The Grand Inquisitor by Feodor Dostoevsky

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Ti t l e: The Gr and I nqui si t or

Author : Feodor Dost oevsky

Tr ansl at or : H. P. Bl avat sky

Post i ng Dat e: J une 28, 2010 [EBook #8578]Rel ease Dat e: J ul y, 2005Fi r st Post ed: J ul y 25, 2003

Language: Engl i sh

Charact er set encodi ng: I SO- 8859- 1

*** START OF THI S PROJ ECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GRAND I NQUI SI TOR ***

Produced by J ake J aqua. HTML ver si on by Al Hai nes.

THE GRAND INQUISITOR

By

Feodor Dostoevsky

(Translation by H.P. Blavatsky)

[Dedicated by the Translator to those sceptics who clamour so loudly, both in print and

private letters—"Show us the wonder-working 'Brothers,' let them come out publicly—and wewill believe in them!"]

[The following is an extract from M. Dostoevsky's celebrated novel, The BrothersKaramazof, the last publication from the pen of the great Russian novelist, who died a fewmonths ago, just as the concluding chapters appeared in print. Dostoevsky is beginning to berecognized as one of the ablest and profoundest among Russian writers. His characters areinvariably typical portraits drawn from various classes of Russian society, strikingly life-like and realistic to the highest degree. The following extract is a cutting satire on modern theology





generally and the Roman Catholic religion in particular. The idea is that Christ revisits earth,coming to Spain at the period of the Inquisition, and is at once arrested as a heretic by the Grand Inquisitor. One of the three brothers of the story, Ivan, a rank materialist and an atheist of thenew school, is supposed to throw this conception into the form of a poem, which he describes toAlyosha—the youngest of the brothers, a young Christian mystic brought up by a "saint" in amonastery—as follows: (—Ed. Theosophist, Nov., 1881)]

"Quite impossible, as you see, to start without an introduction," laughed Ivan. "Well, then, Imean to place the event described in the poem in the sixteenth century, an age—as you musthave 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 mortals... In France all thenotaries' clerks, and the monks in the cloisters as well, used to give grand performances, dramatic plays in which long scenes were enacted by the Madonna, the angels, the saints, Christ, and even by God Himself. In those days, everything was very artless and primitive. An instance of it may be found in Victor Hugo's drama, Notre Dame de Paris, where, at the Municipal Hall, a playcalled Le Bon Jugement de la Tres-sainte et Gracièuse Vierge Marie, is enacted in honour of

Louis XI, in which the Virgin appears personally to pronounce her 'good judgment.' In Moscow,during the prepetrean period, performances of nearly the same character, chosen especially fromthe Old Testament, were also in great favour. Apart from such plays, the world was overflooded with mystical writings, 'verses'—the heroes of which were always selected from the ranks of angels, saints and other heavenly citizens answering to the devotional purposes of the age. Therecluses of our monasteries, like the Roman Catholic monks, passed their time in translating,copying, and even producing original compositions upon such subjects, and that, remember,during the Tarter period!... In this connection, I am reminded of a poem compiled in a convent— a translation from the Greek, of course—called, 'The Travels of the Mother of God among theDamned,' with fitting illustrations and a boldness of conception inferior nowise to that of Dante.The 'Mother of God' visits hell, in company with the archangel Michael as her cicerone to guideher through the legions of the 'damned.' She sees them all, and is witness to their multifarious

tortures. Among the many other exceedingly remarkably varieties of torments—every category of sinners having its own—there is one especially worthy of notice, namely a class of the 'damned'sentenced to gradually sink in a burning lake of brimstone and fire. Those whose sins cause themto sink so low that they no longer can rise to the surface are for ever forgotten by God, i.e., theyfade out from the omniscient memory, says the poem—an expression, by the way, of anextraordinary profundity of thought, when closely analysed. The Virgin is terribly shocked, and falling down upon her knees in tears before the throne of God, begs that all she has seen in hell— all, all without exception, should have their sentences remitted to them. Her dialogue with God iscolossally interesting. She supplicates, she will not leave Him. And when God, pointing to the pierced hands and feet of her Son, cries, 'How can I forgive His executioners?' She thencommands that all the saints, martyrs, angels and archangels, should prostrate themselves with

her before the Immutable and Changeless One and implore Him to change His wrath into mercyand—forgive them all. The poem closes upon her obtaining from God a compromise, a kind of yearly respite of tortures between Good Friday and Trinity, a chorus of the 'damned' singing loud praises to God from their 'bottomless pit,' thanking and telling Him:

Thou art right, O Lord, very right,Thou hast condemned us justly.

"My poem is of the same character.

"In it, it is Christ who appears on the scene. True, He says nothing, but only appears and





passes out of sight. Fifteen centuries have elapsed since He left the world with the distinct promise to return 'with power and great glory'; fifteen long centuries since His prophet cried,'Prepare ye the way of the Lord!' since He Himself had foretold, while yet on earth, 'Of that dayand hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven but my Father only.' But Christendomexpects Him still. ...

"It waits for Him with the same old faith and the same emotion; aye, with a far greater faith,for fifteen centuries have rolled away since the last sign from heaven was sent to man,

And blind faith remained aloneTo lull the trusting heart,As heav'n would send a sign no more.

"True, again, we have all heard of miracles being wrought ever since the 'age of miracles' passed away to return no more. We had, and still have, our saints credited with performing themost miraculous cures; and, if we can believe their biographers, there have been those amongthem who have been personally visited by the Queen of Heaven. But Satan sleepeth not, and thefirst germs of doubt, and ever-increasing unbelief in such wonders, already had begun to sproutin Christendom as early as the sixteenth century. It was just at that time that a new and terribleheresy first made its appearance in the north of Germany.* [*Luther's reform] A great star 'shining as it were a lamp... fell upon the fountains waters'... and 'they were made bitter.' This'heresy' blasphemously denied 'miracles.' But those who had remained faithful believed all themore ardently, the tears of mankind ascended to Him as heretofore, and the Christian world wasexpecting Him as confidently as ever; they loved Him and hoped in Him, thirsted and hungered to suffer and die for Him just as many of them had done before.... So many centuries had weak,trusting humanity implored Him, crying with ardent faith and fervour: 'How long, O Lord, holyand true, dost Thou not come!' So many long centuries hath it vainly appealed to Him, that at last,in His inexhaustible compassion, He consenteth to answer the prayer.... He decideth that oncemore, if it were but for one short hour, the people—His long-suffering, tortured, fatally sinful, hisloving and child-like, trusting people—shall behold Him again. The scene of action is placed byme in Spain, at Seville, during that terrible period of the Inquisition, when, for the greater gloryof God, stakes were flaming all over the country.

Burning wicked heretics,In grand auto-da-fes.

"This particular visit has, of course, nothing to do with the promised Advent, when,according to the programme, 'after the tribulation of those days,' He will appear 'coming in theclouds of heaven.' For, that 'coming of the Son of Man,' as we are informed, will take place assuddenly 'as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west.' No; this once,He desired to come unknown, and appear among His children, just when the bones of theheretics, sentenced to be burnt alive, had commenced crackling at the flaming stakes. Owing toHis limitless mercy, He mixes once more with mortals and in the same form in which He was

wont to appear fifteen centuries ago. He descends, just at the very moment when before king,courtiers, knights, cardinals, and the fairest dames of court, before the whole population of Seville, upwards of a hundred wicked heretics are being roasted, in a magnificent auto-da-fe ad majorem Dei gloriam, by the order of the powerful Cardinal Grand Inquisitor.

