"I cannot. You are beginning a foolish piece of work, and, therefore, wretched."
"I do not understand what you mean. And I must tell you that what you say does not please me at all; just as two minutes ago what I said did not please you."
"I demand an explanation, Dmitri."
"There's none to give. There is nothing, and there is nothing to explain, and there is nothing to understand. You are getting excited over mere nothing."
"No, I cannot let you go so." Kirsánof took Lopukhóf by the arm as he started to leave. "Sit down; you began to speak when it was not necessary. You don't realize what you ask of me. You must hear me now to the end."
Lopukhóf sat down.
"What right have you"—Kirsánof began in a voice of greater indignation than before—"what right have you to ask of me what is hard for me? Is there anything that I owe you? What does this mean? It's absurd. Try to clear your brain of romantic nonsense. Whatever you and I regard as a normal life will come to be so, only after the ideas of general society have entirely changed. There must be absolute reorganization, that is true. It will be reorganized according as life is developed. Whoever gets the new training, helps others, that is true. But until this new education is accomplished, as long as things are not completely changed, you have no right to risk the happiness of another. This is a horrible thing; do you understand it, or have you lost your senses?"
"No; I do not understand anything at all, Aleksandr. I do not know what you are talking about. You are pleased to see a wonderful design in the simple request of a friend, not to forget him, because he likes to see you at his house. I don't understand why you need to get excited about it."
"No, Dmitri; in such talk you will not get rid of me with a jest. I must show you that you are crazy, in thinking about such a miserable piece of work. There are a good many things that you and I don't acknowledge, aren't there? We don't acknowledge that a box on the ear carries with it something dishonorable; it is a stupid prejudice, a harmful prejudice, and nothing more. But have you the right now to subject a man to the risk of getting a boxing? That would be on your part, a mean, low abomination, for you would have taken away from a man the peace of his life.
