第100章

第100章“iamnotwrong.i’llshowyoutheirpamphlets.everythingwiththemis‘theinfluenceofenvironment,’andnothingelse.theirfavouritephrase!fromwhichitfollowsthat,ifsocietyisnormallyorganised,allcrimewillceaseatonce,sincetherewillbenothingtoprotestagainstandallmenwillbecomerighteousinoneinstant.humannatureisnottakenintoaccount,itisexcluded,it’snotsupposedtoexist!theydon’trecognisethathumanity,developingbyahistoricallivingprocess,willbecomeatlastanormalsociety,buttheybelievethatasocialsystemthathascomeoutofsomemathematicalbrainisgoingtoorganiseallhumanityatonceandmakeitjustandsinlessinaninstant,quickerthananylivingprocess!that’swhytheyinstinctivelydislikehistory,‘nothingbutuglinessandstupidityinit,’andtheyexplainitallasstupidity!that’swhytheysodislikethelivingprocessoflife;theydon’twantalivingsoul!thelivingsouldemandslife,thesoulwon’tobeytherulesofmechanics,thesoulisanobjectofsuspicion,thesoulisretrograde!butwhattheywantthoughitsmellsofdeathandcanbemadeofindia-rubber,atleastisnotalive,hasnowill,isservileandwon’trevolt!anditcomesintheendtotheirreducingeverythingtothebuildingofwallsandtheplanningofroomsandpassagesinaphalanstery!thephalansteryisready,indeed,butyourhumannatureisnotreadyforthephalanstery—itwantslife,ithasn’tcompleteditsvitalprocess,it’stoosoonforthegraveyard!youcan’tskipovernaturebylogic.logicpresupposesthreepossibilities,buttherearemillions!cutawayamillion,andreduceitalltothequestionofcomfort!that’stheeasiestsolutionoftheproblem!it’sseductivelyclearandyoumusn’tthinkaboutit.that’sthegreatthing,youmustn’tthink!thewholesecretoflifeintwopagesofprint!”

“nowheisoff,beatingthedrum!catchholdofhim,do!”laughedporfiry.“canyouimagine,”heturnedtoraskolnikov,“sixpeopleholdingforthlikethatlastnight,inoneroom,withpunchasapreliminary!no,brother,youarewrong,environmentaccountsforagreatdealincrime;icanassureyouofthat.”

“oh,iknowitdoes,butjusttellme:amanoffortyviolatesachildoften;wasitenvironmentdrovehimtoit?”

“well,strictlyspeaking,itdid,”porfiryobservedwithnoteworthygravity;“acrimeofthatnaturemaybeverywellascribedtotheinfluenceofenvironment.”

razumihinwasalmostinafrenzy.“oh,ifyoulike,”heroared.“i’llprovetoyouthatyourwhiteeyelashesmayverywellbeascribedtothechurchofivanthegreat’sbeingtwohundredandfiftyfeethigh,andiwillproveitclearly,exactly,progressively,andevenwithaliberaltendency!iundertaketo!willyoubetonit?”

“done!let’shear,please,howhewillproveit!”

“heisalwaysing,confoundhim,”criedrazumihin,jumpingupandgesticulating.“what’stheuseoftalkingtoyou?hedoesallthatonpurpose;youdon’tknowhim,rodion!hetooktheirsideyesterday,simplytomakefoolsofthem.andthethingshesaidyesterday!andtheyweredelighted!hecankeepitupforafortnighttogether. yearhepersuadedusthathewasgoingintoamonastery:hestucktoitfortwomonths.notlongagohetookitintohisheadtodeclarehewasgoingtogetmarried,thathehadeverythingreadyforthewedding.heorderednewclothesindeed.weallbegantocongratulatehim.therewasnobride,nothing,allpurefantasy!”

“ah,youarewrong!igottheclothesbefore.itwasthenewclothesinfactthatmademethinkoftakingyouin.”

“areyousuchagooddissembler?”raskolnikovaskedcarelessly.

“youwouldn’thavesupposedit,eh?waitabit,ishalltakeyouin,too.ha-ha-ha!no,i’lltellyouthetruth.allthesequestionsaboutcrime,environment,children,recalltomymindanarticleofyourswhichinterestedmeatthetime.‘oncrime’…orsomethingofthesort,iforgetthetitle,ireaditwithpleasuretwomonthsagointheperiodicalreview.”

“myarticle?intheperiodicalreview?”raskolnikovaskedinastonishment.“icertainlydidwriteanarticleuponabooksixmonthsagowhenilefttheuniversity,butisentittotheweeklyreview.”

“butitcameoutintheperiodical.”

“andtheweeklyreviewceasedtoexist,sothat’swhyitwasn’tprintedatthetime.”

“that’strue;butwhenitceasedtoexist,theweeklyreviewwasamalgamatedwiththeperiodical,andsoyourarticleappearedtwomonthsagointhelatter.didn’tyouknow?”

raskolnikovhadnotknown.

“why,youmightgetsomemoneyoutofthemforthearticle!whatastrangepersonyouare!youleadsuchasolitarylifethatyouknownothingofmattersthatconcernyoudirectly.it’safact,iassureyou.”

“bravo,rodya!iknewnothingaboutiteither!”criedrazumihin.“i’llrunto-daytothereading-roomandaskforthenumber.twomonthsago?whatwasthedate?itdoesn’tmatterthough,iwillfindit.thinkofnottellingus!”

“howdidyoufindoutthatthearticlewasmine?it’sonlysignedwithaninitial.”

“ionlylearntitbychance,theotherday.throughtheeditor;iknowhim.…iwasverymuchinterested.”

“ianalysed,ifiremember,thepsychologyofacriminalbeforeandafterthecrime.”

“yes,andyoumaintainedthattheperpetrationofacrimeisalwaysaccompaniedbyillness.very,veryoriginal,but…itwasnotthatpartofyourarticlethatinterestedmesomuch,butanideaattheendofthearticlewhichiregrettosayyoumerelyestedwithoutworkingitoutclearly.thereis,ifyourecollect,aestionthattherearecertainpersonswhocan…thatis,notpreciselyareableto,buthaveaperfectrighttocommitbreachesofmoralityandcrimes,andthatthelawisnotforthem.”

raskolnikovsmiledattheeratedandintentionaldistortionofhisidea.

“what?whatdoyoumean?arighttocrime?butnotbecauseoftheinfluenceofenvironment?”razumihininquiredwithsomealarmeven.