Dostoevsky's crocodile. Crocodile. An extraordinary event or Passage within a Passage. An extraordinary event, or Passage within Passage

I will love you, O Lord, my strength.

To You, my great, eternal God,

All my desires soar

Through the darkness and the endless abyss,

Where millions of stars burn

And where, spinning, are the worlds in the abyss

Your Majesty says:

Great is the Lord, great and holy

Of things in beginnings and endings!

Great is the Majesty Creator,

In troubles I have a shield, in judgment the Father.

Illness darkened my vision;

The ground opened up beneath me;

Like a host of crowded clouds of sadness

They hovered over my head.

The heart stopped beating

Coldness flowed through the veins of death,

I've already stepped foot into hell, -

But I remembered to turn to God. -

My sigh penetrated the heavens -

And my God heard me.

And she moved - and she trembled

A land in fear.

Darkness arose from the wrath of God,

Hearts in the mountains shook.

He looked - the sea was indignant,

And fiery whirlwinds rose,

And there were terrible thunders;

I stepped - and the sky bowed.

Came down - and with a strong heel

He thickened the clouds beneath Him.

And lo, seated on the whirlwinds of speed,

Rushing, clothed in darkness.

Before Him the flinty mountains melt;

The abysses are smoking after Him.

Like lightning, His brilliance.

He roars - and, listening to the menacing voice,

The earth trembled,

The foundations of the universe were revealed;

And water, in fear, without obstacles,

Confused, they rush out of the abyss.

Moved only by terrible abuse,

I punish my enemies with evil,

My God with His strong hand,

Like a strong copper shield,

Covered me - and their arrows for me,

Like brittle and rotten reeds;

How terrible and great my God is,

The limits of the enemy forces are so narrow!

As soon as I cried out,

He moved the thunder for me.

Wager, my spirit, for the circles of the stars,

Exalted by love for God;

Keep His heavenly ways -

And you will be saved in destruction.

Flee treacherous and flattering men:

Their conversation is poison to the heart:

With a saint you will be completely holy;

You will learn the truth among the untruthful.

With the truthful you will be truthful;

And with the wicked is wicked.

Humble shield! Suppressor of the proud!

Flash the dawns into my chest;

And on the pillars of firm hope

I will sing your glory;

Through the mountains of punctuation hell

I will step over like a giant;

I will fly like the son of an eagle,

Through the abysses, terrible to look at, -

And, inflamed with faith towards the King,

I will burn like the young sun.

With You whom should I fear,

Who wouldn't I overcome? -

Who can compare with You in glory?

And where is Your strongest god? -

Where is the sky, where there are circles of stars,

For powers and for other gods?

And where are your lightnings?

Unattainable abysses? -

Everything lives by your Spirit alone -

You are everything - there is no other god.

Isn’t it you who breathed a lot of strength into me,

Gave the strength of a lion to my hands,

Deer speed hit my feet

And I quickly eagle my eyes?

Wasn't it you who set me up to fight?

Gave me muscles like a copper onion?

Isn’t it you that the forces are suddenly different,

How he glorified himself in thousands,

Uniting in one thing in me,

Crowned me king of the earth?

Doesn't it take off by Your power?

My quick spirit to heaven,

Where a thousand suns shine,

Your prophetic miracles?

Is it not by Your great power

He measures the reason for the world

And comprehends that law,

How did you curb the chaos of the wild,

Divided the spaces between the worlds,

Gave a slender look and run to bodies?

But where is the word of man

Should I praise you abundantly? -

In whom the longitude is found centuries

Should all your miracles be counted out? -

Fall, my spirit, in much humility

And don’t direct your flight

Into the abyss beyond measure. -

To know God, one must be God;

But in order to love and honor Him,

One heart is enough.

- Russian poet, fabulist, translator, employee of the Imperial Public Library, State Councilor, Full member of the Imperial Russian Academy.

Psalm 17.

