He came softly, unobserved, and yet, strange to say, every one recognized Him. That might be one of the best passages in the poem. I mean, why they recognized Him. The people are irresistibly drawn to Him, they surround Him, they flock about Him, follow Him. He moves silently in their midst with a gentle smile fo infinite compassion. The sun of love burns in His heart, light and power shine from His eyes, and their radiance, shed on the people, stirs their hearts with responsive love. He holds out his hands to them, blesses them, and a healing virtue comes from contact with Him, even with His garments. An old man in the the crowd, blind from childhood, creis out, “O Lord, heal me and I shall see Thee!” and, as it were, scales fall from his eyes and the bland man sees Him.
From the opening of “The Grand Inquisitor,” a story told by Ivan to his brother Alyosha in Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.