"He comes silently and unannounced; yet all—how strange—yea, all recognize Him, at once!The population rushes towards Him as if propelled by some irresistible force; it surrounds,throngs, and presses around, it follows Him.... Silently, and with a smile of boundlesscompassion upon His lips, He crosses the dense crowd, and moves softly on. The Sun of Love burns in His heart, and warm rays of Light, Wisdom and Power beam forth from His eyes, and pour down their waves upon the swarming multitudes of the rabble assembled around, making





their hearts vibrate with returning love. He extends His hands over their heads, blesses them, and from mere contact with Him, aye, even with His garments, a healing power goes forth. An old man, blind from his birth, cries, 'Lord, heal me, that I may see Thee!' and the scales falling off the closed eyes, the blind man beholds Him... The crowd weeps for joy, and kisses the ground upon which He treads. Children strew flowers along His path and sing to Him, 'Hosanna!' It isHe, it is Himself, they say to each other, it must be He, it can be none other but He! He pauses atthe portal of the old cathedral, just as a wee white coffin is carried in, with tears and greatlamentations. The lid is off, and in the coffin lies the body of a fair-child, seven years old, theonly child of an eminent citizen of the city. The little corpse lies buried in flowers. 'He will raise

the child to life!' confidently shouts the crowd to the weeping mother. The officiating priest whohad come to meet the funeral procession, looks perplexed, and frowns. A loud cry is suddenlyheard, and the bereaved mother prostrates herself at His feet. 'If it be Thou, then bring back mychild to life!' she cries beseechingly. The procession halts, and the little coffin is gently lowered at his feet. Divine compassion beams forth from His eyes, and as He looks at the child, His lipsare heard to whisper once more, 'Talitha Cumi'—and 'straightway the damsel arose.' The child rises in her coffin. Her little hands still hold the nosegay of white roses which after death was placed in them, and, looking round with large astonished eyes she smiles sweetly .... The crowd isviolently excited. A terrible commotion rages among them, the populace shouts and loudlyweeps, when suddenly, before the cathedral door, appears the Cardinal Grand Inquisitor himself.... He is tall, gaunt-looking old man of nearly four-score years and ten, with a stern,

withered face, and deeply sunken eyes, from the cavity of which glitter two fiery sparks. He haslaid aside his gorgeous cardinal's robes in which he had appeared before the people at the autoda-fe of the enemies of the Romish Church, and is now clad in his old, rough, monkish cassock.His sullen assistants and slaves of the 'holy guard' are following at a distance. He pauses beforethe crowd and observes. He has seen all. He has witnessed the placing of the little coffin at Hisfeet, the calling back to life. And now, his dark, grim face has grown still darker; his bushy greyeyebrows nearly meet, and his sunken eye flashes with sinister light. Slowly raising his finger, hecommands his minions to arrest Him....

"Such is his power over the well-disciplined, submissive and now trembling people, that thethick crowds immediately give way, and scattering before the guard, amid dead silence and without one breath of protest, allow them to lay their sacrilegious hands upon the stranger and lead Him away.... That same populace, like one man, now bows its head to the ground before theold Inquisitor, who blesses it and slowly moves onward. The guards conduct their prisoner to theancient building of the Holy Tribunal; pushing Him into a narrow, gloomy, vaulted prison-cell,they lock Him in and retire....

"The day wanes, and night—a dark, hot breathless Spanish night—creeps on and settles uponthe city of Seville. The air smells of laurels and orange blossoms. In the Cimmerian darkness of the old Tribunal Hall the iron door of the cell is suddenly thrown open, and the Grand Inquisitor,holding a dark lantern, slowly stalks into the dungeon. He is alone, and, as the heavy door closes behind him, he pauses at the threshold, and, for a minute or two, silently and gloomily scrutinizesthe Face before him. At last approaching with measured steps, he sets his lantern down upon the

table and addresses Him in these words:

"'It is Thou! ... Thou!' ... Receiving no reply, he rapidly continues: 'Nay, answer not; be silent!... And what couldst Thou say? ... I know but too well Thy answer.... Besides, Thou hast no rightto add one syllable to that which was already uttered by Thee before.... Why shouldst Thou nowreturn, to impede us in our work? For Thou hast come but for that only, and Thou knowest itwell. But art Thou as well aware of what awaits Thee in the morning? I do not know, nor do Icare to know who thou mayest be: be it Thou or only thine image, to-morrow I will condemn and burn Thee on the stake, as the most wicked of all the heretics; and that same people, who to-daywere kissing Thy feet, to-morrow at one bend of my finger, will rush to add fuel to Thy funeral pile... Wert Thou aware of this?' he adds, speaking as if in solemn thought, and never for one





instant taking his piercing glance off the meek Face before him."....

"I can hardly realize the situation described—what is all this, Ivan?" suddenly interrupted Alyosha, who had remained silently listening to his brother. "Is this an extravagant fancy, or some mistake of the old man, an impossible quid pro quo?"

"Let it be the latter, if you like," laughed Ivan, "since modern realism has so perverted your taste that you feel unable to realize anything from the world of fancy.... Let it be a quid pro quo,if you so choose it. Again, the Inquisitor is ninety years old, and he might have easily gone mad

with his one idee fixe of power; or, it might have as well been a delirious vision, called forth bydying fancy, overheated by the auto-da-fe of the hundred heretics in that forenoon.... But whatmatters for the poem, whether it was a quid pro quo or an uncontrollable fancy? The question is,that the old man has to open his heart; that he must give out his thought at last; and that the hour has come when he does speak it out, and says loudly that which for ninety years he has keptsecret within his own breast."

"And his prisoner, does He never reply? Does He keep silent, looking at him, without sayinga word?"

"Of course; and it could not well be otherwise," again retorted Ivan. "The Grand Inquisitor begins from his very first words by telling Him that He has no right to add one syllable to thatwhich He had said before. To make the situation clear at once, the above preliminary monologueis intended to convey to the reader the very fundamental idea which underlies RomanCatholicism—as well as I can convey it, his words mean, in short: 'Everything was given over byThee to the Pope, and everything now rests with him alone; Thou hast no business to return and thus hinder us in our work.' In this sense the Jesuits not only talk but write likewise.

"'Hast thou the right to divulge to us a single one of the mysteries of that world whence Thoucomest?' enquires of Him my old Inquisitor, and forthwith answers for Him. 'Nay, Thou has nosuch right. For, that would be adding to that which was already said by Thee before; hencedepriving people of that freedom for which Thou hast so stoutly stood up while yet on earth....Anything new that Thou would now proclaim would have to be regarded as an attempt to

interfere with that freedom of choice, as it would come as a new and a miraculous revelationsuperseding the old revelation of fifteen hundred years ago, when Thou didst so repeatedly tellthe people: "The truth shall make you free." Behold then, Thy "free" people now!' adds the old man with sombre irony. 'Yea!... it has cost us dearly.' he continues, sternly looking at his victim.'But we have at last accomplished our task, and—in Thy name.... For fifteen long centuries wehad to toil and suffer owing to that "freedom": but now we have prevailed and our work is done,and well and strongly it is done. ....Believest not Thou it is so very strong? ... And why should Thou look at me so meekly as if I were not worthy even of Thy indignation?... Know then, thatnow, and only now, Thy people feel fully sure and satisfied of their freedom; and that only sincethey have themselves and of their own free will delivered that freedom unto our hands by placingit submissively at our feet. But then, that is what we have done. Is it that which Thou has striven

for? Is this the kind of "freedom" Thou has promised them?'""Now again, I do not understand," interrupted Alyosha. "Does the old man mock and laugh?"

"Not in the least. He seriously regards it as a great service done by himself, his brother monks and Jesuits, to humanity, to have conquered and subjected unto their authority thatfreedom, and boasts that it was done but for the good of the world. 'For only now,' he says(speaking of the Inquisition) 'has it become possible to us, for the first time, to give a seriousthought to human happiness. Man is born a rebel, and can rebels be ever happy?... Thou has been fairly warned of it, but evidently to no use, since Thou hast rejected the only means whichcould make mankind happy; fortunately at Thy departure Thou hast delivered the task to us....





