He spoke confidently and composedly:
"The holy place must not be empty. The spot where God dwells is a
place of pain; and if he drops out from the heart, there will be a
wound in it, mark my word! It is necessary, Pavel, to invent a new
faith; it is necessary to create a God for all. Not a judge, not a
warrior, but a God who shall be the friend of the people."
"You had one! There was Christ!"
"Wait a moment! Christ was not strong in spirit. 'Let the cup pass
from me,' he said. And he recognized Caesar. God cannot recognize
human powers. He himself is the whole of power. He does not divide
his soul saying: so much for the godly, so much for the human. If
Christ came to affirm the divine he had no need for anything human.
But he recognized trade, and he recognized marriage. And it was
unjust of him to condemn the fig tree. Was it of its own will that
it was barren of fruit? Neither is the soul barren of good of its
own accord. Have I sown the evil in it myself? Of course not!"
The two voices hummed continuously in the room, as if clutching at
each other and wrestling in exciting play. Pavel walked hurriedly
up and down the room; the floor cracked under his feet.
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