Page 823 - ANNA KARENINA

Anna Karenina

Stepan Arkadyevitch smiled a subtle affectionate smile
as he listened to Levin.
‘Well, of course! Here you’ve come round to my
point. Do you remember you attacked me for seeking

enjoyment in life? Don’t be so severe, O moralist!’
‘No; all the same, what’s fine in life is...’ Levin
hesitated— ‘oh, I don’t know. All I know is that we shall
soon be dead.’
‘Why so soon?’
‘And do you know, there’s less charm in life, when one
thinks of death, but there’s more peace.’
‘On the contrary, the finish is always the best. But I
must be going,’ said Stepan Arkadyevitch, getting up for
the tenth time.
‘Oh, no, stay a bit!’ said Levin, keeping him. ‘Now,
when shall we see each other again? I’m going tomorrow.’
‘I’m a nice person! Why, that’s just what I came for!
You simply must come to dinner with us today. Your
brother’s coming, and Karenin, my brother-in-law.’
‘You don’t mean to say he’s here?’ said Levin, and he
wanted to inquire about Kitty. He had heard at the
beginning of the winter that she was at Petersburg with
her sister, the wife of the diplomat, and he did not know
whether she had come back or not; but he changed his

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