Thou has promised, ratifying the pledge by Thy own words, in words giving us the right to bind and unbind... and surely, Thou couldst not think of depriving us of it now!'"

"But what can he mean by the words, 'Thou has been fairly warned'?" asked Alexis.

"These words give the key to what the old man has to say for his justification... But listen—

"'The terrible and wise spirit, the spirit of self annihilation and non-being,' goes on theInquisitor, 'the great spirit of negation conversed with Thee in the wilderness, and we are told that

he "tempted" Thee... Was it so? And if it were so, then it is impossible to utter anything moretruthful than what is contained in his three offers, which Thou didst reject, and which are usuallycalled "temptations." Yea; if ever there was on earth a genuine striking wonder produced, it wason that day of Thy three temptations, and it is precisely in these three short sentences that themarvelous miracle is contained. If it were possible that they should vanish and disappear for ever,without leaving any trace, from the record and from the memory of man, and that it should become necessary again to devise, invent, and make them reappear in Thy history once more,thinkest Thou that all the world's sages, all the legislators, initiates, philosophers and thinkers, if called upon to frame three questions which should, like these, besides answering the magnitudeof the event, express in three short sentences the whole future history of this our world and of mankind—dost Thou believe, I ask Thee, that all their combined efforts could ever createanything equal in power and depth of thought to the three propositions offered Thee by the powerful and all-wise spirit in the wilderness? Judging of them by their marvelous aptness alone,one can at once perceive that they emanated not from a finite, terrestrial intellect, but indeed,from the Eternal and the Absolute. In these three offers we find, blended into one and foretold tous, the complete subsequent history of man; we are shown three images, so to say, uniting inthem all the future axiomatic, insoluble problems and contradictions of human nature, the world over. In those days, the wondrous wisdom contained in them was not made so apparent as it isnow, for futurity remained still veiled; but now, when fifteen centuries have elapsed, we see thateverything in these three questions is so marvelously foreseen and foretold, that to add to, or totake away from, the prophecy one jot, would be absolutely impossible!

"'Decide then thyself.' sternly proceeded the Inquisitor, 'which of ye twain was right: Thou

who didst reject, or he who offered? Remember the subtle meaning of question the first, whichruns thus: Wouldst Thou go into the world empty-handed? Would Thou venture thither with Thyvague and undefined promise of freedom, which men, dull and unruly as they are by nature, areunable so much as to understand, which they avoid and fear?—for never was there anythingmore unbearable to the human race than personal freedom! Dost Thou see these stones in thedesolate and glaring wilderness? Command that these stones be made bread—and mankind willrun after Thee, obedient and grateful like a herd of cattle. But even then it will be ever diffidentand trembling, lest Thou should take away Thy hand, and they lose thereby their bread! Thoudidst refuse to accept the offer for fear of depriving men of their free choice; for where is therefreedom of choice where men are bribed with bread? Man shall not live by bread alone—wasThine answer. Thou knewest not, it seems, that it was precisely in the name of that earthly bread

that the terrestrial spirit would one day rise against, struggle with, and finally conquer Thee,followed by the hungry multitudes shouting: "Who is like unto that Beast, who maketh fire comedown from heaven upon the earth!" Knowest Thou not that, but a few centuries hence, and thewhole of mankind will have proclaimed in its wisdom and through its mouthpiece, Science, thatthere is no more crime, hence no more sin on earth, but only hungry people? "Feed us first and then command us to be virtuous!" will be the words written upon the banner lifted against Thee —a banner which shall destroy Thy Church to its very foundations, and in the place of ThyTemple shall raise once more the terrible Tower of Babel; and though its building be leftunfinished, as was that of the first one, yet the fact will remain recorded that Thou couldst, butwouldst not, prevent the attempt to build that new tower by accepting the offer, and thus savingmankind a millennium of useless suffering on earth. And it is to us that the people will return





again. They will search for us catacombs, as we shall once more be persecuted and martyred— and they will begin crying unto us: "Feed us, for they who promised us the fire from heaven havedeceived us!" It is then that we will finish building their tower for them. For they alone who feed them shall finish it, and we shall feed them in Thy name, and lying to them that it is in that name.Oh, never, never, will they learn to feed themselves without our help! No science will ever givethem bread so long as they remain free, so long as they refuse to lay that freedom at our feet, and say: "Enslave, but feed us!" That day must come when men will understand that freedom and daily bread enough to satisfy all are unthinkable and can never be had together, as men willnever be able to fairly divide the two among themselves. And they will also learn that they can

never be free, for they are weak, vicious, miserable nonentities born wicked and rebellious. Thouhas promised to them the bread of life, the bread of heaven; but I ask Thee again, can that bread ever equal in the sight of the weak and the vicious, the ever ungrateful human race, their daily bread on earth? And even supposing that thousands and tens of thousands follow Thee in thename of, and for the sake of, Thy heavenly bread, what will become of the millions and hundredsof millions of human beings to weak to scorn the earthly for the sake of Thy heavenly bread? Or is it but those tens of thousands chosen among the great and the mighty, that are so dear to Thee,while the remaining millions, innumerable as the grains of sand in the seas, the weak and theloving, have to be used as material for the former? No, no! In our sight and for our purpose theweak and the lowly are the more dear to us. True, they are vicious and rebellious, but we willforce them into obedience, and it is they who will admire us the most. They will regard us as

gods, 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 men! Then we willtell them that it is in obedience to Thy will and in Thy name that we rule over them. We willdeceive them once more and lie to them once again—for never, never more will we allow Thee tocome among us. In this deception we will find our suffering, for we must needs lie eternally, and never cease to lie!

"Such is the secret meaning of "temptation" the first, and that is what Thou didst reject in thewilderness for the sake of that freedom which Thou didst prize above all. Meanwhile Thytempter's offer contained another great world-mystery. By accepting the "bread," Thou wouldsthave satisfied and answered a universal craving, a ceaseless longing alive in the heart of everyindividual human being, lurking in the breast of collective mankind, that most perplexing problem—"whom or what shall we worship?" There exists no greater or more painful anxiety for a man who has freed himself from all religious bias, than how he shall soonest find a new objector idea to worship. But man seeks to bow before that only which is recognized by the greater majority, if not by all his fellow-men, as having a right to be worshipped; whose rights are sounquestionable that men agree unanimously to bow down to it. For the chief concern of thesemiserable creatures is not to find and worship the idol of their own choice, but to discover thatwhich all others will believe in, and consent to bow down to in a mass. It is that instinctive need of having a worship in common that is the chief suffering of every man, the chief concern of mankind from the beginning of times. It is for that universality of religious worship that peopledestroyed each other by sword. Creating gods unto themselves, they forwith began appealing toeach other: "Abandon your deities, come and bow down to ours, or death to ye and your idols!"

