Makar Semyonitch is on his knees begging for forgiveness. What will Ivan’s response be?

Makar Semyonitch did not rise, but beat his head on the floor. “Ivan, forgive me!” he cried. ”When they flogged me  it was not so hard to bear as to see you now…yet you had pity on me, and did not tell. For Christ’s sake forgive me, wretch that I am!” And he began to sob.

When Ivan heard him sobbing he, too, began to weep.

“God will forgive you!” he said. “Maybe I am a hundred times worse than you.” And at these words his heart grew light, and the longing for home left him. He no longer had any desire to leave the prison, but only hoped for his last hour to come.

In spite of what Ivan had said, Makar Semyonitch confessed his guilt. But when the order for his release came, Ivan was already dead.

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In my next post I will offer some personal reflections on this story. See you on Thursday!

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Story adapted from “God Sees the Truth, But Waits” in Walk in the Light and Twenty-Three Tales by Leo Tolstoy