Chapter 17 "Duel" Sixteen

sixteen "What you call the humanities can satisfy the human mind only when they meet the sophisticated sciences in their progress and go hand in hand with them. As to whether they will meet under the microscope or in a new Hamlet or in a new religion, I do not know; but, I suppose, before that happens, the earth is covered with a crust of ice. Of all human knowledge there is, of course, nothing more stable and vital than the dogma of Christ; but notice how differently even this dogma is understood!Some people teach that we should love everyone except soldiers, criminals, and mental patients.They allow soldiers to be killed in battle, criminals to be quarantined and executed, and mentally ill to marry.Other interpreters teach that everyone must be loved, good or bad, without exception.

According to their teaching, if a tuberculosis patient, or a murderer, or an epileptic comes to you and asks to marry your daughter, you must marry her to him.If an idiot beats someone who is physically and mentally sound, you gotta send your head on it too.This preaching of love for love's sake, like art for art's sake, if it prevails, will finally make the human species completely extinct, and thus commit the greatest crime of all crimes ever committed by human beings.There are many explanations, and with so many, serious thought cannot be satisfied with any one of them, but hastily adds its own to the mass.So the question should never be asked, as you say, on a philosophical or so-called Christian basis.If you do that, you won't be able to solve the problem. "

The deacon listened attentively to what the zoologist said, thought for a while, and asked, "Is the inherent moral code of every human being fabricated by philosophers, or did God create human beings together with the body?" "I don't know. Yet this maxim has prevailed in all peoples and in all ages; and it seems to me, therefore, that it must be admitted that it is organically bound up with the human race. It is not invented, but is and will be. survive. I will not tell you that it will one day be seen under a microscope, but this organic connection is borne out by the obvious fact that, as far as I know, serious diseases of the brain, and all so-called mental illnesses, first manifest themselves in the destruction of on the moral code. "

"Good. Then, like the stomach demands food, our moral sense demands that we love others. Is that so? Yet our natural nature loves ourselves, and thus resists the voice of conscience and reason, and so many nerve-wracking problems arise. If you are not allowed to ask these questions on a philosophical basis, who should we turn to to solve them?" "To seek it in the precise scientific knowledge which we have so little at present. To believe in indisputable facts and in the logic of facts. It is true that this knowledge is scarce, but it is not so unstable and vague as philosophy. We Suppose for a moment that the code of morality requires you to love others. So what? Love is nothing but the removal of everything that is and will injure people in one way or another and threaten them with every kind of danger. Our knowledge and obvious facts tell you that, The dangers posed by abnormal persons threaten humanity. If so, these abnormal persons should be fought. If you do not have the power to raise them to a normal level, you always have the strength and the ability render them harmless, that is, destroy them."

"Then love is the strong conquering the weak?" "There is no doubt about this." "But you must know that our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified by the strong!" the deacon said passionately. "The problem is that it was not the strong who crucified him, but the weak. Human culture weakens and tries to eliminate the struggle for existence and natural selection; so the weak reproduce rapidly, creating an advantage over the strong. Just imagine , you have succeeded in instilling the idea of ​​humanity in its original elementary form into the brains of the bees, and what will happen? The drones, which should have been killed, will survive, devour the honey, corrupt the bees, and destroy them, The result was the predominance of the weak over the strong and the degeneration of the strong. This is exactly what happens to man today: the weak oppresses the strong. Among the savages hitherto untouched by culture, the strongest, the wisest, The most virtuous always goes first, and he is always the leader and ruler. We cultured men have crucified Christ, and continue to crucify him. We are lacking something.  … We have Restoring this 'something' in us, otherwise there is no end to this kind of error."

"But what criterion do you use to distinguish the strong from the weak?" "Knowledge and indisputable fact. Tuberculosis and scrofula are recognized by their disease; immoral and madmen are recognized by their actions." "But you know, you may be wrong!" "Yes. But since you are threatened by floods, you don't have to worry about getting your feet wet." "It's philosophy," said the deacon, laughing. "Not at all. You have spoiled your religious philosophy, so that you see nothing but fog in everything. Your young mind is full of abstract knowledge, which is called abstract because Just because it blinds your mind to the obvious. You have to look at the devil, and if he is a devil, you say he is, without going to Kant or Hegel for an explanation."

The zoologist pondered for a moment, then said: "Two times two equals four, and a stone is a stone. Tomorrow we're going to a duel. You and I will say it's stupid, absurd, that duels are outdated, that duels of high-class people and drunken brawls in low-class hotels are practical." There is no difference in the world, yet we still will not stop there, we will still fight. It can be seen that there is a force stronger than our reason. We cry that war is plunder, barbarism, disaster, and cannibalism, and we We faint at the sight of blood; but as soon as the French or the Germans insult us, our spirits rise up, and with all sincerity we cry holler, and rush forward to attack the enemy, and you pray to God to bless our weapons, Our valor excites a general and sincere zeal. Again, it proves that there is a power, if not superior to us and our philosophy, at least stronger than it. We cannot stop it, just as You can't stop the dark clouds coming from the other side of the sea. Don't be hypocritical, don't make faces at this power behind your back, and don't say anything: "Oh, stupid!Oops, it's out of date!Oh, it doesn't conform to the truth in the Bible! 'Look at it face to face, admit its legitimacy, and, say, encounter it with the intention of exterminating a weak, diseased, corrupt people, and you don't use your pills and the Gospel Pick up words that don't quite make sense to thwart it.Leskov writes about a conscientious Daniela who found a leper outside the city and fed and clothed him in love and in the name of Christ.If this Daniela really loved people, he should have taken the leper away, as far away as possible, and thrown him in a ditch.He should serve the healthy.

