The Second Temptation Summary

Continuing his vituperation, the Inquisitor shifts from the subject of bread, to the related subject of conscience. The Inquisitor concedes that Christ was right to refuse to change the stones into bread, the reason being that a bribe of earthly bread is indeed ultimately useless, but only in that someone might come along and seize the conscience of humanity. This would result in humanity's collective tossing of Christ's bread-bribe for the sake of a solid model upon which to base their lives. The Inquisitor argues that life itself isn't sufficient; people need something to live for.

The Inquisitor renews his attack on Christ from that angle, saying that He could have easily established himself beyond any doubt as the Messiah, but He didn't remove that doubt, opting instead to leave us with an unfettered conscience - that is, able...