Page 804 - the-idiot

by force. ‘Don’t dare to believe in God, don’t dare to possess
any individuality, any property! Fraternite ou la Mort; two
million heads. ‘By their works ye shall know them’—we are
told. And we must not suppose that all this is harmless and
without danger to ourselves. Oh, no; we must resist, and
quickly, quickly! We must let out Christ shine forth upon
the Western nations, our Christ whom we have preserved
intact, and whom they have never known. Not as slaves, al-
lowing ourselves to be caught by the hooks of the Jesuits,
but carrying our Russian civilization to THEM, we must
stand before them, not letting it be said among us that their
preaching is ‘skilful,’ as someone expressed it just now.’
‘But excuse me, excuse me;’ cried Ivan Petrovitch consid-
erably disturbed, and looking around uneasily. ‘Your ideas
are, of course, most praiseworthy, and in the highest degree
patriotic; but you exaggerate the matter terribly. It would be
better if we dropped the subject.’
‘No, sir, I do not exaggerate, I understate the matter, if
anything, undoubtedly understate it; simply because I can-
not express myself as I should like, but—‘
‘Allow me!’
The prince was silent. He sat straight up in his chair and
gazed fervently at Ivan Petrovitch.
‘It seems to me that you have been too painfully impressed
by the news of what happened to your good benefactor,’ said
the old dignitary, kindly, and with the utmost calmness of
demeanour. ‘You are excitable, perhaps as the result of your
solitary life. If you would make up your mind to live more
among your fellows in society, I trust, I am sure, that the

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