Page 632 - the-idiot

delighted the prince; he watched her, and laughed.
‘Listen,’ she began again; ‘I have long waited to tell you all
this, ever since the time when you sent me that letter—even
before that. Half of what I have to say you heard yesterday.
I consider you the most honest and upright of men—more
honest and upright than any other man; and if anybody
says that your mind is—is sometimes affected, you know—
it is unfair. I always say so and uphold it, because even if
your surface mind be a little affected (of course you will not
feel angry with me for talking so—I am speaking from a
higher point of view) yet your real mind is far better than
all theirs put together. Such a mind as they have never even
DREAMED of; because really, there are TWO minds— the
kind that matters, and the kind that doesn’t matter. Isn’t it
so?’
‘May be! may be so!’ said the prince, faintly; his heart was
beating painfully.
‘I knew you would not misunderstand me,’ she said,
triumphantly. ‘Prince S. and Evgenie Pavlovitch and Alex-
andra don’t understand anything about these two kinds of
mind, but, just fancy, mamma does!’
‘You are very like Lizabetha Prokofievna.’
‘What! surely not?’ said Aglaya.
‘Yes, you are, indeed.’
‘Thank you; I am glad to be like mamma,’ she said,
thoughtfully. ‘You respect her very much, don’t you?’ she
added, quite unconscious of the naiveness of the question.
‘VERY much; and I am so glad that you have realized
the fact.’

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