of ,jesus2 ye alone are in possession of ,his mystery1 and we return to you1 praying that ye save us from ourselves6 ,receiving their bread from us1 they will clearly see that we take the bread from them1 the bread made by their own hands1 but to give it back to them in equal shares and that without any miracle2 and having ascertained that1 though we have not changed stones into bread1 yet bread they have1 while every other bread turned verily in their own hands into stones1 they will be only to glad to have it so4 ,until that day1 they will never be happy4 ,and who is it that helped the most to blind them1 tell me8 ,who separated the flock and scattered it over ways unknown if it be not ,thee8 ,but we will gather the sheep once more and subject them to our will for ever4 ,we will prove to them their own weakness and make them humble again1 whilst with ,thee they have learnt but pride1 for ,thou hast made more of them than they ever were worth4 ,we will give them that quiet1 humble happiness1 which alone benefits such weak1 foolish creatures as they are1 and having once had proved to them their weakness1 they will become timid and obedient1 and gather around us as chickens around their hen4 ,they will wonder at and feel a superstitious admiration for us1 and feel proud to be led by men so powerful and wise that a handful of them can subject a flock a thousand millions strong4 ,gradually men will begin to fear us4 ,they will nervously dread our slightest anger1 their intellects will weaken1 their eyes become as easily accessible to tears as those of children and women2 but we will teach them an easy transition from grief and tears to laughter1 childish joy and mirthful song4 ,yes2 we will make them work like slaves1 but during their recreation hours they shall have an innocent child-like life1 full of play and merry laughter4 ,we will even permit them sin1 for1 weak and helpless1 they will feel the more love for us for permitting them to indulge in it4 ,we will tell them that every kind of sin will be remitted to them1 so long as it is done with our permission2 that we take all these sins upon ourselves1 for we so love the world1 that we are even willing to sacrifice our souls for its satisfaction4 ,and1 appearing before them in the light of their scapegoats and redeemers1 we shall be adored the more for it4 ,they will have no secrets from us4 ,it will rest with us to permit them to live with their wives and concubines1 or to forbid them1 to have children or remain childless1 either way depending on the degree of their obedience to us2 and they will submit most joyfully to us the most agonizing secrets of their souls--all1 all will they lay down at our feet1 and we will authorize and remit them all in ,thy name1 and they will believe us and accept our mediation with rapture1 as it will deliver them from their greatest anxiety and torture--that of having to decide freely for themselves4 ,and all will be happy1 all except the one or two hundred thousands of their rulers4 ,for it is but we1 we the keepers of the great ,mystery who will be miserable4 ,there will be thousands of millions of happy infants1 and one hundred thousand martyrs who have taken upon themselves the curse of knowledge of good and evil4 ,peaceable will be their end1 and peacefully will they die1 in ,thy name1 to find behind the portals of the grave--but death4 ,but we will keep the secret inviolate1 and deceive them for their own good with the mirage of life eternal in ,thy kingdom4 ,for1 were there really anything like life beyond the grave1 surely it would never fall to the lot of such as they6 ,people tell us and prophesy of ,thy coming and triumphing once more on earth2 of ,thy appearing with the army of ,thy elect1 with ,thy proud and mighty ones2 but we will answer ,thee that they have saved but themselves while we have saved all4 ,we are also threatened with the great disgrace which awaits the whore1 ,babylon the great1 the mother of harlots--who sits upon the ,beast1 holding in her hands the ,mystery1 the word written upon her forehead2 and we are told that the weak ones1 the lambs shall rebel against her and shall make her desolate and naked4 ,but then will ,i arise1 and point out to ,thee the thousands of millions of happy infants free from any sin4 ,and we who have taken their sins upon us1 for their own good1 shall stand before ,thee and say3 ,judge us if ,thou canst and darest6 ,know then that ,i fear ,thee not4 ,know that ,i too have lived in the dreary wilderness1 where ,i fed upon locusts and roots1 that ,i too have blessed freedom with which thou hast blessed men1 and that ,i too have once prepared to join the ranks of ,thy elect1 the proud and the mighty4 ,but ,i awoke from my delusion and refused since then to serve insanity4 ,i returned to join the legion of those who corrected ,thy mistakes4 ,i left the proud and returned to the really humble1 and for their own happiness4 ,what ,i now tell thee will come to pass1 and our kingdom shall be built1 ,i tell ,thee not later than to-morrow ,thou shalt see that obedient flock which at one simple motion of my hand will rush to add burning coals to ,thy stake1 on which ,i will burn ,thee for having dared to come and trouble us in our work4 ,for1 if there ever was one who deserved more than any of the others our inquisitorial fires--it is ,thee6 ,to-morrow ,i will burn ,thee4 ,dixi'4 ,ivan paused4 ,he had entered into the situation and had spoken with great animation1 but now he suddenly burst out laughing4 ,but all that is absurd6 suddenly exclaimed ,alyosha1 who had hitherto listened perplexed and agitated but in profound silence4 ,your poem is a glorification of ,christ1 not an accusation1 as you1 perhaps1 meant to be4 ,and who will believe you when you speak of 'freedom'8 ,is it thus that we ,christians must understand it8 ,it is ,rome 7not all ,rome1 for that would be unjust71 but the worst of the ,roman ,catholics1 the ,inquisitors and ,jesuits1 that you have been exposing6 ,your ,inquisitor is an impossible character4 ,what are these sins they are taking upon themselves8 ,who are those keepers of mystery who took upon themselves a curse for the good of mankind8 ,who ever met them8 ,we all know the ,jesuits1 and no one has a good word to say in their favor2 but when were they as you depict them8 ,never1 never6 ,the ,jesuits are merely a ,romish army making ready for their future temporal kingdom1 with a mitred emperor--a ,roman high priest at their head4 ,that is their ideal and object1 without any mystery or elevated suffering4 ,the most prosaic thirsting for power1 for the sake of the mean and earthly pleasures of life1 a desire to enslave their fellow-men1 something like our late system of serfs1 with themselves at the head as landed proprietors--that is all that they can be accused of4 ,they may not believe in ,god1 that is also possible1 but your suffering ,inquisitor is simply--a fancy6 ,hold1 hold6 interrupted ,ivan1 smiling4 ,do not be so excited4 ,a fancy1 you say2 be it so6 ,of course1 it is a fancy4 ,but stop4 ,do you really imagine that all this ,catholic movement during the last centuries is naught but a desire for power for the mere purpose of 'mean pleasures'8 ,is this what your ,father ,paissiy taught you8 ,no1 no1 quite the reverse1 for ,father ,paissiy once told me something very similar to what you yourself say1 though1 of course1 not that--something quite different1 suddenly added ,alexis1 blushing4 ,a precious piece of information1 notwithstanding your 'not that4' ,i ask you1 why should the ,inquisitors and the ,jesuits of your imagination live but for the attainment of 'mean material pleasures8' ,why should there not be found among them one single genuine martyr suffering under a great and holy idea and loving humanity with all his heart8 ,now let us suppose that among all these ,jesuits thirsting and hungering but after 'mean material pleasures' there may be one1 just one like my old ,inquisitor1 who had himself fed upon roots in the wilderness1 suffered the tortures of damnation while trying to conquer flesh1 in order to become free and perfect1 but who had never ceased to love humanity1 and who one day prophetically beheld the truth2 who saw as plain as he could see that the bulk of humanity could never be happy under the old system1 that it was not for them that the great ,idealist had come and died and dreamt of ,his ,universal ,harmony4 ,having realized that truth1 he returned into the world and joined--intelligent and practical people4 ,is this so impossible8 ,joined whom8 ,what intelligent and practical people8 exclaimed ,alyosha quite excited4 ,why should they be more intelligent than other men1 and what secrets and mysteries can they have8 ,they have neither4 ,atheism and