I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my strength, and my refuge, and my Savior. My God, my Helper, and I trust in Him, my Protector, and the horn of my salvation, and my Protector. With praise I will call on the Lord and I will be saved from my enemies. Mortal diseases have overcome me, and the floods of iniquity have crushed me, the diseases of hell have overcome me, having preceded me to the snares of death. And when I was in sorrow, I called on the Lord and cried out to my God, hearing my voice from His holy temple, and my cry before Him would come into His ears. And the earth moved and trembled, and the foundations of the mountains shook and moved, as if God was angry with her. The smoke of His wrath arose, and the fire from His presence was kindled, and coals kindled from Him. And bow down the heavens, and below, and darkness under His feet. "And he ascended upon the Cherubim, and flew, flew on the wing of the wind. And he laid his dark cover, around His village, dark water in the clouds of the air. From the shedding of clouds before Him came forth hail, and coals of fire. And the Lord and Most High thundered from Heaven He sent down His voice and dispersed the arrows, and multiplied the lightnings and crushed me. And the springs of water appeared, and the foundations of the world were revealed, from Thy rebuke, O Lord, from the inspiration of the spirit of Thy wrath, He sent down from on high, and received me from above. waters of many. He will deliver me from my mighty enemies and from those who hate me, for He has strengthened me before me in the day of my bitterness, and the Lord will bring me out into the wideness; He will deliver me, as the Lord will reward me. He will reward me with my righteousness and in my purity. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly from my God. For all His destiny is before me and His justification has not departed from me. And I will be blameless with Him, and I will be preserved from my iniquity. The Lord is in my righteousness and in the purity of my hand before His eyes. With the venerable you will be, and with the innocent man you will be innocent, and with the chosen you will be chosen, and with the obstinate you will be corrupt. For You have saved the humble people and humbled the eyes of the proud. For You have enlightened my lamp. Lord, my God, enlighten my darkness. For through You I will get rid of temptation and through my God I will cross the wall. My God, His way is blameless, the words of the Lord are kindled, the Protector of all those who trust in Him. Who is God, except the Lord? Or who is God, except our God? God gird me with strength, and make my way blameless. Make my nose like trees, and place me on high. Teach my hands to fight, and thou hast laid the bow of the copper on my arm. And You have given me the protection of salvation, and Your right hand will receive me, and Your punishment will correct me in the end, and Your punishment will teach me. Thou hast made my feet wide under me, and my feet are not weary. My enemies will marry, and I will suffer, and will not return until they die. I will insult them, and they will not be able to stand, they will fall under my feet. And you girded me with strength for battle, you slept all those who rose up against me under me. And you gave me a backbone to my enemies, and you consumed those who hated me. You cried, and did not save: to the Lord, and did not hear them. And I fade away like dust before the wind, like I stroke the clay of the paths. Deliver me from the bickering of people, put me at the head of languages. People we don’t even know worked with. Listen to me in the ear of your ear. The sons of strangers have lied to us. The sons of strangers have fallen and are lame from their paths. As the Lord lives, and blessed is God, and may the God of my salvation be exalted. God grant me vengeance and subjugate people under me. My deliverer from my wrathful enemies, lift me up from those who rise up against me, deliver me from the unrighteous man. For this reason, let us confess to You among the nations, O Lord, and sing to Your name: magnify the salvation of the king, and show mercy to Your Christ David, and to his seed forever.

Glory:

Psalm 18.

The heavens will tell the glory of God, but the firmament will proclaim His handiwork. Day of days is vomited by the verb, and night of night is proclaimed by the mind. Speech is not the essence, it is lower than words, and their voices cannot be heard. Their messages went out into the whole earth, and their words into the ends of the world. Place Your village in the sun. And He, as the Bridegroom proceeds from His palace, will rejoice, as the Giant of the mother-in-law's path. From the edge of heaven His departure, and His meeting to the edge of heaven, and nothing else will be sheltered by His warmth. The law of the Lord is undefiled, converting souls, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making children wise. The justifications of the Lord are right, gladdening the heart, the commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, abide in the age of the century: the destinies of the Lord are true, justified together, desired more than gold and stone is much more honest and sweeter than honey and honeycomb. For I am your servant, and if I save you at all times, the reward will be great. Who understands the Fall? Cleanse me from my secrets, and spare Thy servant from strangers, if they do not possess me, then I will be blameless and cleansed from great sin. And the words of my mouth and the teaching of my heart will be pleasing before You, O Lord, my Helper and my Deliverer.

Psalm 19.

The Lord will hear you in the day of sorrow, the name of the God of Jacob will protect you. Help will come from the Holy One and help will come from Zion. He will remember all your sacrifices, and make your burnt offering abundant. The Lord will give you according to your heart and fulfill all your advice, we will rejoice in your salvation and in the name of the Lord our God we will be magnified. The Lord will fulfill all your requests. Now I know that the Lord, having saved His Christ, will hear Him from His Holy Heaven, with the power of His right hand to save. These on chariots, and these on horses, we will call in the name of the Lord our God. We slept and fell, but we rose up and corrected ourselves. Lord, save the king and hear us, if it is daylight we will call on You.

Psalm 20.

Lord, in Your power the king will rejoice and will rejoice greatly in Your salvation. You gave him the desire of his heart, and you took away the desires of his mouth. As if you had preceded him with a blessed blessing, you placed on his head a crown from an honorable stone. Zvota asked You for food, and You gave him the length of days forever and ever. Great is the glory of his salvation through Thy salvation, place glory and splendor on him. For give him a blessing forever and ever, make him glad with Your face. For the king trusts in the Lord, and is not moved by the mercy of the Most High. May Thy hand be found against all Thy enemies, may Thy right hand be found against all who hate You. For if you put them like a furnace of fire at the time of Your presence, the Lord will crush me with His wrath, and destroy them with fire. Thou shalt destroy their fruit from the earth, and their seed from the sons of men. As if I were angry with You, thinking about advice, they won’t be able to draw it up. As I have laid a backbone, You have prepared their face for Your abundance. Be exalted, O Lord, in Thy strength, let us sing and sing of Thy strength.

Glory:

Psalm 21.

