“What a book the Bible is, what a miracle, what strength is given with it to man”

 

Good heavens, what a book it is, and what lessons there are in it! What a book the Bible is, what a miracle, what strength is given with it to man. It is like a mold cast of the world and man and human nature, everything is there, and a law for everything for all the ages. And what mysteries are solved and revealed....

Fathers and teachers, forgive me and don’t be angry that like a little child I’ve been babbling on what you know from long ago and can teach me a hundred times more skillfully. I only speak from rapture, and forgive my tears, for I love the Bible. Let him too weep, the priest of God, and be sure that the hearts of his listeners will throb in response. Only a little tiny seed is needed--drop it into the heart of the peasant and it won’t die, it will live in his soul all his life, it will be hidden in the midst of his darkness and sin, like a bright spot, like a great reminder. And there’s no need of much teaching or explanation; he will understand it all simply…

The people are lost without the word of God, for their soul is athirst for the Word and for all that is good.

Father Zossima, from The Brothers Karamazov, Book VI “The Russian Monk,” Chapter 1 “Father Zossima and His Visitors.”