More quotes….

I finished Oliver the other night, and I would give it perhaps a 6 or 7 out of 10. It wasn’t great, but it was pretty good. It’s time to read something else; and if anyone has any good suggestions, let me know. There are a couple more passages I wanted to quote.

Men who look on nature, and their fellow-men, and cry that all is dark and gloomy, are in the right; but the sombre colours are reflections from their own jaundiced eyes and hearts. The real hues are delicate, and need a clearer vision.

A Respite….

Who can describe the pleasure and delight, the peace of mind and soft tranquillity, the sickly boy felt in the balmy air, and among the green hills and rich woods, of an inland village! Who can tell how scenes of peace and quietude sink into the minds of pain-worn dwellers in close and noisy places, and carry their own freshness, deep into their jaded hearts! Men who have lived in crowded, pent-up streets, through lives of toil, and who have never wished for change; men, to whom custom has indeed been second nature, and who have come almost to love each brick and stone that formed the narrow boundaries of their daily walks; even they, with the hand of death upon them, have been known to yearn at last for one short glimpse

The wrathful man

A man who is wrathful with us is a sick man; we must apply a plaster to his heart — love; we must treat him kindly, speak to him gently, lovingly. And if there is not deeply-rooted malice against us within him, but only a temporary fit of anger, you will see how his heart, or his malice, will melt away through your kindness and love — how good will conquer evil. A Christian must always be kind, gracious, and wise in order to conquer evil by good.

–St. John of Kronstadt

This quote reminds me of the character Mitya in “Brothers K.”, a passionate and impulsive man who is given to sudden fits of rage. At times he is calmed by the kind serenity of his younger brother Alyosha.

From Brothers K. II

Dostoevsky prophetically hit the nail on the head with this passage. It is amazing to the think that this novel was published back in 1880, yet it speaks so profoundly to the condition we seem to live in today. 

“The world has proclaimed freedom, especially of late, but what do we see in this freedom of theirs: only slavery and suicide! For the world says: ‘You have needs, therefore satisfy them, for you have the same rights as the noblest and richest men. Do not be afraid to satisfy them, but even increase them’—this is the current teaching of the world. And in this they see freedom. But what comes of this right to increase one’s needs? For the rich, isolation and spiritual suicide; for the poor, envy and murder, for they have been given rights, but have not yet been shown any way of satisfying their needs. We are assured that the world is becoming more and more united, is being formed into brotherly communion, by the shortening of distances, by the transmitting of thoughts through the air. Alas, do not believe in such a union of people. Taking freedom to mean the increase and prompt satisfaction of needs, they distort their own nature, for they generate many meaningless and foolish desires, habits, and the most absurd fancies in themselves.

From Brothers K.

Just started reading “The Brothers Karamazov” the other day, and it’s already chock full of great quotes. I’ll share portions of a conversation I read last night between a lady landowner and the Elder Zosima. She has come to the monastery with her sick daughter to ask for the elder’s advice because she is having grave doubts about her faith.

“I close my eyes and think: if everyone has faith, where does it come from? And then they say that it all came originally from fear of the awesome phenomena of nature, and that there is nothing at all. What? I think, all my life I’ve believed, then I die, and suddenly there’s nothing….It’s terrible! What, what will give me back my faith? Though I believed only when I was a little child, mechanically, without thinking about anything…How, how can it be proved?….”

“One cannot prove anything here, but it is possible to be convinced.”

“How? By what?”

“By the experience of active love. Try to love your neighbors actively and tirelessly. The more you succeed in loving, the more you’ll be convinced of the existence of God and the immortality of your soul. And if you reach complete selflessness in the love of your neighbor, then undoubtedly you will believe, and no doubt will even be able to enter your soul. This has been tested. It is certain.” 

Later on Zosimas encourages her,