And so will they do till the end of this world; they will do so even then, when all the godsthemselves have disappeared, for then men will prostrate themselves before and worship someidea. Thou didst know, Thou couldst not be ignorant of, that mysterious fundamental principle inhuman nature, and still thou hast rejected the only absolute banner offered Thee, to which all thenations would remain true, and before which all would have bowed—the banner of earthly bread,rejected in the name of freedom and of "bread in the kingdom of God"! Behold, then, what Thouhast done furthermore for that "freedom's" sake! I repeat to Thee, man has no greater anxiety inlife than to find some one to whom he can make over that gift of freedom with which theunfortunate creature is born. But he alone will prove capable of silencing and quieting their consciences, that shall succeed in possessing himself of the freedom of men. With "daily bread"an irresistible power was offered Thee: show a man "bread" and he will follow Thee, for what





can he resist less than the attraction of bread? But if, at the same time, another succeed in possessing himself of his conscience—oh! then even Thy bread will be forgotten, and man willfollow him who seduced his conscience. So far Thou wert right. For the mystery of human beingdoes not solely rest in the desire to live, but in the problem—for what should one live at all?Without a clear perception of his reasons for living, man will never consent to live, and willrather destroy himself than tarry on earth, though he be surrounded with bread. This is the truth.But what has happened? Instead of getting hold of man's freedom, Thou has enlarged it stillmore! Hast Thou again forgotten that to man rest and even death are preferable to a free choice between the knowledge of Good and Evil? Nothing seems more seductive in his eyes than

freedom of conscience, and nothing proves more painful. And behold! instead of laying a firmfoundation whereon to rest once for all man's conscience, Thou hast chosen to stir up in him allthat is abnormal, mysterious, and indefinite, all that is beyond human strength, and has acted as if Thou never hadst any love for him, and yet Thou wert He who came to "lay down His life for His friends!" Thou hast burdened man's soul with anxieties hitherto unknown to him. Thirstingfor human love freely given, seeking to enable man, seduced and charmed by Thee, to followThy path of his own free-will, instead of the old and wise law which held him in subjection,Thou hast given him the right henceforth to choose and freely decide what is good and bad for him, guided but by Thine image in his heart. But hast Thou never dreamt of the probability, nay,of the certainty, of that same man one day rejected finally, and controverting even Thine imageand Thy truth, once he would find himself laden with such a terrible burden as freedom of

choice? That a time would surely come when men would exclaim that Truth and Light cannot bein Thee, for no one could have left them in a greater perplexity and mental suffering than Thouhas done, lading them with so many cares and insoluble problems. Thus, it is Thyself who hastlaid the foundation for the destruction of Thine own kingdom and no one but Thou is to be blamed for it.

"'Meantime, every chance of success was offered Thee. There are three Powers, three uniqueForces upon earth, capable of conquering for ever by charming the conscience of these weak rebels—men—for their own good; and these Forces are: Miracle, Mystery and Authority. Thouhast rejected all the three, and thus wert the first to set them an example. When the terrible and all-wise spirit placed Thee on a pinnacle of the temple and said unto Thee, "If Thou be the son of God, cast Thyself down, for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone!"—for thus Thy faith in Thy father should have been made evident, Thou didst refuse to accept hissuggestion and didst not follow it. Oh, undoubtedly, Thou didst act in this with all themagnificent pride of a god, but then men—that weak and rebel race—are they also gods, tounderstand Thy refusal? Of course, Thou didst well know that by taking one single step forward, by making the slightest motion to throw Thyself down, Thou wouldst have tempted "the Lord Thy God," lost suddenly all faith in Him, and dashed Thyself to atoms against that same earthwhich Thou camest to save, and thus wouldst have allowed the wise spirit which tempted Thee totriumph and rejoice. But, then, how many such as Thee are to be found on this globe, I ask Thee? Couldst Thou ever for a moment imagine that men would have the same strength to resistsuch a temptation? Is human nature calculated to reject miracle, and trust, during the most

terrible moments in life, when the most momentous, painful and perplexing problems strugglewithin man's soul, to the free decisions of his heart for the true solution? Oh, Thou knewest wellthat that action of Thine would remain recorded in books for ages to come, reaching to theconfines of the globe, and Thy hope was, that following Thy example, man would remain true tohis God, without needing any miracle to keep his faith alive! But Thou knewest not, it seems,that no sooner would man reject miracle than he would reject God likewise, for he seeketh lessGod than "a sign" from Him. And thus, as it is beyond the power of man to remain withoutmiracles, so, rather than live without, he will create for himself new wonders of his own making;and he will bow to and worship the soothsayer's miracles, the old witch's sorcery, were he arebel, a heretic, and an atheist a hundred times over. Thy refusal to come down from the crosswhen people, mocking and wagging their heads were saying to Thee—"Save Thyself if Thou be





the son of God, and we will believe in Thee," was due to the same determination—not to enslaveman through miracle, but to obtain faith in Thee freely and apart from any miraculous influence.Thou thirstest for free and uninfluenced love, and refuses the passionate adoration of the slave before a Potency which would have subjected his will once for ever. Thou judgest of men toohighly here, again, for though rebels they be, they are born slaves and nothing more. Behold, and judge of them once more, now that fifteen centuries have elapsed since that moment. Look atthem, whom Thou didst try to elevate unto Thee! I swear man is weaker and lower than Thouhast ever imagined him to be! Can he ever do that which Thou art said to have accomplished? Byvaluing him so highly Thou hast acted as if there were no love for him in Thine heart, for Thou

hast demanded of him more than he could ever give—Thou, who lovest him more than Thyself!Hadst Thou esteemed him less, less wouldst Thou have demanded of him, and that would have been more like love, for his burden would have been made thereby lighter. Man is weak and cowardly. What matters it, if he now riots and rebels throughout the world against our will and power, and prides himself upon that rebellion? It is but the petty pride and vanity of a school- boy. It is the rioting of little children, getting up a mutiny in the class-room and driving their schoolmaster out of it. But it will not last long, and when the day of their triumph is over, theywill have to pay dearly for it. They will destroy the temples and raze them to the ground,flooding the earth with blood. But the foolish children will have to learn some day that, rebelsthough they be and riotous from nature, they are too weak to maintain the spirit of mutiny for any length of time. Suffused with idiotic tears, they will confess that He who created them

rebellious undoubtedly did so but to mock them. They will pronounce these words in despair, and such blasphemous utterances will but add to their misery—for human nature cannot endure blasphemy, and takes her own revenge in the end.

"'And thus, after all Thou has suffered for mankind and its freedom, the present fate of menmay be summed up in three words: Unrest, Confusion, Misery! Thy great prophet John records inhis vision, that he saw, during the first resurrection of the chosen servants of God—"the number of them which were sealed" in their foreheads, "twelve thousand" of every tribe. But were they,indeed, as many? Then they must have been gods, not men. They had shared Thy Cross for longyears, suffered scores of years' hunger and thirst in dreary wildernesses and deserts, feeding uponlocusts and roots—and of these children of free love for Thee, and self-sacrifice in Thy name,Thou mayest well feel proud. But remember that these are but a few thousands—of gods, notmen; and how about all others? And why should the weakest be held guilty for not being able toendure what the strongest have endured? Why should a soul incapable of containing such terriblegifts be punished for its weakness? Didst Thou really come to, and for, the "elect" alone? If so,then the mystery will remain for ever mysterious to our finite minds. And if a mystery, then werewe right to proclaim it as one, and preach it, teaching them that neither their freely given love toThee nor freedom of conscience were essential, but only that incomprehensible mystery whichthey must blindly obey even against the dictates of their conscience. Thus did we. We corrected and improved Thy teaching and based it upon "Miracle, Mystery, and Authority." And menrejoiced at finding themselves led once more like a herd of cattle, and at finding their hearts atlast delivered of the terrible burden laid upon them by Thee, which caused them so muchsuffering. Tell me, were we right in doing as we did. Did not we show our great love for

humanity, by realizing in such a humble spirit its helplessness, by so mercifully lightening itsgreat burden, and by permitting and remitting for its weak nature every sin, provided it becommitted with our authorization? For what, then, hast Thou come again to trouble us in our work? And why lookest Thou at me so penetratingly with Thy meek eyes, and in such a silence?Rather shouldst Thou feel wroth, for I need not Thy love, I reject it, and love Thee not, myself.Why should I conceal the truth from Thee? I know but too well with whom I am now talking!What I had to say was known to Thee before, I read it in Thine eye. How should I conceal fromThee our secret? If perchance Thou wouldst hear it from my own lips, then listen: We are notwith Thee, but with him, and that is our secret! For centuries have we abandoned Thee to followhim, yes—eight centuries. Eight hundred years now since we accepted from him the gift rejected by Thee with indignation; that last gift which he offered Thee from the high mountain when,





showing all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, he saith unto Thee: "All thesethings will I give Thee, if Thou will fall down and worship me!" We took Rome from him and the glaive of Caesar, and declared ourselves alone the kings of this earth, its sole kings, thoughour work is not yet fully accomplished. But who is to blame for it? Our work is but in itsincipient stage, but it is nevertheless started. We may have long to wait until its culmination, and mankind have to suffer much, but we shall reach the goal some day, and become sole Caesars,and then will be the time to think of universal happiness for men.

