Grand Inquisitor (Paperback)

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Author)

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Product Description
Vividly imagining the second coming and capture of Christ during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, this parable recounted in "The Brothers Karamazov" is a profound, nuanced exploration of faith, suffering, human nature and free will. Included here too are Dostoyevsky's powerful and disturbing writings about his time in exile at a Siberian prison camp. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Frederick Ungar (December 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804461252
• ISBN-13: 978-0804461252
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #513,614 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Grand Inquisitor reveals much about Human nature, November 16, 1998

By	[e-mail] (Monterey, CA) - See all my reviews

The Grand Inquisitor argues that the coming of the Messiah during the Spanish Inquisition is a hindrance to the Catholic Church and to humanity as a whole. He explains, ?nothing has ever been more insupportable for a man and a human society than freedom.? The returning of the Messiah can only disrupt what the Catholic Church has done to rid humanity of this cursed freedom that God has bestowed upon humans. The Inquisitor goes on to list three temptations that the Catholic Church has remedied. ?The first temptation: the problem of bread.? The Inquisitor feels that it is better for the Church to give human society the gift of human bread -- declaring falsely that it is heavenly bread -- than it is for humans to take the actual heavenly bread. ?And we alone shall feed them in Thy name, declaring falsely that it is in Thy name. Oh, never never can they feed themselves without us.? ?The second temptation: the problem of conscience.? The Inquisitor says, ?Nothing is more seductive for man than his freedom of conscience, but nothing is a greater cause of suffering.? He proposes that the Church has successfully lifted this freedom and hence the suffering. ?The third temptation: the problem of unity? The Inquisitor goes on to say, ?But with us all will be happy and will no more rebel nor destroy one another as under Thy freedom.? The Church provides unity for the people. All of these temptations have been lifted from the human conscience by the church. ?We have corrected thy work and have founded it upon miracle, mystery and authority.? Thus, the Messiah has no duty coming back to this world and will be destroyed, as a heretic would be. This book gives many insights to human nature. It does not answer any questions, it simply asks the right questions. All who have at one time questioned human nature should read this novella.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars good...but lacking. an incomplete edition., January 11, 2006

By	A. Whittington (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While this story is truly an essential writing of Dostoevsky, it lacks the appropriate context to be read as sold in this copy. If you are interested in reading "The Grand Inquisitor" without reading the rest of The Brothers Karamazov, I would recommend the Guignon edition, sold for only a little more. This work includes the two chapters preceeding "The Grand Inquisitor" as well as what Dostoevsky intended as the refutation for this tale, "The Russian Monk," which follows this legend. Dostoevsky did not intend for this to be separated from the book as a whole, but I think it could be legitimately done when read with a little more context than is present in this copy. Additionally, this alternate edition includes a very complete introduction by Charles Guignon, which is much more informative than the brief one by Anne Fremantle provided in this copy.

It is important to remember that "The Grand Inquistor" was not Dostoevsky's final answer in The Brothers Karamazov. Reading this edition alone provides a flawed view of both Dostoevsky's writing and philosophy and The Brothers Karamazov.

I would recommend reading the book as a whole instead [and I particularly recommend the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation for that: it is much more accurate to the original Russian]. Or at a minimum, reading the other edition of this book. Either way, you will get a more complete glimpse to the genius of Dostoevsky, which this fails to provide.

The Grand Inquisitor is truly an essential read, but not in this presentation of it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, provocative, and more relevant today than ever!, October 25, 1997

By A Customer

This is the best short piece I've ever read. This fictional dialogue between the head of the inquisition and Jesus is more than just a metaphorical commentary on the debate over whether or not humans willingly give up their existential freedom in order to avoid the sometimes awesome responsibility that accompanies it. Dostoyevsky's classic also serves as a powerful critique of institutional religion and, by implication, all institutions (gov't, education, corporations, welfare system, etc.) who offer "bread" in exchange for the sacrifice of free choice. A "must read" for educators, social scientists, politicians, organizational consultants, policymakers, and corporate executives.