God, my God, consider me, have you forsaken me forever? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins. My God, I will call in the days, and you will not hear, and in the night, and you will not become foolish. You live in the Holy Place, praise of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You, you trusted and I delivered. I cried out to You and was saved, I trusted in You and was not ashamed. I am a worm, and not a man, a reproach of men and a humiliation of people, All who saw me mocked me, saying with their lips, nodding their heads: I trust in the Lord, may he deliver him, may he save him, as He wills him. Because You plucked me from the womb, my hope came from my mother’s breast. I am committed to You from falsehood, from my mother’s womb You are my God. Do not step away from me, as sorrow is near, as if you cannot help me. The fatty youths have conquered me. He opened His mouth against me, like a lion that roars and roars. Like water poured out, and all my bones crumbled, my heart became like wax, melting in the middle of my belly. Because my strength has become weaker, and my tongue has clung to my throat, and you have brought me into the dust of death. For a host of evil ones have taken possession of me, and have plowed my hands and my nose. You have cut up all my bones, but you look at me and despise me. I divided my garments for myself, and cast lots for my clothes. But you. Lord, do not remove Your help from me; attend to my intercession. Deliver my soul from the weapon, and my only begotten from the hand of the dog. Save me from the mouth of lions and from the horn of the unicorn my humility. Let's sing your name my brethren, in the midst of the church I will sing to Thee. Ye who fear the Lord, praise Him, all the seed of Jacob, glorify Him, that all the seed of Israel may fear Him. For do not despise me, lower than the indignant prayer of a beggar, lower your face from me, and when I called out to Him, hearing me. My praise comes from You, in the great church we will confess to You, I will offer my prayers before those who fear Him. The squalor will eat and be satisfied, and those who seek Him will praise the Lord; their hearts will live forever and ever. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the tongues of the fatherland will bow before Him. For the Lord is the kingdom, and He has tongues. Having eaten and bowed to all the fatness of the earth, all who descend into the earth will fall down before Him, and my soul lives for him. And my seed will work for Him, and will proclaim the coming generation of the Lord. And His truth will be proclaimed to the people who are born, even as the Lord has created.

Psalm 22.

The Lord shepherds me, and deprives me of nothing, in a green place, there he dwells me, on the calm water he raises me. Convert my soul, guide me on the paths of righteousness, for Your name’s sake. Even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and Your club will comfort me. Thou hast prepared a table before me to resist those who are cold, Thou hast anointed my head with oil, and Thy cup makes me drunken, like a mighty one. And Thy mercy will marry me all the days of my life, and make me dwell in the house of the Lord for the length of days.

Psalm 23.

The earth is the Lord's, and its fulfillment, the universe and all who live on it. He founded food on the seas, and prepared food on the rivers. Who will ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who will stand in His holy place? He is innocent in his hands and pure in heart, who does not take his soul in vain, and does not swear by his sincere flattery. This one will receive blessings from the Lord, and alms from God, his Savior. This is the generation of those who seek the Lord, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Lift up your gates, O princes, and lift up the everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord is mighty and strong. The Lord is strong in battle. Lift up your gates, O princes, and lift up the everlasting gates, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.

Glory:

Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos.

O All-Merciful Lady, Virgin Mother of God! Hear our humble prayer: (request), and lift up to Your Son and our God Your motherly prayer for the servants of God (names), that He may not cast away their sinners from His presence, but, as He is merciful, may He forgive them their sins, voluntary and involuntary, may he be preserved from the temptations of the world, from the snares of the devil and from the attacks of visible enemies, for the Lord is good to all creation, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, glorified forever and ever.

According to the 3rd kathisma, Trisagion.

The same troparia, voice 3: Living on earth, my soul, repent: the dust in the grave does not sing, it does not absolve sins. Cry out to Christ God: Knower of the heart, have I sinned, do not even judge me first, have mercy on me. How long, my soul, do you remain in sin? How long will you accept the offer of repentance? Receive in your mind the coming judgment and cry out to the Lord: Knower of hearts, those who have sinned, do not even judge me first, have mercy on me.

Glory: At the Last Judgment I am convicted without verbiage, I am condemned without witnesses, the books of my conscience are unbent, and hidden matters are revealed. Before I test what I have done in this public disgrace, God, cleanse me and save me.

And now: The misunderstood and incomprehensible exist. O Lady of God's grace, a terrible sacrament was performed for You: You, having conceived, gave birth to the incomprehensible One, covered with flesh from Your pure blood: Him, Pure One, like Your Son, pray to save all who sing of You.

Lord, have mercy (40) and prayer:

Lord Almighty, Word of the Eternal Father, self-perfect God Jesus Christ, for the sake of Thy unconditional mercy, do not part from Thy servants, but rest ever in them, do not forsake me, Thy servant, O All-Holy King, but give me, unworthy, the joy of Thy salvation and enlighten my mind with the light of the knowledge of Your Gospel, bind my soul to the love of Your Cross, decorate my body with Your dispassion, calm my thoughts and keep my nose from crawling; and do not destroy me with my iniquities, O Good Lord, but test me, O God, and enlighten my heart, try me and guide my paths, and see if the path of iniquity is in me, and turn me away from it, and guide me on the eternal path. For You are the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, and to You we send glory with Your Beginning Father and the Most Holy, and the Good, and Life-giving Spirit now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

“Whatever he has, it will be given to him, and he will have an abundance; and what one does not have, and what one has, will be taken from him.”
(ch. 13; 12-13, ev. from Matthew).

