“What is that?  I have not heard of any new discoveries lately in the sphere of speculative ethics.”

“Well, to tell you the truth, I am not one of the initiated, and I can only tell you what I hear.  So far as I have noticed, the representatives of the new doctrine talk chiefly about Gumannost’ and Tchelovetcheskoe dostoinstvo.  You know what these words mean?”

“Humanity, or rather humanitarianism and human dignity,” I replied, not sorry to give a proof that I was advancing in my studies.

“There, again, you allow your dictionary and your priest to mislead you.  These terms, when used by a Russian, cover much more than we understand by them, and those who use them most frequently have generally a special tenderness for all kinds of malefactors.  In the old times, malefactors were popularly believed to be bad, dangerous people; but it has been lately discovered that this is a delusion.  A young proprietor who lives not far off assures me that they are the true Protestants, and the most powerful social reformers!  They protest practically against those imperfections of social organisation of which they are the involuntary victims.  The feeble, characterless man quietly submits to his chains; the bold, generous, strong man breaks his fetters, and helps others to do the same.  A very ingenious defence of all kinds of rascality, isn’t it?”

“Well, it is a theory that might certainly be carried too far, and might easily lead to very inconvenient conclusions; but I am not sure that, theoretically speaking, it does not contain a certain element of truth.  It ought at least to foster that charity which we are enjoined to practise towards all men.  But perhaps ‘all men’ does not include publicans and sinners?”

On hearing these words Karl Karl’itch turned to me, and every feature of his honest German face expressed the most undisguised astonishment.  “Are you, too, a Nihilist?” he inquired, as soon as he had partially recovered his breath.

“I really don’t know what a Nihilist is, but I may assure you that I am not an ‘ist’ of any kind.  What is a Nihilist?”

“If you live long in Russia you’ll learn that without my telling you.  As I was saying, I am not at all afraid of the peasants citing me before the justice.  They know better now.  If they gave me too much trouble I could starve their cattle.”

“Yes, when you catch them in your fields,” I remarked, taking no notice of the abrupt turn which he had given to the conversation.

“I can do it without that.  You must know that, by the Emancipation Law, the peasants received arable land, but they received little or no pasturage.  I have the whip hand of them there!”