From Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky: They were both sitting as before at the table, not reading but warmly disputing about something. The children often argued together about various exciting problems of life, and Nastya, being the elder, always got the best of it. If Kostya did not agree with her, he almost always appealed to … Continue reading Brothers Karamazov on Cabbage Patch Babies
In Brothers Karamazov, Father Zosima recounts being moved in his youth by the story of Job. I have entered in italics some commentary of my own: In the land of Uz, there lived a man, righteous and God-fearing, and he had great wealth, so many camels, so many sheep and asses, and his children feasted, … Continue reading Hast thou Seen my Servant? On the Lost Children of Job
Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit (epigraph of Brothers Karamazov from John 12:24)ˆ Early in Brothers Karamazov, we meet a mother who has journeyed a long way to visit Zosima, a monk of wisdom and holiness. … Continue reading The Iconography of Sorrow in a Brothers Karamazov
Clearly, he does not understand the difference between comprehend and apprehend! In The Brothers Karamazov, I am reminded that Active Love is the essential calling of the faithful. Christian mysticism, the love of God and neighbor lived out day to day, is Dostoevsky’s answer to the problem of evil, isolation, and doubt. As children of the … Continue reading The Brothers Karamazov: Bigger Than the Enlightenment