"'Thou couldst accept the glaive of Caesar Thyself; why didst Thou reject the offer? By

accepting from the powerful spirit his third offer Thou would have realized every aspiration manseeketh for himself on earth; man would have found a constant object for worship; one to deliver his conscience up to, and one that should unite all together into one common and harmoniousant-hill; for an innate necessity for universal union constitutes the third and final affliction of mankind. Humanity as a whole has ever aspired to unite itself universally. Many were, the greatnations with great histories, but the greater they were, the more unhappy they felt, as they felt thestronger necessity of a universal union among men. Great conquerors, like Timoor and Tchengis-Khan, passed like a cyclone upon the face of the earth in their efforts to conquer the universe, buteven they, albeit unconsciously, expressed the same aspiration towards universal and commonunion. In accepting the kingdom of the world and Caesar's purple, one would found a universalkingdom and secure to mankind eternal peace. And who can rule mankind better than those who

have possessed themselves of man's conscience, and hold in their hand man's daily bread?Having accepted Caesar's glaive and purple, we had, of course, but to deny Thee, to henceforthfollow him alone. Oh, centuries of intellectual riot and rebellious free thought are yet before us,and their science will end by anthropophagy, for having begun to build their Babylonian tower without our help they will have to end by anthropophagy. But it is precisely at that time that theBeast will crawl up to us in full submission, and lick the soles of our feet, and sprinkle them withtears of blood and we shall sit upon the scarlet-colored Beast, and lifting up high the golden cup"full of abomination and filthiness," shall show written upon it the word "Mystery"! But it is onlythen that men will see the beginning of a kingdom of peace and happiness. Thou art proud of Thine own elect, but Thou has none other but these elect, and we—we will give rest to all. Butthat is not the end. Many are those among thine elect and the laborers of Thy vineyard, who, tired of waiting for Thy coming, already have carried and will yet carry, the great fervor of their heartsand their spiritual strength into another field, and will end by lifting up against Thee Thine own banner of freedom. But it is Thyself Thou hast to thank. Under our rule and sway all will behappy, and will neither rebel nor destroy each other as they did while under Thy free banner. Oh,we will take good care to prove to them that they will become absolutely free only when theyhave abjured their freedom in our favor and submit to us absolutely. Thinkest Thou we shall beright or still lying? They will convince themselves of our rightness, for they will see what adepth of degrading slavery and strife that liberty of Thine has led them into. Liberty, Freedom of Thought and Conscience, and Science will lead them into such impassable chasms, place themface to face before such wonders and insoluble mysteries, that some of them—more rebelliousand ferocious than the rest—will destroy themselves; others—rebellious but weak—will destroyeach other; while the remainder, weak, helpless and miserable, will crawl back to our feet and

cry: "'Yes; right were ye, oh Fathers of Jesus; ye alone are in possession of His mystery, and wereturn to you, praying that ye save us from ourselves!" Receiving their bread from us, they willclearly see that we take the bread from them, the bread made by their own hands, but to give it back to them in equal shares and that without any miracle; and having ascertained that, thoughwe have not changed stones into bread, yet bread they have, while every other bread turned verilyin their own hands into stones, they will be only to glad to have it so. Until that day, they willnever be happy. And who is it that helped the most to blind them, tell me? Who separated theflock and scattered it over ways unknown if it be not Thee? But we will gather the sheep oncemore and subject them to our will for ever. We will prove to them their own weakness and makethem humble again, whilst with Thee they have learnt but pride, for Thou hast made more of them than they ever were worth. We will give them that quiet, humble happiness, which alone





benefits such weak, foolish creatures as they are, and having once had proved to them their weakness, they will become timid and obedient, and gather around us as chickens around their hen. They will wonder at and feel a superstitious admiration for us, and feel proud to be led bymen so powerful and wise that a handful of them can subject a flock a thousand millions strong.Gradually men will begin to fear us. They will nervously dread our slightest anger, their intellectswill weaken, their eyes become as easily accessible to tears as those of children and women; butwe will teach them an easy transition from grief and tears to laughter, childish joy and mirthfulsong. Yes; we will make them work like slaves, but during their recreation hours they shall havean innocent child-like life, full of play and merry laughter. We will even permit them sin, for,

weak and helpless, they will feel the more love for us for permitting them to indulge in it. Wewill tell them that every kind of sin will be remitted to them, so long as it is done with our permission; that we take all these sins upon ourselves, for we so love the world, that we are evenwilling to sacrifice our souls for its satisfaction. And, appearing before them in the light of their scapegoats and redeemers, we shall be adored the more for it. They will have no secrets from us.It will rest with us to permit them to live with their wives and concubines, or to forbid them, tohave children or remain childless, either way depending on the degree of their obedience to us;and they will submit most joyfully to us the most agonizing secrets of their souls—all, all willthey lay down at our feet, and we will authorize and remit them all in Thy name, and they will believe us and accept our mediation with rapture, as it will deliver them from their greatestanxiety and torture—that of having to decide freely for themselves. And all will be happy, all

except the one or two hundred thousands of their rulers. For it is but we, we the keepers of thegreat Mystery who will be miserable. There will be thousands of millions of happy infants, and one hundred thousand martyrs who have taken upon themselves the curse of knowledge of good and evil. Peaceable will be their end, and peacefully will they die, in Thy name, to find behind the portals of the grave—but death. But we will keep the secret inviolate, and deceive them for their own good with the mirage of life eternal in Thy kingdom. For, were there really anythinglike life beyond the grave, surely it would never fall to the lot of such as they! People tell us and prophesy of Thy coming and triumphing once more on earth; of Thy appearing with the army of Thy elect, with Thy proud and mighty ones; but we will answer Thee that they have saved butthemselves while we have saved all. We are also threatened with the great disgrace which awaitsthe whore, "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots"—who sits upon the Beast, holding in her hands the Mystery, the word written upon her forehead; and we are told that the weak ones, thelambs shall rebel against her and shall make her desolate and naked. But then will I arise, and point out to Thee the thousands of millions of happy infants free from any sin. And we who havetaken their sins upon us, for their own good, shall stand before Thee and say: "Judge us if Thoucanst and darest!" Know then that I fear Thee not. Know that I too have lived in the drearywilderness, where I fed upon locusts and roots, that I too have blessed freedom with which thouhast blessed men, and that I too have once prepared to join the ranks of Thy elect, the proud and the mighty. But I awoke from my delusion and refused since then to serve insanity. I returned to join the legion of those who corrected Thy mistakes. I left the proud and returned to the reallyhumble, and for their own happiness. What I now tell thee will come to pass, and our kingdomshall be built, I tell Thee not later than to-morrow Thou shalt see that obedient flock which atone simple motion of my hand will rush to add burning coals to Thy stake, on which I will burn

Thee for having dared to come and trouble us in our work. For, if there ever was one whodeserved more than any of the others our inquisitorial fires—it is Thee! To-morrow I will burnThee. Dixi'."

Ivan paused. He had entered into the situation and had spoken with great animation, but nowhe suddenly burst out laughing.

