Brothers -- Fiction; Didactic fiction; Fathers and sons -- Fiction; Russia -- Social life and customs -- 1533-1917 -- Fiction
Thou didst Thyself lift up that banner. But
with us all will be happy and will no more rebel nor destroy one
another as under Thy freedom. Oh, we shall persuade them that they will
only become free when they renounce their freedom to us and submit to
us. And shall we be right or shall we be lying? They will be convinced
that we are right, for they will remember the horrors of slavery and
confusion to which Thy freedom brought them. Freedom, free thought and
science, will lead them into such straits and will bring them face to
face with such marvels and insoluble mysteries, that some of them, the
fierce and rebellious, will destroy themselves, others, rebellious but
weak, will destroy one another, while the rest, weak and unhappy, will
crawl fawning to our feet and whine to us: “Yes, you were right, you
alone possess His mystery, and we come back to you, save us from
ourselves!”
“‘Receiving bread from us, they will see clearly that we take the
bread made by their hands from them, to give it to them, without any
miracle. They will see that we do not change the stones to bread, but
in truth they will be more thankful for taking it from our hands than
for the bread itself! For they will remember only too well that in old
days, without our help, even the bread they made turned to stones in
their hands, while since they have come back to us, the very stones
have turned to bread in their hands. Too, too well will they know the
value of complete submission! And until men know that, they will be
unhappy. Who is most to blame for their not knowing it?—speak! Who
scattered the flock and sent it astray on unknown paths? But the flock
will come together again and will submit once more, and then it will be
once for all. Then we shall give them the quiet humble happiness of
weak creatures such as they are by nature. Oh, we shall persuade them
at last not to be proud, for Thou didst lift them up and thereby taught
them to be proud. We shall show them that they are weak, that they are
only pitiful children, but that childlike happiness is the sweetest of
all. They will become timid and will look to us and huddle close to us
in fear, as chicks to the hen. They will marvel at us and will be
awe-stricken before us, and will be proud at our being so powerful and
clever, that we have been able to subdue such a turbulent flock of
thousands of millions. They will tremble impotently before our wrath,
their minds will grow fearful, they will be quick to shed tears like
women and children, but they will be just as ready at a sign from us to
pass to laughter and rejoicing, to happy mirth and childish song. Yes,
we shall set them to work, but in their leisure hours we shall make
their life like a child’s game, with children’s songs and innocent
dance. Oh, we shall allow them even sin, they are weak and helpless,
and they will love us like children because we allow them to sin. We
shall tell them that every sin will be expiated, if it is done with our
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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