Идиот

Chapter 4

           

           “Oh,thathepossessesgoodtraits,Iwasthefirsttoshow,whenIverynearlymadehimapresentofmyfriendship.Iamnotdependentuponhishospitality,anduponhishouse;Ihavemyownfamily.Idonotattempttojustifymyownweakness.Ihavedrunkwiththisman,andperhapsIdeplorethefactnow,butIdidnottakehimupforthesakeofdrinkalone(excusethecrudenessoftheexpression,prince);Ididnotmakefriendswithhimforthatalone.Iwasattractedbyhisgoodqualities;butwhenthefellowdeclaresthathewasachildin1812,andhadhisleftlegcutoff,andburiedintheVagarkoffcemetery,inMoscow,suchacock-and-bullstoryamountstodisrespect,mydearsir,totoimpudentexaggeration.”

           “Oh,hewasverylikelyjoking;hesaiditforfun.”

           “Iquiteunderstandyou.Youmeanthataninnocentlieforthesakeofagoodjokeisharmless,anddoesnotoffendthehumanheart.Somepeoplelie,ifyouliketoputitso,outofpurefriendship,inordertoamusetheirfellows;butwhenamanmakesuseofextravaganceinordertoshowhisdisrespectandtomakeclearhowtheintimacyboreshim,itistimeforamanofhonourtobreakoffthesaidintimacy,andtoteachtheoffenderhisplace.”

           Thegeneralflushedwithindignationashespoke.

           “Oh,butLebedeffcannothavebeeninMoscowin1812.Heismuchtooyoung;itisallnonsense.

Настройки
Фон страницы
Размер шрифта
Межстрочный интервал
Фразовые глаголы
Показать / Скрыть меню
Шрифт
Roboto Lora
Уведомления
Страница 767 из 965