book, which ends with the mention of the death of an old man and ends with the funeral of a young man, but death---even murder---is secondary to the human and eternal life which dominates the book. When Alyosha is weeping in grief at one point, Father Paissy asks him why he is crying, because the Christian faith declares that the dead one has gone to paradise, but Alyosha continues to weep: "'Maybe it is well,' said Father Paissy thoughtfully: 'weep if you must, Christ has sent you those tears.'" The older priest then says to himself: "Your touching tears are but a relief to your spirit and will serve to gladden your dear heart" (395). And that is precisely what happens to Alyosha---because of his deep grief for those who die in his life, he comes to a profound sense of compassion and understanding for every suffering human being he encounters. That is the destination of the spiritual life which the author seeks to depict in its often bewildering process. It is a fully humanistic spirituality which emphasizes the God-given connections among suffering, struggling and
...