"But all that is absurd!" suddenly exclaimed Alyosha, who had hitherto listened perplexed and agitated but in profound silence. "Your poem is a glorification of Christ, not an accusation,as you, perhaps, meant to be. And who will believe you when you speak of 'freedom'? Is it thusthat we Christians must understand it? It is Rome (not all Rome, for that would be unjust), but





the worst of the Roman Catholics, the Inquisitors and Jesuits, that you have been exposing! Your Inquisitor is an impossible character. What are these sins they are taking upon themselves? Whoare those keepers of mystery who took upon themselves a curse for the good of mankind? Whoever met them? We all know the Jesuits, and no one has a good word to say in their favor; butwhen were they as you depict them? Never, never! The Jesuits are merely a Romish armymaking ready for their future temporal kingdom, with a mitred emperor—a Roman high priest attheir head. That is their ideal and object, without any mystery or elevated suffering. The most prosaic thirsting for power, for the sake of the mean and earthly pleasures of life, a desire toenslave their fellow-men, something like our late system of serfs, with themselves at the head as

landed proprietors—that is all that they can be accused of. They may not believe in God, that isalso possible, but your suffering Inquisitor is simply—a fancy!"

"Hold, hold!" interrupted Ivan, smiling. "Do not be so excited. A fancy, you say; be it so! Of course, it is a fancy. But stop. Do you really imagine that all this Catholic movement during thelast centuries is naught but a desire for power for the mere purpose of 'mean pleasures'? Is thiswhat your Father Paissiy taught you?"

"No, no, quite the reverse, for Father Paissiy once told me something very similar to whatyou yourself say, though, of course, not that—something quite different," suddenly added Alexis, blushing.

"A precious piece of information, notwithstanding your 'not that.' I ask you, why should theInquisitors and the Jesuits of your imagination live but for the attainment of 'mean material pleasures?' Why should there not be found among them one single genuine martyr sufferingunder a great and holy idea and loving humanity with all his heart? Now let us suppose thatamong all these Jesuits thirsting and hungering but after 'mean material pleasures' there may beone, just one like my old Inquisitor, who had himself fed upon roots in the wilderness, suffered the tortures of damnation while trying to conquer flesh, in order to become free and perfect, butwho had never ceased to love humanity, and who one day prophetically beheld the truth; whosaw as plain as he could see that the bulk of humanity could never be happy under the old system, that it was not for them that the great Idealist had come and died and dreamt of HisUniversal Harmony. Having realized that truth, he returned into the world and joined—intelligent

and practical people. Is this so impossible?"

"Joined whom? What intelligent and practical people?" exclaimed Alyosha quite excited."Why should they be more intelligent than other men, and what secrets and mysteries can theyhave? They have neither. Atheism and infidelity is all the secret they have. Your Inquisitor doesnot believe in God, and that is all the Mystery there is in it!"

"It may be so. You have guessed rightly there. And it is so, and that is his whole secret; but isthis not the acutest sufferings for such a man as he, who killed all his young life in asceticism inthe desert, and yet could not cure himself of his love towards his fellowmen? 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 rebels, these 'half-finished samples of humanitycreated in mockery' can be made tolerable. And once convinced of it, he sees as clearly that toachieve that object, one must follow blindly the guidance of the wise spirit, the fearful spirit of death and destruction, hence accept a system of lies and deception and lead humanityconsciously this time toward death and destruction, and moreover, be deceiving them all thewhile in order to prevent them from realizing where they are being led, and so force themiserable blind men to feel happy, at least while here on earth. And note this: a wholesaledeception in the name of Him, in whose ideal the old man had so passionately, so fervently, believed during nearly his whole life! Is this no suffering? And were such a solitary exceptionfound amidst, and at the head of, that army 'that thirsts for power but for the sake of the mean pleasures of life,' think you one such man would not suffice to bring on a tragedy? Moreover,





one single man like my Inquisitor as a principal leader, would prove sufficient to discover thereal guiding idea of the Romish system with all its armies of Jesuits, the greatest and chiefestconviction that the solitary type described in my poem has at no time ever disappeared fromamong the chief leaders of that movement. Who knows but that terrible old man, loving humanityso stubbornly and in such an original way, exists even in our days in the shape of a whole hostof such solitary exceptions, whose existence is not due to mere chance, but to a well-defined association born of mutual consent, to a secret league, organized several centuries back, in order to guard the Mystery from the indiscreet eyes of the miserable and weak people, and only inview of their own happiness? And so it is; it cannot be otherwise. I suspect that even Masons

have some such Mystery underlying the basis of their organization, and that it is just the reasonwhy the Roman Catholic clergy hate them so, dreading to find in them rivals, competition, thedismemberment of the unity of the idea, for the realization of which one flock and one Shepherd are needed. However, in defending my idea, I look like an author whose production is unable tostand criticism. Enough of this."

"You are, perhaps, a Mason yourself!" exclaimed Alyosha. "You do not believe in God," headded, with a note of profound sadness in his voice. But suddenly remarking that his brother waslooking at him with mockery, "How do you mean then to bring your poem to a close?" heunexpectedly enquired, casting his eyes downward, "or does it break off here?"

"My intention is to end it with the following scene: Having disburdened his heart, theInquisitor waits for some time to hear his prisoner speak in His turn. His silence weighs uponhim. He has seen that his captive has been attentively listening to him all the time, with His eyesfixed penetratingly and softly on the face of his jailer, and evidently bent upon not replying tohim. The old man longs to hear His voice, to hear Him reply; better words of bitterness and scornthan His silence. Suddenly He rises; slowly and silently approaching the Inquisitor, He bendstowards him and softly kisses the bloodless, four-score and-ten-year-old lips. That is all theanswer. The Grand Inquisitor shudders. There is a convulsive twitch at the corner of his mouth.He goes to the door, opens it, and addressing Him, 'Go,' he says, 'go, and return no more... do notcome again... never, never!' and—lets Him out into the dark night. The prisoner vanishes."

"And the old man?"

"The kiss burns his heart, but the old man remains firm in his own ideas and unbelief."

"And you, together with him? You too!" despairingly exclaimed Alyosha, while Ivan burstinto a still louder fit of laughter.

End of Proj ect Gut enberg' s The Gr and I nqui si t or, by Feodor Dostoevsky

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wi t h t hi s eBook or onl i ne at www. gut enberg. net1. E. 2. I f an i ndi vi dual Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m el ectr oni c wor k i s der i vedf r om t he publ i c domai n ( does not cont ai n a not i ce i ndi cat i ng t hat i t i sposted wi t h per mi ssi on of t he copyri ght hol der ) , t he work can be copi edand di st r i but ed t o anyone i n the Uni t ed St ates wi t hout payi ng any f eesor char ges. I f you ar e r edi st r i but i ng or pr ovi di ng access to a wor kwi t h the phr ase "Proj ect Gut enberg" associ ated wi t h or appear i ng on t hework, you must compl y ei t her wi t h t he r equi r ement s of paragr aphs 1. E. 1t hr ough 1. E. 7 or obt ai n permi ssi on f or t he use of t he wor k and t hePr oj ect Gut enber g- t m t r ademar k as set f or t h i n par agr aphs 1. E. 8 or1. E. 9.

1. E. 3. I f an i ndi vi dual Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m el ectr oni c wor k i s post edwi t h t he per mi ssi on of t he copyr i ght hol der , your use and di st r i but i onmust compl y wi t h bot h paragr aphs 1. E. 1 t hr ough 1. E. 7 and any addi t i onalt erms i mposed by t he copyri ght hol der . Addi t i onal t er ms wi l l be l i nked

t o t he Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m Li cense f or al l wor ks post ed wi t h thepermi ssi on of t he copyri ght hol der f ound at t he begi nni ng of t hi s wor k.

1. E. 4. Do not unl i nk or det ach or r emove t he f ul l Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t mLi cense t er ms f r om t hi s wor k, or any f i l es cont ai ni ng a par t of t hi swork or any ot her work associ ated wi t h Proj ect Gut enberg- t m.

1. E. 5. Do not copy, di spl ay, per f or m, di st r i but e or r edi st r i but e t hi sel ect r oni c wor k, or any par t of t hi s el ect r oni c wor k, wi t houtpr omi nent l y di spl ayi ng t he sent ence set f or t h i n par agr aph 1. E. 1 wi t hact i ve l i nks or i mmedi at e access t o the f ul l t er ms of t he Pr oj ectGut enber g- t m Li cense.

