第26章

ThedayhadbeenaSunday，andthehoureventide。Ontheburntplotofgroundsomebrokenglasshadbeenemittingareddishgleam，shootsofergothadbeendiffusingtheirgloss，childrenshoutingatplay，dogstrottingbackwardsandforwards，andallthings，seemingly，faringwell，sunkeninthestillnessoftheportionofthetownadjoiningtherolling，vacantsteppe，with，abovethem，onlythesky’slevel，dull-bluecanopy，andaroundthem，onlythecemetery，likeanislandamidstasea。 WithVirubov，Ihadbeensittingonabenchnearthewicket-gateofhishut，asintermittentlyhehadscrewedhislecherouseyesinthedirectionofthestout，ox-eyedlacemaker，MadameEzhov，who，afterdisposingofherformonabankhard-by，hadfallentopickingliceoutofthecurlsofhereight-year-oldPetkaKoshkodav。Presently，asswiftlyshehadrummagedtheboy’shairwithfingersgrownusedtosuchrapidmovement，shehadsaidtoherhusband(adealerinsecond-handarticles)，whohadbeenseatedwithindoors，andthereforerenderedinvisible——shehadsaidwithoilyderision: “Oh，yes，youbald-headedolddevil，you！Ofcourseyougotyourprice。Ye-es。Then，fool，yououghttohavehadaslippersmackedacrossthatKalmucksnoutofyours。Talkofmyprice，indeed！“ UponthisVirubovhadremarkedwithasigh，andinsluggish，sententioustones: “Togranttheserfsemancipationwasasheermistake。Iamahumbleenoughservantofmycountry，yetIcanseethetruthofwhatIhavestated，sinceitfollowsasamatterofcourse。WhatoughttohavebeendoneisthatalltheestatesofthelandownersshouldhavebeenconveyedtotheTsar。Beyondadoubtthatisso。Thenboththepeasantryandthetownsfolk，thewholepeople，inshort，wouldhavehadbutasinglelandlord。Fornevercanthepeopleliveproperlysolongasitisignorantofthepointwhereitstands；andsinceitlovesauthority，itlovestohaveoveritanautocraticforce，foritscontrol。 Alwayscanitbeseenseekingsuchaforce。“ Then，bendingforward，andinfusingintoeachsoftlyutteredwordaperfectlusciousnessoffalsity，Virubovhadaddedtohisneighbour: “Take，forexample，theworking-womanwhostandsfreeofeverytie。“ “HowdoIstandfreeofanything？“theneighbourhadretorted，incompletereadinessforaquarrel。 “Oh，Iamnotspeakinginyourdespite，Pavlushka，buttoyourcredit，“hastilyVirubovhadprotested。 “Thenkeepyourblandishmentsforthatheifer，your’niece，’“ hadbeenMadameEzhov’sresponse。 UponthisVirubovhadrisenheavily，andremarkedashemovedawaytowardsthecourtyard: “Allfolkneedtobesupervisedbyanautocraticeye。“ Thereafterhadfollowedaboutofchoiceabusebetweenhisneighbourandhis“niece，“whileVirubovhimself，framedinthewicket-gate，andlisteningtothecontest，hadsmackedhislipsashegazedatthepair，andparticularlyatMadameEzhov。AtthebeginningoftheboutDikankahadscreeched: “Itismyopinion，itismyopinion，that——“ “Don’ttreatmetoanyofYOURslop！“thelong-fangedPavlahadinterruptedforthebenefitofthestreetingeneral。Andthushadtheaffaircontinued…… LieutenantKhorvatblewthefag-endofhiscigarettefromhismouthpiece，glancedatme，andsaidwithseemingly，anotover-civil，twitchofhisbushymoustache: “Ofwhatareyouthinking，ifImightinquire？“ “Iamtryingtounderstandyou。“ “Yououghtnottofindthatdifficult，“washisrejoinderasagainhedoffedhishat，andfannedhisfacewithit。“Thewholethingmaybesummedupintwowords。Itisthatwelackrespectbothforourselvesandforourfellowmen。DoyoufollowmeNOW？“ Hiseyeshadgrownoncemoreyoungandclear，and，seizingmyhandinhisstrongandagreeablywarmfingers，hecontinued: “Whyso？FortheverysimplereasonthatIcannotrespectmyselfwhenIcanlearnnothing，simplynothing，aboutmyfellows。“ Movingnearertome，headdedinamysteriousundertone: “InthisRussiaofoursnoneofusreallyknowswhyhehascomeintoexistence。True，eachofusknowsthathewasborn，andthatheisalive，andthatonedayhewilldie；butwhichofusknowsthereasonwhyallthatisso？“ Throughrenewedexcitement，itscolourhadcomebacktotheLieutenant’sface，andhisgesturesbecamesorapidastocausetheringonhisfingertoflashthroughtheairlikethelinkofachain。Also，Iwasabletodetectthefactthatonthesmall，neatwristunderhisleftcuff，therewasabraceletfinishedwithamedallion。 “Allthis，mygoodsir，isbecause(partiallythroughthefactthatmenforgetthepoint，andpartiallythroughthefactthatthatpointfailstobeunderstoodaright)theWORKdonebyamanisconcealedfromourknowledge。Formyownpart，Ihaveanidea，ascheme——yes，ascheme——intwowords，a，a——“ “N-n-o-u，n-n-o-u！“thebellofthemonasterytolledoverthetombsinlanguid，chillyaccents。 “——aschemethateverytownandeveryvillage，infact，everyunitofhomogeneouspopulation，shouldkeeparecordoftheparticularunit’saffairs，a，sotospeak，’bookoflife。’This’bookoflife’shouldbemorethanalistoftheresultsoftheunit’slabour；itshouldalsobealivingnarrativeoftheworkadayactivitiesaccomplishedbyeachmemberoftheunit。Eh？ And，ofcourse，therecordtobecompiledwithoutofficialinterference——solelybythetowncouncilordistrictadministration，orbyaspecial’board，oflifeandworks’orsomesuchbody，providedonlythatthetaskbenotcarriedoutbynomineesoftheGOVERNMENT。Andinthatrecordthereshouldbeenteredeverything——thatistosay，everythingofanaturewhichoughttobemadepublicconcerningeverymanwhohaslivedamongus，andhassincegonefromourmidst。“ HeretheLieutenantstretchedouthishandagaininthedirectionofthetombs。 “Myrightitis，“headded，“toknowhowthosefolktherespenttheirlives。Foritisbytheirlaboursandtheirthoughts，andevenontheproductoftheirbones，thatImyselfamnowsubsisting。Youagree，doyounot？“ InsilenceInodded；whereuponhecriedtriumphantly: “Ah！Yousee，doyou？Yes，anindispensablepointisit，thatwhatsoeveramanmayhavedone，whethergoodorevil，shouldberecorded。Forexample，supposehehasmanufacturedastovespeciallygoodforheatingpurposes；recordthefact。Orsupposehehaskilledamaddog；recordthefact。Orsupposehehasbuiltaschool，orcleansedadirtystreet，orbeenapioneerintheteachingofsoundfarming，orstriven，bywordanddeed，hislifelong，tocombatofficialirregularities…… recordthefact。Again，supposeawomanhasborneten，orfifteen，healthychildren；recordthefact。Yes，andthislastwithparticularcare，sincetheconfermentofhealthychildrenuponthecountryisaworkofabsoluteimportance。“ Further，pointingtoagreyheadstonewithaworninscription，heshouted(oralmostdidso): “Underthatstoneliesburiedthebodyofamanwhoneverinhislifelovedbutonewoman，butONEwoman。Now，THATisafactwhichoughttohavebeenrecordedabouthimforitisnotmerelyastringofnamesthatiswanted，butanarrativeofdeeds。Yes，Ihavenotonlyadesire，butaRIGHT，toknowtheliveswhichmenhavelived，andtheworkswhichtheyhaveperformed；andwheneveramanleavesourmidstweoughttoinscribeoverhistombfullparticularsofthe’crossandburden’whichhebore，asparticularsevertobeheldinremembrance，andinscribedtherebothformybenefitandforthebenefitoflifeingeneral，asconstitutingaclearandcircumstantialrecordofthegivencareer。Whydidthatmanlive？Tothequestionwritedown，always，theanswerinlargeandconspicuouscharacters。Eh？“ “Mostcertainly。“ ThisledtheLieutenant’senthusiasmtoincreasestillmoreas，forthethirdtimewavinghishandinthedirectionofthetombs，andmouthingeachword，hecontinued: “Thefolkofthattownareliarspureandsimple，forofsetpurposetheyconcealtheparticularsofcareersthattheymaydepreciatethosecareersinoureyes，and，whileshowingustheinsignificanceofthedead，fillthelivingwithasenseofsimilarinsignificance，sinceinsignificantfolkaretheeasiesttomanage。Yes，itisaschemethoughtoutwithdiabolicalingenuity。Yet，formyself——well，tryandmakemedowhatIdon’tintendtodo！“ Towhich，withhisfacewrinkledwithdisgust，headdedinatonelikeashotfromapistol: “Machinesarewe！Yes，machines，andnothingelse！“ Curiouswasittowatchtheoldman’sexcitementasonelistenedtothestrongbassvoiceamidthestillnessofthecemetery。 Oncemoreoverthetombs，therecamefloatingthelanguid，metallicnotesof“N-n-o-u！N-n-o-u！“ Theoilyglossonthewitheredgrasshadvanished，faded，andeverythingturneddull，thoughtheairremainedchargedwiththespringperfumeofthegeraniums，stocks，andnarcissiwhichencircledsomeofthegraves。 “Yousee，“continuedtheLieutenant，“onecouldnotdenythateachofushashisvalue。Bythetimethatonehaslivedthreescoreyears，oneperceivesthatfactveryclearly。NeverCONCEALthings，sinceeverylifelivedoughttobesetinthelight。Andiscapableofbeingso，inthateverymanisaworkmanfortheworldatlarge，andconstitutesaninstructoringoodorinevil，andthatlife，whenlookedinto，constitutes，asawhole，thesumofallthelabourdonebytheaggregateofuspetty，insignificantindividuals。Thatiswhyweoughtnottohideawayaman’swork，buttopublishitabroad，andtoinscribeonthecrossoverhistombhisdeeds，hisservices，intheirentirety。Yes，howevernegligiblemayhavebeenthosedeeds，thoseservices，holdthemupfortheperusalofthosewhocandiscovergoodeveninwhatisnegligible。NOWdoyouunderstandme？“