What is Christ talking about? There are the most different interpretations. But let us note: these words are an explanation of what Christ is talking about above! And above (verse 11) it is said: “For it has been given to you to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given to eat,” that is, the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven are open to those who are close to Christ, but hidden from others who are far from Him.
The words of Christ explain to us the influence of the Holy Spirit on man. The Holy Spirit is poured out on man: “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh” (Acts 2:17); becomes all about him. If a person treats this great gift with care, then the Holy Spirit will expand and grow within him more and more, enlightening the person’s mind and heart. In some people, the Holy Spirit develops to such an extent that it makes people almost celestials while still living on earth. This manifests itself even on the physical plane, the body.
What happens to careless people? The Holy Spirit was given to them equally with others: as the sun shines and rain falls on the good and the evil, on the rich and the poor. But a person, either due to carelessness and negligence, or due to unreason, laziness or pride, does not want to maintain this spark in himself God's grace. And it will go out, like a spark in a fire that is full of ash and dying coals: what was given will also be taken away. And the person is left with nothing. These are the consequences of human inertia. What is inert? How does bone tissue differ from muscle tissue? Bones don't bend well. They are more likely to break than bend. Likewise, an inert person will always prefer peace, a familiar environment. He doesn't need change. He's feeling good as it is. An inert person does not think about life after death at all. It’s all so far away, it’s not known whether it exists... Why worry about it?
Demons take advantage of our human inertia. It's difficult to fight them. What do we know about evil spirits? They were born even before man. And they fell before the fall of Adam and Eve. Looking around the creation of Shestoday, the Lord says that it is all good. The fall of the angels was most likely facilitated, as the holy fathers warn, by pride and envy: because man was placed by God above the Angels. Man is God's deputy in what God created material world. The angels bowed to man as the crown of God's Creation. But not all... Pride pushed some of the angels, led by Lucifer-Dennitsa, to a fatal decision: to withdraw from God and “become god” on their own. With his sin, Satan also seduced our ancestors - pride: and we will become like gods without God's help! And envy: why should we be lower, worse? Pride cannot live without envy.
If our forefathers did not understand the deceit of the devil, then what can we say about us? We are born and live - 50 years or 70-80 years... Only a few live to be a hundred. How long do demons live? They are older than humanity. What do we know? We go to school, learn to write stick-hooks... Then we grasp the top of the sciences, which are often taught poorly... And what do demons have? Huge knowledge! We see with our eyes the tiniest part of the world. And angels, including those who later fell, were present at the creation of the visible world.
That is why the saints compared the battle between man and demon with the unequal battle between the blind and the sighted: the blind man waves his sword through the air, while the sighted man strikes with his sword into the very heart. Satan has taken all of humanity captive. The saints vividly and figuratively compare this evil act with the clawed paw of a beast that steals an egg from a nest.
The devil is called a liar and slanderer. Why? Because of hatred of the Truth. The devil hates truth because it convicts him and returns him back to his place. Satan has built his kingdom among people. With the coming of Jesus Christ, this kingdom was shaken, and in some places it even fell. But in order not to let go of the fruit from his clawed paw, the devil tries either to quarrel a person with God, or to make a person indifferent to God and the truth. Satan makes a person ungrateful to God.
And so an ungrateful person receives from the Lord a spark of God, the seed of the Holy Spirit. What should he do about it? Now you need to change yourself for the better - this is what a conscientious person says. No need to change anything; These are unnecessary worries - this is what an inert person says. And the spark goes out, suffocating under the ashes.
Demons are resourceful. Sometimes they try to develop just one sin in a person. A person, realizing that he is developing virtues in himself, lives calmly: just think, one sin! And who is without sin? But for teaching purposes, Tradition tells us a parable. Saint Andrew was walking through the market of Constantinople and saw a monk. Pure light flowed around the monk; the monk was virtuous and successful in spiritual works. But it wrapped itself around the monk’s neck black snake. Despite the pure glow around his brother, this reptile grabbed his neck tightly. And then Saint Andrew saw demons spinning around the monk. And next to the monk is the Angel of God. And a dispute arose between the demons and the Angel: who owns the monk? The angel listed many virtues, and the demons mockingly said that all the good deeds of the monk were not worth his one sin: love of money! This sin does not take you to heaven! The dispute was resolved by a voice from above. The divine voice ordered the Angel to leave the monk - “you have no part in him!” The love of money is incompatible with Heaven. And therefore one sin overcame many virtues. What the monk had was all taken away from him. As Christ said: if he has anything, it will be taken from him!
Yes, a person does not have the strength to save himself. That’s why the proverb says: without God you can’t reach the threshold. When a person is small, compares Ephraim the Syrian, everyone loves his mother. The mother gave life, the mother nourished with her milk. The mother calmed the children's fears and taught them the most necessary things. Any child loves his mother and values ​​her. But when a person grows up, some become dry, callous and indifferent towards their mothers, and begin to neglect their mother. This is how every person, having received the free Grace of the Holy Spirit, lives and is nourished by it. But then he stops even for a moment thinking about the Grace of God, as well as the fact that only thanks to God’s grace he is alive.