I think that what Christ taught us is a reasonable and beneficial love. " "What a strange man you are!" said the deacon, laughing. "You don't believe in Christ, but why do you keep mentioning him?" "No, I believe. But, of course, in my way and not in yours. Ah, deacon, deacon!" said the zoologist, laughing. He put his arms around the deacon's waist and said cheerfully, "Well, how about it? Shall we go to the duel together tomorrow?" "My teaching position does not allow me to go, otherwise, I would have gone." "What does 'teaching' mean?"

"I have been ordained. I have been blessed." "Oh, deacon, deacon," said von Koren, laughing again. "I like talking to you." "You say you have faith," said the deacon. "What kind of faith is that? Here, I have an uncle who is a priest, and he believes so devoutly that every morning he goes out into the moor to pray for rain, and he always has with him an umbrella and a leather so that you don't get wet on the way back. That's what faith is! When he speaks of Christ, the men and women of the village burst into tears. He can hold back the cloud, he can tell The kind of power that fights and flees. That's right.

... Faith can move mountains and seas. " The deacon laughed and patted the zoologist on the shoulder. "Yes, . . . " he went on. "See, from time to time you teach the poor, explore the depths of the sea, distinguish between the weak and the strong, write books, call for duels, and yet nothing changes in the world. Just watch, there may be a weakening Or a new Mohammad gallops out of Arabia on horseback with a saber in his hand, and all things will turn over, and not a single stone will be safe in Europe Pressed firmly on another stone." "Hey, deacon, this is getting more and more mysterious!"

"Faith without action is dead, but action without faith is worse. It is a waste of time." The Physician appeared on the embankment.Seeing the deacon and the zoologist, he came over to them. "It seems like everything is ready," he said, panting. "Govorovsky and Boyko are witnesses. They're leaving at five o'clock tomorrow morning. There are clouds!" he said, glancing at the sky. "Can't see anything. It's going to rain soon." "I suppose you will come with us?" asked Von Koren. "No, God help me, I'm miserable enough if I don't go. Uscimovitch will go for me. I've talked to him." In the distance, lightning flashed over the ocean, and there was a muffled rumble of thunder. "How dreary it is before the storm!" said von Koren. "I'll bet you've been to Laevsky's and cried in his arms." "Why should I go to him?" replied the doctor, flustered. "What words!" He did walk up and down the avenues and streets several times before the sun went down, hoping to meet Laevsky.He felt ashamed because he had lost his temper for a while, and after losing his temper, he suddenly softened again.He wanted to apologize jokingly to Laevsky, to reproach him, to comfort him, to tell him that dueling was a remnant of the barbarism of the Middle Ages, but that now God had ordered them to fight as a means of reconciliation. : Tomorrow, after each of these two excellent, talented and wise people shoots a shot, they will respect each other's noble character and become friends.But he never once met Laevsky. "Why should I go to him?" Samoylenko repeated. "It's not that I insulted him, it's that he insulted me. Please tell me: Why did he feel sorry for me? What did I do to him? As soon as I walked into the living room, he suddenly scolded me for no reason. Spy! How did it happen! Tell me: how did it begin? What did you say to him?" "I told him there was no way out of his situation. I was right. Only a gentleman and a villain can find a way out of any situation, and there is no way out for anyone who wants to be a gentleman and a villain. But, gentlemen, it is eleven o'clock, and we have to get up early tomorrow." Suddenly there came a strong wind, which stirred up the dust on the embankment and whirled it; the whistling of the wind drowned out the splashing of the sea. "Hurricane!" said the deacon. "We must go, or the eyes will be charmed." They walked back, and Samoylenko held on to his hat, sighed, and said, "I probably won't be able to sleep tonight." "Don't get excited," said the zoologist, laughing. "Don't worry, the duel will end in vain. Laevsky will magnanimously fire his gun into the sky, and he will not fail to do so. As for me, I will probably not shoot at all. For Laevsky There's no point in wasting time with the lawsuit. By the way, what's the penalty for dueling according to the rules?" "Arrest. Three years in the fortress if the duelist dies." "In the Peter and Paul Fortress?" "No, probably in a military fortress." "However, having said that, that guy really deserves a lesson!" A flash of lightning flashed over the ocean behind them, illuminating the roofs and mountains for a moment.Three friends parted near the boulevard.The doctor disappeared into the darkness, and the footsteps could no longer be heard, but von Koren shouted to him: "I hope the weather tomorrow will not hinder our business!" "It's hard to tell! God bless you!" "Good night!" "What's late? What did you say?" It was hard to hear what people were saying amidst howling winds, howling seas, and rumbling thunder. "Nothing!" cried the zoologist, hurrying home. "Notes" ①② Leskov (1831-1895), a Russian writer.Daniela is the protagonist in his short story "The Anecdote of Daniela with a Conscience". ——Russian text editor's note