Said The Elder Zosima.
My anger's all but done. This I believe fervently. All I've known is madness. (Can You forgive me for my absence?)
If the evil deeds of men sadden you too greatly and arouse in you an anger you cannot overcome and fill you with the desire to wreak veneance on the evil-doers -- fear this feeling most of all, and at once go and seek suffering for yourself because you too are responsible for the evil deeds of all men. Bear that ordeal and your desire for revenge will be quenched when you understand that you were guilty yourself for having failed to show the light to the wicked, as a man without sin could. For if you had done so, you would have lighted the path for the sinful, and the criminal might not have committed his crime. And even if you lighted his way but still did not manage to save the evil-doer, keep the faith , never doubt the power of the heavenly light, and have faith that if they are not saved now, they will be saved later. And if they are not saved later either, their children will be saved, for, although you yourself may be dead by then , the light you shed will remain. The righteous man passes away, but his light remains. Men are always saved, even if only after the death of the one who saves them. The human race does not accept its prophets and its prophets are slain, but men love their martyrs and honor those who have been slain.
What you do, do for the whole world, and work for its future.
If the evil deeds of men sadden you too greatly and arouse in you an anger you cannot overcome and fill you with the desire to wreak veneance on the evil-doers -- fear this feeling most of all, and at once go and seek suffering for yourself because you too are responsible for the evil deeds of all men. Bear that ordeal and your desire for revenge will be quenched when you understand that you were guilty yourself for having failed to show the light to the wicked, as a man without sin could. For if you had done so, you would have lighted the path for the sinful, and the criminal might not have committed his crime. And even if you lighted his way but still did not manage to save the evil-doer, keep the faith , never doubt the power of the heavenly light, and have faith that if they are not saved now, they will be saved later. And if they are not saved later either, their children will be saved, for, although you yourself may be dead by then , the light you shed will remain. The righteous man passes away, but his light remains. Men are always saved, even if only after the death of the one who saves them. The human race does not accept its prophets and its prophets are slain, but men love their martyrs and honor those who have been slain.
What you do, do for the whole world, and work for its future.
3 Comments:
At 8:31 AM,
Daniel said…
"My anger's all but done. All I've known is madness."
what's that from?
At 9:21 AM,
euc said…
A song by The Doves, who are one of my all-time favorite bands, who your brother just so happened to introduce me to.
:D
At 7:21 PM,
porfiry said…
Love to throw yourself on the earth and kiss it. Kiss the earth and love it with an unceasing, consuming love. Love all men, love everything. Seek that rapture and ecstasy. Water the earth with the tears of your joy and love those tears. Don't be ashamed of that ecstasy, prize it, for it is a gift of God and a great one; it is not given to many but only to the elect.
(As also said by Zosima, in the same monologue.) A definition of convulsive beauty that we were too late to discover and share with Bob Haft. The waves of sympathetic joy that can crash over you and love you and leave you powerless and ecstatic and unable to move. The desire to give everything you have twice and to then start doling out portions of your own flesh. The doggedly unbending belief that we have already been granted what we desire -- a noble purpose.
We had a barrel full of wine, but no cups... There is a place where you and I go and we lay on our backs and watch the sky drift overhead and we are marvellous.
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