But receiving grace is not enough. It must also be intelligently known, understood, and nurtured! A heart warmed by God’s grace is already afraid to sin even in small things: so as not to offend the Lord! This is the true fear of God.
A man who does not live by grace rejoices in what is perfect good deeds as such. But they don’t take advantage, because there is always “destroy for the old woman”: in the middle of the light there is a black snake around the neck. No feats free us. Only the grace of God heals and only His Hand frees us from passions and death.
When we are burdened with sorrows, we need to increase prayer in order to increase the influx of God's Grace to us. Without her we will not overcome anything. That is why we pray for each other in trouble. A person weakens from troubles and sometimes cannot pray fervently himself. Then his brothers pray for him, strenuously calling upon him the descent of the Grace of God, which will become a shield and fortress. That is why the apostles taught: pray for each other.
When grace overshadows a person, the person stops condemning: Jews, pagans, sinners... But he loves everyone and prays for everyone. For just as our prototype, the Lord God, desires salvation for everyone, so man in grace desires salvation for everyone. Acquiring the grace of the Holy Spirit is also an indispensable condition for walking through heaven after death.
The saints say that Grace teaches a person secretly. And a person begins to understand and see what he had not seen or understood before. What is the basis of this grace? Our love for God! Heart, loving God, God's Grace visits more and more often, more clearly. She teaches him to do the right thing and do good deeds. But these are not the works of a Pharisee, listing all his merits and thinking: for these works God will certainly save me; Because I did this, God will definitely take me into the Kingdom of Heaven. And it is unclear: why did the Lord suddenly prefer someone who sinned for a long time and did only one good deed? But let us remember the Gospel parable... The gardener hired workers... Someone worked in the heat all day. And some worked for only an hour in the evening. And the fee is the same! It’s the same in life. One man grew up in a fertile environment of a believing family. And some have sinned all their lives. But a turning point comes: when God’s Grace suddenly visits a person’s heart, and the person accepts it with all his soul! Maybe even a minute before death!
The grace of God can open heaven to him during a person’s lifetime. This is what the life of the Palestinian monk Efrosin the Cook tells us about. Efrosin worked as a cook at one of the Palestinian monasteries. Efrosin amazed everyone with his amazing humility. Working tirelessly for the brethren, he himself also tirelessly prayed and fasted. One day the priest of the monastery began to ask God to show him heaven. The Lord fulfilled the request. The priest was very surprised when he saw that he was given… a cook from his monastery to accompany him through heaven. The priest asked how Efrosin ended up here. The answer was: by the great mercy of God! The priest asked Efrosyn to give him something to remember heaven. The priest really liked the apple tree and asked for an apple. Efrosin picked three apples, wrapped them in cloth and gave them to the priest.
Waking up, the priest decided that he had seen a wonderful dream. But what was his surprise when he found a heavenly gift by his bed - three apples wrapped in a cloth! The priest found Efrosin and asked where he was that night. With amazing sincerity and without false humility Efrosin replies that he was in the same place as the priest - in heaven!
The amazed priest went to the brethren and told about the miracle. And about the fact that paradise is already open to their simple brother during his lifetime! The brothers went to the kitchen to bow to Euphrosynus, but did not find him there. Avoiding fame, he went to God knows where. But the brothers knew: since heaven was open to Euphrosyne, they would meet him there if they were worthy to receive God’s mercy. And the apples were divided into small pieces and distributed to believers to strengthen their spirit. Before preparing food, Orthodox Christians pray to Euphrosynus the cook: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of the Venerable Euphrosynus the cook, bless me to prepare this food for Your glory. Amen."
Note that the prayer says: prepare food for Your glory! This is how, by doing any, even the most modest, deed for the glory of God, thanking the Lord for the mercy and Grace of the Holy Spirit, a person gradually becomes deified, that is, united with God through God’s Grace. The mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven: to whom it has been given and whoever has it, even more will be given; and whoever does not have love for God, even if the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are given, he will lose everything. Let us think about the words: to the glory of God! When a person rises from sin, the devil is put to shame. And the glory of God shines: God’s creation did not perish! Man is with God, just as he was after his creation! Therefore, every good deed of ours is valuable not in itself, but as the path to restore the Glory of God in man. That’s why we say: I did it for the glory of God.
Love for God is our strength. When a person loves God, he loves everyone. That is why the Lord says that we must love God more than our neighbors. Our love without God does not benefit our neighbors, because as soon as our neighbors do sinful things to us, our love for them weakens or disappears altogether, or even turns into hatred. There was no God's grace in her. Just human feelings. And human feelings are very fickle.
Man has only one salvation: to ask for the Grace of God and to love God. And everything else will follow and the person will learn everything.