infidelity is all the secret they have4 ,your ,inquisitor does not believe in ,god1 and that is all the ,mystery there is in it6 ,it may be so4 ,you have guessed rightly there4 ,and it is so1 and that is his whole secret2 but is this not the acutest sufferings for such a man as he1 who killed all his young life in asceticism in the desert1 and yet could not cure himself of his love towards his fellowmen8 ,toward the end of his life he becomes convinced that it is only by following the advice of the great and terrible spirit that the fate of these millions of weak rebels1 these 'half-finished samples of humanity created in mockery' can be made tolerable4 ,and once convinced of it1 he sees as clearly that to achieve that object1 one must follow blindly the guidance of the wise spirit1 the fearful spirit of death and destruction1 hence accept a system of lies and deception and lead humanity consciously this time toward death and destruction1 and moreover1 be deceiving them all the while in order to prevent them from realizing where they are being led1 and so force the miserable blind men to feel happy1 at least while here on earth4 ,and note this3 a wholesale deception in the name of ,him1 in whose ideal the old man had so passionately1 so fervently1 believed during nearly his whole life6 ,is this no suffering8 ,and were such a solitary exception found amidst1 and at the head of1 that army 'that thirsts for power but for the sake of the mean pleasures of life1' think you one such man would not suffice to bring on a tragedy8 ,moreover1 one single man like my ,inquisitor as a principal leader1 would prove sufficient to discover the real guiding idea of the ,romish system with all its armies of ,jesuits1 the greatest and chiefest conviction that the solitary type described in my poem has at no time ever disappeared from among the chief leaders of that movement4 ,who knows but that terrible old man1 loving humanity so stubbornly and in such an original way1 exists even in our days in the shape of a whole host of such solitary exceptions1 whose existence is not due to mere chance1 but to a well-defined association born of mutual consent1 to a secret league1 organized several centuries back1 in order to guard the ,mystery from the indiscreet eyes of the miserable and weak people1 and only in view of their own happiness8 ,and so it is2 it cannot be otherwise4 ,i suspect that even ,masons have some such ,mystery underlying the basis of their organization1 and that it is just the reason why the ,roman ,catholic clergy hate them so1 dreading to find in them rivals1 competition1 the dismemberment of the unity of the idea1 for the realization of which one flock and one ,shepherd are needed4 ,however1 in defending my idea1 ,i look like an author whose production is unable to stand criticism4 ,enough of this4 ,you are1 perhaps1 a ,mason yourself6 exclaimed ,alyosha4 ,you do not believe in ,god1 he added1 with a note of profound sadness in his voice4 ,but suddenly remarking that his brother was looking at him with mockery1 ,how do you mean then to bring your poem to a close8 he unexpectedly enquired1 casting his eyes downward1 or does it break off here8 ,my intention is to end it with the following scene3 ,having disburdened his heart1 the ,inquisitor waits for some time to hear his prisoner speak in ,his turn4 ,his silence weighs upon him4 ,he has seen that his captive has been attentively listening to him all the time1 with ,his eyes fixed penetratingly and softly on the face of his jailer1 and evidently bent upon not replying to him4 ,the old man longs to hear ,his voice1 to hear ,him reply2 better words of bitterness and scorn than ,his silence4 ,suddenly ,he rises2 slowly and silently approaching the ,inquisitor1 ,he bends towards him and softly kisses the bloodless1 four-score and-ten-year-old lips4 ,that is all the answer4 ,the ,grand ,inquisitor shudders4 ,there is a convulsive twitch at the corner of his mouth4 ,he goes to the door1 opens it1 and addressing ,him1 ',go1' he says1 'go1 and return no more444 do not come again444 never1 never6' and--lets ,him out into the dark night4 ,the prisoner vanishes4 ,and the old man8 ,the kiss burns his heart1 but the old man remains firm in his own ideas and unbelief4 ,and you1 together with him8 ,you too6 despairingly exclaimed ,alyosha1 while ,ivan burst into a still louder fit of laughter4