Chapter 10 Black Friars Five

Fives Kovrin felt secretly satisfied with the fact that he had successfully made peace once, and wandered into the garden.He sat pensively on a bench, and then he heard the rumbling of a carriage and the laughter of a woman, the arrival of the guests.The shadows of dusk spread across the garden, and the faint sound of violins and singing reminded him of the black friars.Now, where, in what country, or on what planet is this optically irrational thing flying? He had just recalled the legend, and imagined the black ghost he had seen in the rye field. Unexpectedly, from behind a pine tree directly opposite, a man of medium build came out silently and without a sound. White hair, no hat, black clothes, bare feet, like a beggar.On his deathly pale face, the two black eyebrows were particularly conspicuous.The beggar or pilgrim came silently to the bench, nodded politely, sat down, and Kovrin recognized him as the black monk.The two looked at each other for a while, Kovrin was astonished, but the monk looked friendly, and just as cunning as last time, showing a confident expression.

"You are a phantom," said Kovrin. "Then why do you come here and sit still? It doesn't fit the legend." "That's all right," replied the monk in a low voice, after a moment of thought, and turned to Kovrin. "Legends, phantoms, me, are all products of your excited imagination. I am a ghost." "Then you don't exist?" asked Kovrin. "Think what you like," said the monk, with a slight smile. "I live in your imagination, and your imagination is a part of nature, which shows that I also live in nature." "You have a very old, intelligent, expressive face, as if you had really lived for more than a thousand years," said Kovrin. "I never imagined that my imagination could create such a face. But why are you looking at me so fascinated? Do you like me?"

"Yes. You are one of the few who are justly called God's chosen people. You serve eternal truth. Your thoughts, your desires, your amazing learning, your whole life, carry God the stamps of heaven, because you dedicated them to a legitimate and good cause, that is, to an eternal cause." "You spoke earlier of 'eternal truth.' . . . but without immortality, can man understand and need eternal truth?" "There is eternal life," said the monk. "Do you believe in human immortality?" "Yes, of course. A great and splendid future awaits you human beings. The more people like you in the world, the faster this future will be realized. Without you, living consciously and freely in the service of the highest principles human beings, human beings will become insignificant. If human beings develop according to the laws of nature, it will take a long time to end its secular history. But you can guide human beings into the kingdom of eternal truth thousands of years in advance, Herein lies your noble deed. You embody the happiness that God bestows on mankind."

"Then what is the purpose of immortality?" asked Kovrin. "As the purpose of all life, is happiness. True happiness lies in knowledge, and eternal life provides an inexhaustible source of knowledge. There is a saying in the Bible that means this: "In my father's house , There are many residences'①. " "I wish you knew what a pleasure it is to hear you talk!" said Kovrin, rubbing his hands in satisfaction. "I am very happy." "But I know that as soon as you leave, I'll be troubled by the question of whether you actually exist. You're a phantom, a hallucination. From this point of view, I'm afraid I'm crazy, not normal?"

"Be that as it may be. What is there to panic about? You are sick because you are overworked and tired. That is to say, you sacrifice your health for your thoughts; and when you give your life for your thoughts Not far off. Is there anything better? This is what all noble men of God-given talent aim for." "If I know I'm mentally ill, can I still trust myself?" "How do you know that those geniuses believed by all mankind have not seen phantoms? Now scientists say that genius and madness are closely related. My friend, only the mediocre mortal beings are healthy and normal. The only people who are anxious about times of nervous tension, excessive fatigue, degeneration, etc., are those who think that the purpose of life is in this world, that is, the common people."

"The Romans said: mens sana in corpore sano.②" "What the Romans or the Greeks said is not necessarily true. The exaltation of emotions, the agitation of the mood, the state of ecstasy, etc., all these make the prophet, the poet , The characteristics that distinguish people who suffer for their ideas from ordinary people are all incompatible with the animal side of man, that is, with his physical health. I repeat: if you want to be healthy and normal, then be an ordinary man." "It is strange that you are repeating what I have often thought myself," said Kovrin. "You seem to be spying, overhearing my secret thoughts. But don't talk about me. What do you mean by eternal truth?"

The monk didn't answer.Kovrin watched him intently, but could not see his face clearly: it was blurred.Then the friar's head and hands disappeared, his body mingled with the bench and the twilight, and then he disappeared altogether. "The illusion is over!" said Kovrin, laughing. "what a pity." He was happy and happy, and went back to the main room.The few words the Black Friar had said to him had not only satisfied his pride, but his whole soul, his whole being.Be a chosen people, in the service of eternal truth, among those who have brought man into the kingdom of God thousands of years before, that is, among those who have spared man thousands of years of strife, crime, pain, and sacrifice for thought What a noble and happy fate that everything, youth, vigor, health, etc., die for the public good!His memory flashed through his pure, innocent and toil-filled past, and he thought of what he had learned himself and now used to teach others, and concluded that the monk's words were not exaggerated.

Tanya came into the garden and came up to meet him.She changed clothes. "You are here?" she said. "We've been looking for you for a long time. . . . But what's the matter with you?" she said in amazement, looking into his triumphant, radiant face, into his tear-filled eyes. "How strange you are, Andryusha." "I am satisfied, Tanya," said Kovrin, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm more than satisfied, I'm happy! Tanya, dear Tanya, you're a very charming person. My dear Tanya, I'm so happy, so happy!" He kissed her hands passionately, and went on:

"I have just had a wonderful, rare time in the world. But I cannot tell you the whole story, because you will call me crazy, or you will not believe me. Let us talk about you. Dear, kind Dar Niya! I love you, I am attached to you, this is a natural formation. Being close to you, seeing you ten times a day has become the need of my soul. I don't know when I leave and go back to my house, no more You, how can I survive." "Come on!" said Tanya, laughing. "You'll forget us in two days. We're little people, and you're big." "No, we're going to have a serious talk!" he said. "I will take you with me, Tanya. Will you? Will you come with me? Will you be mine?"

"Come on!" said Tanya, trying to smile again, but couldn't do it, and blushed in patches. She became short of breath, and walked faster and faster, but instead of going to the main house, she walked to the depths of the garden. "I didn't think of such a thing...not!" she said, wringing her hands as if in despair. Kovrin followed her, still radiant and triumphant, and said: "I need a love that will take me whole, and only you, Tanya, can give me that. I am happy! I am happy!" She was stunned, bent down, and shrank her body, as if she had aged ten years all of a sudden. As for him, he thought she was beautiful, and uttered his obsession loudly: "How beautiful she is!"

"Notes" ① See "New Testament Gospel of John", chapter fourteen: Jesus said, "In my Father's house there are many dwellings; if there were not, I would have told you; I go to prepare a place for you.  … ...where I am, that you also are. ...I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me." ②Latin: A sound mind resides in a sound body.