The Margin

Event

The Inquisitor's Monologue

Also known as Dixi.

After the miracle at the cathedral, the Grand Inquisitor visits the Prisoner alone in the dark prison of the Holy Inquisition. He tells Him not to answer and argues that Christ burdened humanity with a freedom most people cannot bear. The speech turns the three temptations in the wilderness into a program of bread, miracle, mystery, and authority.

V-V. The Grand Inquisitor

The old cardinal finally states his secret plainly: he believes those who rule in Christ's name have corrected His work by accepting the powers He rejected.

V-V. The Grand Inquisitor

Alyosha answers the poem by calling the Inquisitor a false Roman Catholic fantasy, while Ivan presses the possibility that such a tragic unbeliever could exist.

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The Margin

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The Inquisitor's Monologue