How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph). We used Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky's translation.
Quote #10
"Love to throw yourself down on the earth and kiss it. Kiss the earth and love it, tirelessly, insatiably, love all men, love all things, seek this rapture and ecstasy. Water the earth with the tears of your joy, and love those tears. Do not be ashamed of this ecstasy, treasure it, for it is a gift from God, a great gift, and it is not given to many, but to those who are chosen." (6.3.h)
Zosima's exhortation to "[k]iss the earth" links up his religious views with the love of the Russian land.
Quote #11
"It's impossible for a convict to be without God, even more impossible than for a non-convict! And then from the depths of the earth, we, the men underground, will start singing a tragic hymn to God, in whom there is joy!" (11.8.36)
Dmitri here practices Zosima's philosophy that all you have to do is recognize that your life is a paradise for it to become one (see Quote #7). Dmitri's image of the convicts' hymn shows how even a convict can praise God.
Quote #12
[Alyosha] was beginning to understand Ivan's illness: "The torments of a proud decision, a deep conscience!" God, in who he did not want to believe, and his truth were overcoming his heart, which still did not want to submit. (11.10.37)
Alyosha here recognizes the enormous suffering Ivan experiences because of his unwillingness to recognize the truth of religious doctrine.