Chapter 94 Part Two - Thirty Two

When Nekhludoff returned home, he found his sister's note on the table, and immediately drove to look for her.It was already dusk.Lagozhinsky was resting in another room, and Natalya greeted her brother alone.She wore a black silk dress with a small waist and a red bow in the bosom, and her black hair was combed in a fashionable style.She tried to look young and pretty, apparently to please her husband, who was her own age.As soon as she saw her brother, she hurriedly stood up from the sofa and walked towards him quickly, the hem of her silk dress rustling.They kissed, looked at each other with smiles, and exchanged meaningful glances. The gesture was mysterious and difficult to express in words, but the emotion was sincere.Then they started talking, and their words became less sincere.

They haven't seen each other since their mother's death. "You gained weight and looked younger," said the younger brother. My sister was so happy that her lips puckered up. "You've lost weight." "And how is your brother-in-law?" asked Nekhludoff. "He's resting. He hasn't slept all night." They had a lot to say, but they didn't say a word, but their eyes said what they didn't say. "I have been to your place." "Yes, I know. I've moved out of the house. The house is too big, and I'm alone, lonely living there. I don't need anything now, so you take it all, just the furniture and all. "

"Yes, Agrafena told me, I have been there, and I am very grateful to you. But..." At this moment, the waiter in the hotel sent a set of silver tea sets. When the tea set was set in the waiter, the siblings did not speak.Natalia sat on the armchair behind the coffee table and poured tea silently.Nekhludoff was also silent. "Oh, I say, Dmitry, I know everything," Natalya said decisively, casting a glance at him. "Really? You know, I'm glad." "However, after she's lived through that life, can you expect her to turn over a new leaf?" Natalia said.

He sat upright in a little chair, with his arms not resting anywhere, and listened to her carefully, trying to understand her well and answer her well.The last time he had seen Maslova he had been in a good mood, still filled with a peaceful joy, and was glad to see everyone. "I don't want her to reform, I just want to reform myself," he replied. Natalia sighed. "There are other ways not to get married." "But I think it's the best way. Besides, it'll take me into another world, where I'll be a useful human being." "I don't think you can be happy," said Natalya.

"I don't want personal happiness." "Of course, but she can't be happy, or even hope to be happy, if she has a heart." "She didn't want to." "I understand, but life..." "How is life?" "Life demands something else." "Life asks us nothing but to do what we have to do," said Nekhludoff, looking at her still-good-looking face, except for fine lines around the eyes and mouth. "I don't understand," she said with a sigh. "My poor dear sister! How has she become like this?" thought Nekhludoff, remembering Natalya before her marriage.Innumerable childhood memories intertwined in his heart, aroused his affection for her.

At that moment Lagozhinsky, with his head held high as usual, and his broad chest thrust out, walked softly into the room.He had a smile on his face, his glasses, bald head, and black beard all sparkled. "Hello, hello!" he said airily. (Although Lagozhinsky tried to be informal in the initial period of their marriage by referring to each other as "thou," they later reverted to "thou.") They shook hands.Lagozhinsky sat down briskly in an armchair. "Am I not in the way of your conversation?" "No, I never hide anything from anyone when I say or do anything."

As soon as Nekhludoff saw the face, saw the hairy hands, heard the condescending, self-righteous tone, all his affection for his brother-in-law disappeared. "Yes, we were talking about his plans," said Natalya. "Pour you a cup?" she added, picking up the teapot. "Okay. So what's the plan?" "I am planning to go to Siberia with a group of prisoners, because there is a woman among them whom I think I have committed a crime against," Nekhludoff said. "I heard that you not only accompany her, but also have other plans." "Yes, and I intend to marry her if she wishes."

"That's right! If you don't mind explaining your motives to me. I don't understand your motives." "My motive is this woman... the first step in her descent..." Nekhludoff could not think of the right words, and could not help being angry with himself. "My motive was that I committed a crime and she was punished." "Since she is punished, she will not be innocent." "She's completely innocent." Nekhludoff told the whole story emotionally. "Yes, it was the presiding judge's negligence, which caused the jurors to be ill-considered in their answer. However, there is an appeal to the Privy Council in this case."

