W: LP: LG: FD: C & P

Thursday night on June 5, 2008, our literary group completed discussion of Fyodor Dostevsky's Crime & Punishment (Pevear/Volokonsky translation). My previous thoughts on this 1866 novel in this blog still apply, but I wanted to comment on a section from the epilogue of this book.

When Raskolnikov goes to Siberia for his eight year sentence, during his first year, he remains unrepentant. He finally breaks down and accepts redemption and is repentant, but during the mental crisis before he reaches this point, while he lies sick in the prison hospital, he has a dream or vision related in the story that bears quoting here:

"As he began to recover, he remembered his dreams from when he was still lying in feverish delirium. In his illness he had dreamed that the whole world was doomed to fall victim to some terrible, as yet unknown and unseen pestilence spreading to Europe from the depths of Asia. Everyone was to perish, except for certain, very few, chosen ones. Some new trichinae had appeared, microscopic creatures that lodged themselves in men's bodies. But these creatures were spirits, endowed with reason and will. Those who received them into themselves immediately became possessed and mad. But never, never had people considered themselves so intelligent and unshakeable in the truth as did these infected ones. Never had they thought their judgments, their scientific conclusions, their moral convictions and beliefs more unshakeable. Entire settlements, entire cities and nations would be infected and go mad. Everyone became anxious, and no one understood anyone else; each thought the truth was contained in himself alone, and suffered looking at others, beat his breast, wept, and wrung his hands. They did not know whom or how to judge, could not agree on what to regard as evil, what as good. They did not know whom to accuse, whom to vindicate. People killed each other in some sort of meaningless spite. They gathered into whole armies against each other, but, already on the march, the armies would suddenly begin destroying themselves, the ranks would break up, the soldiers would fall upon one another, stabbing and cutting, biting and eating one another. In the cities the bells rang all day long: everyone was being summoned, but no one knew who was summoning them or why, and everyone felt anxious. The most ordinary trades ceased, because everyone offered his own ideas, his own corrections, and no one could agree. Agriculture ceased. Here and there people would band together, agree among themselves to do something, swear never to part--but immediately begin something completely different from what they themselves had just suggested, begin accusing one another, fighting, stabbing. Fires broke out; famine broke out. Everyone and everything was perishing. The pestilence grew and spread further and further. Only a few people in the whole world could be saved; they were pure and chosen, destined to begin a new generation of people and a new life, to renew and purify the earth; but no one had seen these people anywhere, no one had heard their words or voices."

I quote this passage since it struck me as somehow prophetic. Besides also being a metaphoric description of all of human history, it is a more fitting description of the events of the twentieth century (think of WWI, The Russian Revolution, The rise of Fascism, WWII, etc.). The plague of sin in human history is indeed like the black death (perhaps alluded to in the second sentence of this quote), and its effects are not just the personal misery of individuals, but the ruin of the potential of all humanity. The solution to this pernicious blight on the universe is always going to be a redemption from it bought by our savior Jesus Christ. May God grant regeneration to the people of our nation and world in our 21st century.