1. E. 6. You may conver t t o and di st r i but e t hi s wor k i n any bi nary,compr essed, marked up, nonpr opr i etary or pr opr i etary f orm, i ncl udi ng anyword pr ocessi ng or hypert ext f orm. However, i f you pr ovi de access t o ordi st r i but e copi es of a Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m wor k i n a f or mat ot her t han

"Pl ai n Vani l l a ASCI I " or ot her f or mat used i n t he of f i ci al ver si onposted on t he of f i ci al Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m web si t e ( www. gut enberg. net ) ,you must , at no addi t i onal cost , f ee or expense to the user , pr ovi de acopy, a means of export i ng a copy, or a means of obt ai ni ng a copy uponr equest , of t he wor k i n i t s or i gi nal "Pl ai n Vani l l a ASCI I " or ot herf orm. Any al t er nat e f or mat must i ncl ude t he f ul l Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t mLi cense as speci f i ed i n par agr aph 1. E. 1.

1. E. 7. Do not char ge a f ee f or access t o, vi ewi ng, di spl ayi ng,perf or mi ng, copyi ng or di st r i but i ng any Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m wor ksunl ess you compl y wi t h paragr aph 1. E. 8 or 1. E. 9.

1. E. 8. You may char ge a r easonabl e f ee f or copi es of or provi di ngaccess t o or di st r i but i ng Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m el ect r oni c wor ks pr ovi dedt hat

- You pay a r oyal t y f ee of 20% of t he gr oss prof i t s you der i ve f r om

t he use of Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m wor ks cal cul at ed usi ng t he met hod you al r eady use t o cal cul at e your appl i cabl e t axes. The f ee i s owed t o t he owner of the Proj ect Gut enberg- t m t r ademark, but he has agr eed t o donate r oyal t i es under t hi s paragr aph t o t he Proj ect Gut enberg Li t erar y Ar chi ve Foundat i on. Royal t y payment s must be pai d wi t hi n 60 days f ol l owi ng each date on whi ch you pr epar e ( or ar e l egal l y r equi r ed t o pr epar e) your per i odi c t ax r et ur ns. Royal t y payment s shoul d be cl ear l y marked as such and sent to t he Pr oj ect Gut enber g Li t er ar y Ar chi ve Foundat i on at the addr ess speci f i ed i n Sect i on 4, "I nf or mat i on about donat i ons t o t he Pr oj ect Gut enber g Li t er ary Ar chi ve Foundat i on. "

- You pr ovi de a f ul l r ef und of any money pai d by a user who not i f i es you i n wr i t i ng ( or by e- mai l ) wi t hi n 30 days of r ecei pt t hat s/ he does not agr ee t o t he t er ms of t he f ul l Pr oj ect Gut enberg- t m Li cense. You must r equi r e such a user t o r etur n or dest r oy al l copi es of t he wor ks possessed i n a physi cal medi um





and di scont i nue al l use of and al l access t o ot her copi es of Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m wor ks.

- You pr ovi de, i n accor dance wi t h paragr aph 1. F. 3, a f ul l r ef und of any money pai d f or a work or a r epl acement copy, i f a def ect i n t he el ect r oni c work i s di scovered and r eport ed t o you wi t hi n 90 days of r ecei pt of t he wor k.

- You compl y wi t h al l ot her t er ms of t hi s agr eement f or f r ee di st r i but i on of Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m wor ks.

1. E. 9. I f you wi sh t o char ge a f ee or di st r i but e a Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t mel ect r oni c wor k or gr oup of wor ks on di f f er ent t er ms t han ar e setf or t h i n thi s agr eement , you must obt ai n per mi ssi on i n wr i t i ng f r omboth t he Pr oj ect Gut enberg Li t erar y Ar chi ve Foundat i on and Mi chaelHart , t he owner of t he Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m t r ademar k. Cont act t heFoundat i on as set f or t h i n Sect i on 3 bel ow.

1. F.

1. F. 1. Proj ect Gut enberg vol unt eer s and empl oyees expend consi derabl eef f or t t o i dent i f y, do copyri ght r esear ch on, t r anscri be and pr oof r eadpubl i c domai n wor ks i n creat i ng t he Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t mcol l ecti on. Despi t e t hese ef f or t s, Proj ect Gut enber g- t m el ectr oni cworks, and t he medi um on whi ch t hey may be st ored, may cont ai n"Def ect s, " such as, but not l i mi t ed t o, i ncompl et e, i naccur at e orcor r upt dat a, t r anscr i pt i on er r or s, a copyr i ght or ot her i nt el l ectualpr opert y i nf r i ngement , a def ect i ve or damaged di sk or other medi um, acomput er vi r us, or comput er codes t hat damage or cannot be read byyour equi pment .

1. F. 2. LI MI TED WARRANTY, DI SCLAI MER OF DAMAGES - Except f or t he "Ri ghtof Repl acement or Ref und" descri bed i n paragr aph 1. F. 3, t he Pr oj ectGut enberg Li t erar y Ar chi ve Foundat i on, t he owner of t he Pr oj ectGut enber g- t m t r ademar k, and any ot her par t y di st r i but i ng a Pr oj ectGut enber g- t m el ect r oni c wor k under t hi s agr eement , di scl ai m al ll i abi l i t y t o you f or damages, cost s and expenses, i ncl udi ng l egalf ees . YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDI ES FOR NEGLI GENCE, STRI CTLI ABI LI TY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSEPROVI DED I N PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATI ON, THE

TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DI STRI BUTOR UNDER THI S AGREEMENT WI LL NOT BELI ABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DI RECT, I NDI RECT, CONSEQUENTI AL, PUNI TI VE ORI NCI DENTAL DAMAGES EVEN I F YOU GI VE NOTI CE OF THE POSSI BI LI TY OF SUCHDAMAGE.

1. F. 3. LI MI TED RI GHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - I f you di scover adef ect i n t hi s el ect r oni c wor k wi t hi n 90 days of r ecei vi ng i t , you can

r ecei ve a ref und of t he money ( i f any) you pai d f or i t by sendi ng awr i t t en expl anat i on t o t he per son you r ecei ved t he work f r om. I f your ecei ved t he work on a physi cal medi um, you must r etur n t he medi um wi t hyour wr i t t en expl anat i on. The per son or ent i t y t hat pr ovi ded you wi t ht he def ect i ve work may el ect t o pr ovi de a r epl acement copy i n l i eu of ar ef und. I f you r ecei ved t he wor k el ect r oni cal l y, t he per son or ent i t ypr ovi di ng i t t o you may choose t o gi ve you a second opport uni t y t or ecei ve t he wor k el ect r oni cal l y i n l i eu of a r ef und. I f t he second copyi s al so def ect i ve, you may demand a ref und i n wr i t i ng wi t hout f ur t heroppor t uni t i es t o f i x t he pr obl em.

1. F. 4. Except f or t he l i mi t ed r i ght of r epl acement or r ef und set f or t hi n paragr aph 1. F. 3, t hi s work i s provi ded t o you ' AS- I S' WI TH NO OTHERWARRANTI ES OF ANY KI ND, EXPRESS OR I MPLI ED, I NCLUDI NG BUT NOT LI MI TED TOWARRANTI ES OF MERCHANTI BI LI TY OR FI TNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1. F. 5. Some stat es do not al l ow di scl ai mer s of cer t ai n i mpl i ed

war r ant i es or t he excl usi on or l i mi t at i on of cer t ai n t ypes of damages.I f any di scl ai mer or l i mi t at i on set f or t h i n t hi s agr eement vi ol at es t hel aw of t he st at e appl i cabl e t o thi s agr eement , t he agr eement shal l bei nt er pr et ed t o make t he maxi mum di scl ai mer or l i mi t at i on per mi t t ed byt he appl i cabl e st at e l aw. The i nval i di t y or unenf or ceabi l i t y of anypr ovi si on of t hi s agr eement shal l not voi d t he remai ni ng pr ovi si ons.