"The Privy Council has dismissed the appeal." "The Privy Council dismissed it, which means that the grounds for the appeal were insufficient," Ragozhinski said, apparently echoing the verdict of the court's oral statements. "It is impossible for the Privy Council to review the merits of the case. If there is indeed an error in the court's judgment, it will have to be reported to the emperor." "Appeals have been made, but there is no hope of success. They will ask the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Justice will ask the Privy Council, and the Privy Council will restate its decision. Then the innocent will be punished just as they are."

"First, the Ministry of Justice will not question the Privy Council," said Lagozhinsky with a haughty smile. There is no punishment, and if there is, it is a rare exception. Whoever is punished is always guilty," said Ragozhinsky, calmly, with a triumphant smile. "But I believe that the opposite is true," said Nekhludoff, disgusted with his brother-in-law. "I believe that the majority of those sentenced by the courts are innocent." "How do you say that?" "When I say not guilty, I mean there is no crime at all. For example, this woman accused of poisoning human life is not guilty at all; and I recently met a farmer who was charged with murder. In fact, he has never killed anyone and has no crime at all. ; and a mother and son who were charged with arson when the owner actually started the fire, but they almost got convicted.”

"Yes, there have always been and there will be errors in judgment. It goes without saying that human institutions cannot be perfect." "Furthermore, there are a large number of criminals who are not guilty, simply because they were brought up in a certain environment, and they don't think their actions are crimes." "Sorry, you don't make sense. Every thief knows that stealing is bad, that it shouldn't be stolen, that stealing is immoral," said Ragozhinsky, again with his nonchalant self-importance. and a slightly contemptuous smile, which annoyed Nekhludoff even more. "No, they don't know. People tell them: Don't steal, but they know that the factory owners steal their labor by driving down wages, and the government and government officials keep stealing from them by collecting taxes." "This is the theory of anarchism," said Lagozhinsky calmly, concluding with his brother-in-law. "I don't know what ism it is, but what I'm saying is the truth," continued Nekhludoff. "They know that the government is stealing from them. They know that we landowners plunder what should be public property." land and have been stealing their things. Later, they picked up some sticks for firewood on the stolen land, and we put them in jail and insisted that they were thieves. But they knew that they were not the thieves It’s the people who stole the land from them, so it’s their duty to their families to return what has been stolen.” "I don't understand what you're saying, and even if I did, I wouldn't agree to it. The land must become private property. If you distribute it to everyone," said Lagozhinsky, arguing that Nekhludoff was a socialist and that society He could easily refute the doctrine of the doctrine of dividing all the land equally, which is stupidity, "If you divide the land equally today, it will go to the hardworking and capable people tomorrow." "No one intends to divide the land equally, but the land should not become anyone's private property, and should not be the object of sale or lease." "Private property rights are innate to human beings. Without private property rights, there will be no interest in cultivating the land. Once private property rights are eliminated, we will return to barbaric times," Ragozhinsky said eloquently, repeating the clichés of defending private property rights .This argument is considered irrefutable, and the central meaning is that the desire to possess land is a sign that land must be privately owned. "On the contrary, only when private ownership of land is eliminated, the land will not be as deserted as it is now. Now the landlord occupies the land, just like a dog occupying a manger. He can't grow it himself, and he doesn't allow people who can grow it to grow it." "Listen, Dmitry Ivanitch, this is madness! Can we abolish private property in land today? I know this is a question that has been on your mind for a long time. But with all due respect... "Lagozhinsky's face turned pale and his voice trembled when he said this, obviously this question hit his heart. "I would advise you to think it over before you take up the matter." "Are you talking about my personal problems?" "Yes. I think that those of us who have a certain status should bear the responsibility that comes from that status and should maintain our standard of living, which we have inherited from our ancestors and must be passed on to future generations." "I think it's my responsibility to..." "Please let me finish," continued Lagozhinsky without being interrupted. "I am not saying this for myself, nor for my children. My children's lives and Education is guaranteed and I earn enough money to get us through. And I don't think my kids will ever be poor. So, honestly, my objection to your ill-considered behavior is not personal Pros and cons, I cannot agree with your opinion out of principle. I advise you to think more about it and read some books..." "Oh, let me take care of my business, I know what to read and what not to read," said Nekhludoff, turning pale and feeling cold in his hands, which he could not control. Control your emotions, stop talking, and drink tea.