Saint John Cassian the Roman:

About Divine grace and free will as producers of spiritual life

“We must always be firmly convinced that we cannot achieve perfection through our labors and exploits, even if we practice every virtue with all tirelessness. Human efforts alone cannot have such value and power as to elevate us to the heights of holiness and bliss, if the Lord Himself does not further assist us and direct our hearts to what is useful for us.
...No righteous person has enough strength in himself to acquire righteousness; he hesitates incessantly and is ready to fall at every moment. Therefore, the mercy of the Lord strengthens him with His hand, so that otherwise, having fallen through weakness of will, he would not completely perish in his fall (Sobes. 3:12). And who will be so arrogant and blind as to think that he has no need for God’s constant assistance, when the Lord Himself in the Gospel clearly teaches: just as a rod cannot produce fruit for itself unless it is on the vine: so are you, if you are in Me? you will not abide: without Me you can do nothing (John 15:4,5)? How unreasonable, even sacrilegious, is it to attribute any good deeds to one’s own efforts, and not to the grace and assistance of God, when the Lord’s saying testifies that without His assistance no one can bear spiritual fruit.
The grace of God always directs our will in a good direction in such a way that it requires or expects corresponding efforts from us. In order not to give her gifts to the careless, she seeks out cases with which she awakens us from cold carelessness; so that the generous communication of her gifts does not seem unreasonable, she communicates them after our desire and labor. With all this, however, grace is always given freely, because it rewards our small efforts with immeasurable generosity. Therefore, no matter how great human labors are, they cannot all make grace non-tuna - given. The Apostle of Languages, although he said, that he worked more than all the Apostles; however, he adds that these labors do not belong to him, but to the grace of God that is with him (1 Cor. 15:10). Thus, with the word: having worked hard, he expresses the efforts of his will; words: not I, but the grace of God - Divine assistance, but in the word: with me - shows that grace assisted him, not in idleness and carelessness, but while he worked.
The will of God always desires that the man He created should not perish, but live forever. God, if He notices in our heart even a spark of disposition towards goodness, in His mercy He will not let it fade away; but wanting everyone to be saved and to come to the understanding of truth, he does his best to ensure that it turns into flame. The grace of God is close to everyone; she calls everyone without exception to salvation and to everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth, for she says: come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and give you rest (Matthew 11:28).”

I love You, Lord, my strength!
You are my stronghold and refuge,
and my support.
I'll meet the best me
from the enemies of the deliverer where else?

If suddenly a bad disaster breaks out
or lethal diseases take hold,
glorifying, I always call upon You,
and you will hear the prayer request.

And the earth will tremble because of His wrath,
the mountains will shake, the smoke will billow,
and at His face the fields will be set on fire,
and according to His will, the heavens will bow down.

Cherubim will carry you on the wings of the winds.
Around Him is the darkness of the veil and dark waters,
and the radiance of shining clouds,
and black vaults burning with coals.

He will deliver me from rebellious enemies,
full of anger, hating me,
for I have not broken His covenants.
May the All-Seeing One reward me with justice!

With the monk you will be like him,
with the innocent - like him, innocent,
allow yourself to become corrupted,
admonishing the obstinate son, -

For You will save the meek and humble the proud.
Your path is blameless, and the lights are not extinguished.
You will enlighten the lamp of my mind.
Is there a God somewhere other than our Lord?

He placed me high on the ground
He girded me with the strength of the spirit.
My legs have become like a fast deer,
muscle - with a tight copper-red onion.

I will overtake my enemies and will not return back,
everyone will die until the end
under my feet.
And let no one
will celebrate a funeral feast over the fallen.

So they cried, and God did not hear them.
The wind scattered their ashes,
so that their proud descendant could no longer
revive the bloodthirsty seed.

Over a people who are strangers by blood,
You will make me the head
so that my dear people will listen to me
It’s as if the industry has become someone else’s.

The Lord lives! He subdued my enemies,
delivered me from the angry,
so that the voice of David will not cease until eternity
and glorified the king’s salvation.

