Itishardlynecessarytoattributetotheoratorsandbiographersgenerallyaconsciousattempttodeceive。Thesimplefactis，thatasaruletheythought，spoke，andwroteinobediencetothenaturallawswhichgoverntheluxuriantgrowthofmythandlegendinthewarmatmosphereofloveanddevotionwhichconstantlyarisesaboutgreatreligiousleadersintimeswhenmenhavelittleornoknowledgeofnaturallaw，whenthereislittlecareforscientificevidence，andwhenhewhobelievesmostisthoughtmostmeritorious。[296]
[296]Instancescanbegivenofthesameevolutionofmiraculouslegendinourowntime。TosaynothingofthesacredfountainatLaSalette，whichpreservesitshealingpowersinspiteofthefactthatthemiraclethatgaverisetothemhastwicebeenpronouncedfraudulentbytheFrenchcourts，andtopasswithoutnoticeamultitudeofothers，notonlyinCatholicbutinProtestantcountries，thepresentwritermayalludetoonewhichintheyear1893cameunderhisownobservation。OnarrivinginSt。Petersburgtobeginanofficialresidencethere，hisattentionwasarrestedbyvariousportraitsofapriestoftheRusso-GreekChurch；theyweredisplayedinshopwindowsandheldanhonouredplaceinmanyprivatedwellings。Theseportraitsrangedfromlifelikephotographs，whichshowedaplain，shrewd，kindlyface，tothosewhichwereidealizeduntiltheyboreastrongresemblancetotheconventionalrepresentationsofJesusofNazareth。Onmakinginquiries，thewriterfoundthattheseportraitsrepresentedFatherIvan，ofCronstadt，apriestnotedforhisgoodworks，andverywidelybelievedtobeendowedwiththepowerofworkingmiracles。
Oneday，inoneofthemostbrilliantreceptionroomsofthenortherncapital，thesubjectofFatherIvan’smiracleshavingbeenintroduced，agentlemaninveryhighsocialpositionandentirelytrustworthyspokeasfollows：“Thereissomethingverysurprisingaboutthesemiracles。Iamslowtobelieveinthem，butIknowthefollowingtobeafact：ThelateMetropolitanArchbishopofSt。Petersburglovedquiet，andwasveryadversetoanythingwhichcouldpossiblycausescandal。HearingofFatherIvan’smiracles，hesummonedhimtohispresenceandsolemnlycommandedhimtoabstainfromallofthethingswhichhadgivenrisetohisreportedmiracles，andwiththisinjunction，dismissedhim。Hardlyhadthepriestlefttheroomwhenthearchbishopwasstruckwithblindnessandremainedinthisconditionuntilthepriestreturnedandremovedhisblindnessbyintercessoryprayers。”Whenthepresentwriteraskedthepersongivingthisaccountifhedirectlyknewthesefacts，herepliedthathewas，ofcourse，notpresentwhenthemiraclewaswrought，butthathehadthefactsimmediatelyfrompersonswhoknewallthepartiesconcernedandwerecognizantdirectlyofthecircumstancesofthecase。
Sometimeafterward，thepresentwriterbeingatanafternoonreceptionatoneofthegreaterembassies，thesamesubjectwastouchedupon，whenaneminentgeneralspokeasfollows：“Iamnotinclinedtobelieveinmiracles，infactamrathersceptical，buttheproofsofthosewroughtbyFatherIvanareoverwhelming。”HethenwentontosaythatthelateMetropolitanArchbishopwasamanwholovedquietanddislikedscandal；andthatonthisaccounthehadsummonedFatherIvantohispalaceandorderedhimtoputanendtotheconductwhichhadcausedthereportsconcerninghismiraculouspowers，andthen，withawaveofthearm，haddismissedhim。Thepriestlefttheroom，andfromthatmomentthearchbishop’sarmwasparalyzed，anditremainedsountilthepenitentprelatesummonedthepriestagain，bywhoseprayersthearmwasrestoredtoitsformerusefulness。Therewaspresentatthetimeanotherpersonbesidesthewriterwhohadheardthepreviousstatementastotheblindnessofthearchbishop，andontheirbothquestioningthegeneralifheweresurethatthearchbishop’sarmwasparalyzed，asstated，hedeclaredthathecouldnotdoubtit，ashehaditdirectlyfrompersonsentirelytrustworthy，whowerecognizantofallthefacts。
Sometimelater，thepresentwriter，havinganinterviewwiththemosteminentlayauthorityintheGreekChurch，afunctionarywhosedutieshadbroughthimintoalmostdailycontactwiththelatearchbishop，askedhimwhichofthesestorieswascorrect。