Dostoevsky is the prophet who revealed to us those ultimate truths that we live today. He delved into the depths of humanity in a new way, penetrating more deeply into the mystery of the soul than any of his predecessors. Yet, astonishingly, as much as he expands our self-knowledge, he never allows us to forget the noble sentiment of humility, the demonic perception of life.
That we have become more conscious thanks to him does not mean that we have been redeemed – we have merely become more enslaved. For the modern person to know that lightning is an electrical phenomenon, a discharge and an atmospheric release does not mean that lightning impresses him any less than it did to the primitives. Thus, our greater knowledge of the mechanism of the human soul does not in any way diminish our respect for humanity.
Dostoevsky, this analyst and anatomist of the soul, who revealed it to us in its ultimate details, simultaneously gives us a sense of the world that is more universal and deeper than what all other contemporary creators provide. No one has ever had a deeper understanding of humanity; no one has ever felt a deeper respect for the unimaginable that it creates, for the divine, for God.