1. F. 6. I NDEMNI TY - You agr ee t o i ndemni f y and hol d the Foundat i on, t het r ademark owner , any agent or empl oyee of t he Foundat i on, anyonepr ovi di ng copi es of Proj ect Gut enber g- t m el ect r oni c wor ks i n accor dancewi t h thi s agr eement , and any vol unt eer s associ ated wi t h the pr oduct i on,pr omot i on and di st r i but i on of Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m el ect r oni c wor ks,harml ess f rom al l l i abi l i t y, costs and expenses, i ncl udi ng l egal f ees,t hat ar i se di r ectl y or i ndi r ectl y f r om any of t he f ol l owi ng whi ch you door cause t o occur : ( a) di st r i but i on of t hi s or any Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t mwor k, ( b) al t er at i on, modi f i cat i on, or addi t i ons or del et i ons t o anyProj ect Gut enberg- t m work, and ( c) any Def ect you cause.





Sect i on 2. I nf or mat i on about t he Mi ssi on of Proj ect Gut enber g- t m

Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m i s synonymous wi t h t he f r ee di st r i but i on of el ect r oni c wor ks i n f or mats r eadabl e by t he wi dest var i ety of comput ersi ncl udi ng obsol ete, ol d, mi ddl e- aged and new comput er s. I t exi st sbecause of t he ef f or t s of hundr eds of vol unt eer s and donat i ons f r ompeopl e i n al l wal ks of l i f e.

Vol unt eer s and f i nanci al suppor t t o pr ovi de vol unt eer s wi t h t heassi st ance t hey need ar e cri t i cal t o reachi ng Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m' sgoal s and ensur i ng t hat t he Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m col l ect i on wi l l

r emai n f r eel y avai l abl e f or gener at i ons to come. I n 2001, t he Pr oj ectGut enberg Li t erar y Ar chi ve Foundat i on was cr eat ed t o pr ovi de a secur eand permanent f ut ur e f or Pr oj ect Gut enberg- t m and f ut ur e generat i ons.

To l earn mor e about t he Pr oj ect Gut enber g Li t er ar y Archi ve Foundat i onand how your ef f ort s and donat i ons can hel p, see Sect i ons 3 and 4and t he Foundat i on web page at ht t p: / / www. pgl af . org.

Sect i on 3. I nf or mat i on about t he Pr oj ect Gut enber g Li t er ar y Ar chi veFoundat i on

The Pr oj ect Gut enber g Li t er ar y Ar chi ve Foundat i on i s a non prof i t501( c) ( 3) educat i onal cor por at i on or gani zed under t he l aws of t hest at e of Mi ssi ssi ppi and gr ant ed t ax exempt st at us by the I nt er nalRevenue Ser vi ce. The Foundat i on' s EI N or f eder al t ax i dent i f i cat i onnumber i s 64- 6221541. I t s 501( c) ( 3) l et t er i s post ed atht t p: / / pgl af . or g/ f undr ai si ng. Cont r i but i ons t o t he Pr oj ect Gut enber g

Li t er ar y Ar chi ve Foundat i on ar e t ax deduct i bl e t o the f ul l ext entpermi t t ed by U. S. f eder al l aws and your st at e' s l aws.

The Foundat i on' s pr i nci pal of f i ce i s l ocat ed at 4557 Mel an Dr . S.Fai r banks, AK, 99712. , but i t s vol unt eer s and empl oyees ar e scat t eredt hr oughout numer ous l ocat i ons. I t s busi ness of f i ce i s l ocat ed at809 Nort h 1500 West , Sal t Lake Ci t y, UT 84116, ( 801) 596- 1887, emai lbusi ness@pgl af . or g. Emai l cont act l i nks and up t o dat e cont acti nf or mat i on can be f ound at t he Foundat i on' s web si t e and of f i ci alpage at ht t p: / / pgl af . or g

For addi t i onal cont act i nf or mat i on: Dr . Gr egor y B. Newby Chi ef Execut i ve and Di r ect or gbnewby@pgl af . org

Sect i on 4. I nf or mat i on about Donat i ons t o t he Pr oj ect Gut enber gLi t er ar y Ar chi ve Foundati on

Proj ect Gut enberg- t m depends upon and cannot survi ve wi t hout wi despr ead publ i c suppor t and donati ons t o car r y out i t s mi ssi on of i ncreasi ng t he number of publ i c domai n and l i censed works t hat can bef r eel y di st r i but ed i n machi ne r eadabl e f or m accessi bl e by t he wi destar r ay of equi pment i ncl udi ng out dated equi pment . Many smal l donat i ons( $1 t o $5, 000) ar e par t i cul ar l y i mpor t ant t o mai nt ai ni ng tax exemptst at us wi t h t he I RS.

The Foundat i on i s commi t t ed t o compl yi ng wi t h t he l aws r egul at i ngchar i t i es and char i t abl e donat i ons i n al l 50 st at es of t he Uni t edSt at es. Compl i ance r equi r ement s ar e not uni f or m and i t t akes aconsi der abl e ef f or t , much paperwork and many f ees t o meet and keep upwi t h t hese r equi r ement s. We do not sol i ci t donat i ons i n l ocat i onswhere we have not r ecei ved wr i t t en conf i r mat i on of compl i ance. To

SEND DONATI ONS or det ermi ne t he st at us of compl i ance f or anypar t i cul ar s tat e vi s i t ht t p: / / pgl af . org

Whi l e we cannot and do not sol i ci t cont r i but i ons f r om st at es wher e wehave not met t he sol i ci t at i on requi r ement s, we know of no pr ohi bi t i onagai nst accept i ng unsol i ci t ed donat i ons f r om donor s i n such st at es whoappr oach us wi t h of f ers t o donate.

I nt er nat i onal donat i ons ar e gr at ef ul l y accept ed, but we cannot makeany st atement s concer ni ng t ax t r eat ment of donat i ons r ecei ved f r omout si de t he Uni t ed St ates. U. S. l aws al one swamp our smal l st af f .

Pl ease check t he Pr oj ect Gut enberg Web pages f or cur r ent donat i onmet hods and addresses. Donat i ons ar e accept ed i n a number of ot herways i ncl udi ng i ncl udi ng checks, onl i ne payment s and cr edi t car ddonat i ons. To donat e, pl ease vi si t : htt p: / / pgl af . or g/ donat e




Sect i on 5. Gener al I nf or mat i on About Proj ect Gut enber g- t m el ect r oni cwor ks.

Pr of essor Mi chael S. Har t i s t he or i gi nat or of t he Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t mconcept of a l i br ar y of el ect r oni c wor ks t hat coul d be f r eel y shar edwi t h anyone. For t hi r t y year s, he pr oduced and di st r i but ed Pr oj ectGut enberg- t m eBooks wi t h onl y a l oose network of vol unt eer support .

Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m eBooks ar e of t en creat ed f r om sever al pr i nt ededi t i ons, al l of whi ch ar e conf i r med as Publ i c Domai n i n t he U. S.unl ess a copyri ght not i ce i s i ncl uded. Thus, we do not necessari l ykeep eBooks i n compl i ance wi t h any part i cul ar paper edi t i on.

Most peopl e st art at our Web si t e whi ch has t he mai n PG sear ch f aci l i t y:

ht t p: / / www. gut enberg. net

Thi s Web si t e i ncl udes i nf or mat i on about Pr oj ect Gut enber g- t m,i ncl udi ng how t o make donat i ons t o t he Pr oj ect Gut enberg Li t erar yAr chi ve Foundat i on, how t o hel p pr oduce our new eBooks, and how t osubscr i be t o our emai l newsl et t er t o hear about new eBooks.

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