Page 262 - the-brothers-karamazov

does he mean?’
He went round the monastery, and crossed the pine-
wood to the hermitage. The door was opened to him, though
no one was admitted at that hour. There was a tremor in his
heart as he went into Father Zossima’s cell.
‘Why, why, had he gone forth? Why had he sent him into
the world? Here was peace. Here was holiness. But there
was confusion, there was darkness in which one lost one’s
way and went astray at once...’
In the cell he found the novice Porfiry and Father Pais-
sy, who came every hour to inquire after Father Zossima.
Alyosha learnt with alarm that he was getting worse and
worse. Even his usual discourse with the brothers could
not take place that day. As a rule every evening after ser-
vice the monks flocked into Father Zossima’s cell, and all
confessed aloud their sins of the day, their sinful thoughts
and temptations; even their disputes, if there had been any.
Some confessed kneeling. The elder absolved, reconciled,
exhorted, imposed penance, blessed, and dismissed them.
It was against this general ‘confession’ that the opponents of
‘elders’ protested, maintaining that it was a profanation of
the sacrament of confession, almost a sacrilege, though this
was quite a different thing. They even represented to the di-
ocesan authorities that such confessions attained no good
object, but actually to a large extent led to sin and tempta-
tion. Many of the brothers disliked going to the elder, and
went against their own will because everyone went, and for
fear they should be accused of pride and rebellious ideas.
People said that some of the monks agreed beforehand, say-

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