PSALM 17
in Church Slavonic

I will love You, Lord, my Fortress. The Lord is my Strength, and my Refuge, and My Deliverer, my God, my Helper, and I trust in Him, my Defender, and the horn of my salvation, and my Intercessor. With praise I will call on the Lord and I will be saved from my enemies. Mortal diseases have overcome me, and the floods of iniquity have crushed me, the diseases of hell have overcome me, having preceded me to the snares of death. And when I was in sorrow, I called on the Lord and cried out to my God, hearing my voice from His holy temple, and my cry before Him would come into His ears. And the earth moved and trembled, and the foundations of the mountains shook and moved, as if God was angry with her. The smoke of His wrath arose, and the fire from His presence was kindled, and coals kindled from Him. And bow down the heavens, and below, and darkness under His feet. And mount the Cherubim, and fly, fly on the windy wing. And put Your dark cover, His village is all around Him, dark is the water in the clouds of the air. From the shedding before Him came clouds, hail, and coals of fire. And the Lord and the Most High thundered from Heaven and gave His voice. I sent down arrows and dispersed them, and multiplied lightnings and crushed them. And the springs of water appeared, and the foundations of the world were revealed, from Thy prohibition, O Lord, from the inspiration of the spirit of Thy wrath. He sent down from on high, and received me; they took me from many waters. He will deliver me from my powerful enemies and from those who hate me, for he has become stronger than me. Having anticipated me in the day of my bitterness, the Lord was my confirmation. And he brought me out into the wide world; he will deliver me, as he willed me. And the Lord will reward me according to my righteousness and reward me according to my purity. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not dishonored my God. For His whole destiny is before me and His justification does not depart from me. And I will be blameless with Him, and I will be kept from my iniquity. And the Lord will reward me according to my righteousness and according to the purity of my hand before His eyes. With the venerable you will be, and with the innocent man you will be innocent, and with the chosen you will be chosen, and with the obstinate you will be corrupt. For You have saved the humble people and humbled the eyes of the proud. For You enlighten my lamp, O Lord my God, enlighten my darkness. For through You I will get rid of temptation and through my God I will go over the wall. My God, His way is blameless, the words of the Lord are kindled, the Protector of all those who trust in Him. Who is God, except the Lord? Or who is God, except our God? God gird me with strength, and make my way blameless. Make my nose like trees, and place me on high. Teach my hands to fight, and thou hast laid the bow of the copper on my arm. And You have given me the protection of salvation, and Your right hand will receive me, and Your punishment will correct me in the end, and Your punishment will teach me. Thou hast made my feet wide under me, and my feet are not weary. My enemies will marry, and I will suffer, and will not return until they die. I will insult them, and they will not be able to stand, they will fall under my feet. And you girded me with strength for battle, you slept all those who rose up against me under me. And you gave me a backbone to my enemies, and you consumed those who hated me. You cried, and did not save: to the Lord, and did not hear them. And I will crumble like dust before the wind, like I will smooth the clay of the paths. Deliver me from the bickering of people, put me at the head of languages. People we don’t even know worked with. Listen to me in the ear of your ear. The sons of strangers have lied to us. The sons of strangers have fallen and are lame from their paths. As the Lord lives, and blessed is God, and may the God of my salvation be exalted. God grant me vengeance and subjugate people under me. My deliverer from my wrathful enemies, lift me up from those who rise up against me, deliver me from the unrighteous man. For this reason, let us confess to You among the nations, O Lord, and sing to Your name: magnify the salvation of the king, and show mercy to Your Christ David, and to his seed forever.

This work was written by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky in 1864, and published in 1865. The narrator of “Crocodile” told us this story.

"Crocodile": summary

In St. Petersburg Passage, to a store owned by a certain German, a large crocodile was brought for display. One afternoon, an official named Ivan Matveevich, his beautiful wife Elena Ivanovna and the narrator (their close friend) go to look at this crocodile. Happened in Passage amazing case and forms the subject of the story.

When Ivan Matveevich began to tickle the crocodile’s nose with his glove, he somehow managed to swallow it. Then the rest of the discouraged spectators began to demand to “rip open” the crocodile’s belly, but the nasty German not only refused to do this, but began to demand that the guests monetary compensation, because they “fed” his crocodile with the affectionate name Karlchen such poison that he could die from it.

Since the air was filled with “Rip it up!” Rip it up!” which reminded the visitors of the Passage about the flogging of peasants, a bearer of “progressive” beliefs appeared in the shop, who began to talk about the inadmissibility of such a “retrograde” measure. Here Ivan Matveyevich suddenly spoke from the crocodile, who does not agree to rip open the crocodile’s belly without naming the amount of compensation to the owner, because “without economic compensation, it is difficult in our age of trade crisis to rip open the crocodile’s belly for nothing, and meanwhile the question seems inevitable: what will the owner take for his crocodile ? and with it another: who will pay? for you know I have no means.” At the same time, he claims that until the money issue is resolved, it is better for him to stay in his belly, since it is “warm and soft” here, although it smells like rubber.

The narrator takes Elena Ivanovna home, and she becomes very excited, looks even younger and more beautiful than usual, hints that she is now a widow... A little later she starts talking about divorce - since “a husband should live at home, not in a crocodile” .

The narrator goes for advice to his colleague Timofey Semyonovich. He speaks in the spirit that he had long assumed that something like this might happen, since Ivan Matveyevich always talked about some kind of “progress”, and therefore, because of his arrogance, he found himself in the crocodile’s belly. At the same time, he wisely advises not to talk about the crocodile at the service - after all, Ivan Matveyevich, as everyone knows, must go on vacation abroad for three months.

Various St. Petersburg newspapers are making a fuss about this extraordinary incident. They say that Russia has not yet learned how to treat animals humanely. Wanting to see how people perceive this incident, the narrator wraps himself in an overcoat and goes to Passage, where, as he has a presentiment, a stampede has formed...

This is the plot outline of this story. In it, Dostoevsky does not prefer a “violent” ending, but breaks off the narrative, giving free rein to the reader’s imagination.

