Page 768 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

do, though, as far as he could observe, many people knew
so well how to do it, and without it there was no living at
all. He tried to say what he was not thinking, but he felt
continually that it had a ring of falsehood, that his brother

detected him in it, and was exasperated at it.
The third day Nikolay induced his brother to explain
his plan to him again, and began not merely attacking it,
but intentionally confounding it with communism.
‘You’ve simply borrowed an idea that’s not your own,
but you’ve distorted it, and are trying to apply it where it’s
not applicable.’
‘But I tell you it’s nothing to do with it. They deny the
justice of property, of capital, of inheritance, while I do
not deny this chief stimulus.’ (Levin felt disgusted himself
at using such expressions, but ever since he had been
engrossed by his work, he had unconsciously come more
and more frequently to use words not Russian.) ‘All I
want is to regulate labor.’
‘Which means, you’ve borrowed an idea, stripped it of
all that gave it its force, and want to make believe that it’s
something new,’ said Nikolay, angrily tugging at his
necktie.
‘But my idea has nothing in common..’

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