“Crocodile” (Dostoevsky): analysis of the story

It is noteworthy that the narrator, on whose behalf the story is told, is a type of newspaper reporter scouring the city in search of news. At the same time, Dostoevsky slightly changes this type of newspaperman. This, of course, is not a direct participant in the events, it is an eyewitness who is near the main characters and observes what is happening to them. This is, so to speak, a “half-character” who interviews full-fledged characters. When the hero of the story, Ivan Matveevich, finds himself in the belly of a crocodile, he tells the narrator that he wants to use him as a secretary, thus defining the function that the narrator performs in this story.

In “Demons” and “The Brothers Karamazov” the same “half-character” (“I”) will also provide information about what happened. All of Dostoevsky's literature has the character of a news chronicle, which is also manifested in the image of the narrator.

His works 1862-1865 (“A bad joke”, “Winter notes on summer impressions”, “Notes from the Underground”, etc.) Dostoevsky published in the magazines “Time” and “Epoch” that he edited. All these works are marked by a polemical charge - they are imbued with irony and “feuilletonny”. "The Crocodile" (1865) belongs to the same series - this "fiction" prose clearly reflects the controversies and journalistic discussions of the time.

In Russia in the 1860s, which began to implement numerous social reforms(first of all, the abolition of serfdom), the level of discussion was high, and, of course, St. Petersburg educated people put forward the most different theories, which are reflected in the fierce debate that the magazines conducted among themselves.

“Vremya” and then “Epoch” unfurled the banner of “pochvennichestvo” - a somewhat amorphous form of Russian patriotism. The “ears” of Dostoevsky the polemicist stick out everywhere in “Crocodile”. He could not be satisfied with the role of a magazine critic. Therefore, he summarized his opponents from the progressive “Contemporary” into one person, skillfully putting into his mouth the phraseology inherent in those topics and introducing it into the fabric of his anecdotal feuilleton narrative. The narrator repeatedly notes that Ivan Matveyevich’s voice from the crocodile’s belly sounds as if from afar, which was supposed to once again emphasize the separation of the “progressive party” from reality. In the speeches of the narrator himself, there are often newspaper quotes - long and producing a comic impression - which is integral part author's intention. Scientists from the Institute of Russian Literature (“Pushkin House”) conducted detailed studies of the magazine polemics of those years and showed who exactly these or those barbs appearing in the speeches of the characters in the story were addressed to. From these comments it is clear that “Crocodile” is a work directed primarily against the progressives from Sovremennik.

The voice of Ivan Matveevich coming from the belly of the crocodile is real public speech, aimed at “improving the fate of all mankind.” It is clear that in this passage Dostoevsky ridicules the economist Chernyshevsky - spiritual leader"Contemporary", arrested by the authorities.

Immediately after the publication of “Crocodile,” rumors began to circulate that in this story Dostoevsky maliciously ridiculed the sufferer Chernyshevsky. Fyodor Mikhailovich completely denied this (“Diary of a Writer,” 1873, “Something Personal”), but it is clear that he had such an intention. The prototype of Elena Ivanovna, the wife of Ivan Matveevich, is Olga Chernyshevskaya.

Chernyshevsky expressed his ideas in the utopian novel “What is to be done?” (1863). In this work, he repeatedly emphasizes: all human behavior can be explained from the point of view of “benefit”; in order for a person’s life to become more joyful, one should only encourage him to perform actions consistent with this goal; If, in accordance with this principle, this understanding of “egoism” is given vent, then society will become healthy. Wasn’t it this optimistic utilitarianism that Dostoevsky mocked in Notes from Underground?

We see the continuation of this controversy in the caricature of Ivan Matveevich from “Crocodile”. His speeches addressed to all humanity, heard from the crocodile’s belly, perhaps parody Chernyshevsky, who wrote “What is to be done?” while in a prison cell.

The broken, feuilleton style of “Crocodile” overturns the reader’s established ideas about Dostoevsky. It is usually believed that Fyodor Mikhailovich is a purely serious writer who is busy discussing metaphysical problems. Of course, in in a broad sense this word, Dostoevsky is a writer, at the center of whose work there are such religious problems, like the salvation of man, the existence of God and the existence of science, etc. At the same time, he also has works of a more “down-to-earth” type, where a broken style dominates and where the writer sets his goal to make the reader laugh. And this side was manifested quite clearly from the very beginning of his work.

When Dostoevsky was still at the very beginning of his writing career, he was attracted not only by the historical plays of Schiller and Pushkin, but also by vaudeville and feuilleton. He is with great pleasure he read numerous vaudevilles published in the theater magazine with which his older brother Mikhail collaborated, and he also adored the feuilletonist Lucien, based on Balzac’s “Lost Illusions.”

The inner world of an unlucky petty official rejected by his colleagues was the main interest of the young Dostoevsky (“Poor People”, “The Double”). But the material for this serious topic also included those petty street gossips that could be heard on the streets of St. Petersburg. And this was reflected in Dostoevsky’s literary preferences. “The Double” is written in a “heavy” manner—its style is exaggerated and unnatural. “Mr. Prokharchin” is in the style of an anecdote that suddenly makes the reader burst out laughing. And this is because Fyodor Mikhailovich liked vaudeville works. "Crocodile" continues this funny tradition of Dostoevsky.