ThedayhadbeenaSunday，andthehoureventide。Ontheburntplotofgroundsomebrokenglasshadbeenemittingareddishgleam，shootsofergothadbeendiffusingtheirgloss，childrenshoutingatplay，dogstrottingbackwardsandforwards，andallthings，seemingly，faringwell，sunkeninthestillnessoftheportionofthetownadjoiningtherolling，vacantsteppe，with，abovethem，onlythesky’slevel，dull-bluecanopy，andaroundthem，onlythecemetery，likeanislandamidstasea。
WithVirubov，Ihadbeensittingonabenchnearthewicket-gateofhishut，asintermittentlyhehadscrewedhislecherouseyesinthedirectionofthestout，ox-eyedlacemaker，MadameEzhov，who，afterdisposingofherformonabankhard-by，hadfallentopickingliceoutofthecurlsofhereight-year-oldPetkaKoshkodav。Presently，asswiftlyshehadrummagedtheboy’shairwithfingersgrownusedtosuchrapidmovement，shehadsaidtoherhusbandadealerinsecond-handarticles，whohadbeenseatedwithindoors，andthereforerenderedinvisible——shehadsaidwithoilyderision:
“Oh，yes，youbald-headedolddevil，you！Ofcourseyougotyourprice。Ye-es。Then，fool，yououghttohavehadaslippersmackedacrossthatKalmucksnoutofyours。Talkofmyprice，indeed！“
UponthisVirubovhadremarkedwithasigh，andinsluggish，sententioustones:
“Togranttheserfsemancipationwasasheermistake。Iamahumbleenoughservantofmycountry，yetIcanseethetruthofwhatIhavestated，sinceitfollowsasamatterofcourse。WhatoughttohavebeendoneisthatalltheestatesofthelandownersshouldhavebeenconveyedtotheTsar。Beyondadoubtthatisso。Thenboththepeasantryandthetownsfolk，thewholepeople，inshort，wouldhavehadbutasinglelandlord。Fornevercanthepeopleliveproperlysolongasitisignorantofthepointwhereitstands；andsinceitlovesauthority，itlovestohaveoveritanautocraticforce，foritscontrol。
Alwayscanitbeseenseekingsuchaforce。“
Then，bendingforward，andinfusingintoeachsoftlyutteredwordaperfectlusciousnessoffalsity，Virubovhadaddedtohisneighbour:
“Take，forexample，theworking-womanwhostandsfreeofeverytie。“
“HowdoIstandfreeofanything？“theneighbourhadretorted，incompletereadinessforaquarrel。
“Oh，Iamnotspeakinginyourdespite，Pavlushka，buttoyourcredit，“hastilyVirubovhadprotested。
“Thenkeepyourblandishmentsforthatheifer，your’niece，’“
hadbeenMadameEzhov’sresponse。
UponthisVirubovhadrisenheavily，andremarkedashemovedawaytowardsthecourtyard:
“Allfolkneedtobesupervisedbyanautocraticeye。“
Thereafterhadfollowedaboutofchoiceabusebetweenhisneighbourandhis“niece，“whileVirubovhimself，framedinthewicket-gate，andlisteningtothecontest，hadsmackedhislipsashegazedatthepair，andparticularlyatMadameEzhov。AtthebeginningoftheboutDikankahadscreeched:
“Itismyopinion，itismyopinion，that——“
“Don’ttreatmetoanyofYOURslop！“thelong-fangedPavlahadinterruptedforthebenefitofthestreetingeneral。Andthushadtheaffaircontinued……
LieutenantKhorvatblewthefag-endofhiscigarettefromhismouthpiece，glancedatme，andsaidwithseemingly，anotover-civil，twitchofhisbushymoustache:
“Ofwhatareyouthinking，ifImightinquire？“
“Iamtryingtounderstandyou。“
“Yououghtnottofindthatdifficult，“washisrejoinderasagainhedoffedhishat，andfannedhisfacewithit。“Thewholethingmaybesummedupintwowords。Itisthatwelackrespectbothforourselvesandforourfellowmen。DoyoufollowmeNOW？“
Hiseyeshadgrownoncemoreyoungandclear，and，seizingmyhandinhisstrongandagreeablywarmfingers，hecontinued:
“Whyso？FortheverysimplereasonthatIcannotrespectmyselfwhenIcanlearnnothing，simplynothing，aboutmyfellows。“
Movingnearertome，headdedinamysteriousundertone:
“InthisRussiaofoursnoneofusreallyknowswhyhehascomeintoexistence。True，eachofusknowsthathewasborn，andthatheisalive，andthatonedayhewilldie；butwhichofusknowsthereasonwhyallthatisso？“
Throughrenewedexcitement，itscolourhadcomebacktotheLieutenant’sface，andhisgesturesbecamesorapidastocausetheringonhisfingertoflashthroughtheairlikethelinkofachain。Also，Iwasabletodetectthefactthatonthesmall，neatwristunderhisleftcuff，therewasabraceletfinishedwithamedallion。
“Allthis，mygoodsir，isbecausepartiallythroughthefactthatmenforgetthepoint，andpartiallythroughthefactthatthatpointfailstobeunderstoodarighttheWORKdonebyamanisconcealedfromourknowledge。Formyownpart，Ihaveanidea，ascheme——yes，ascheme——intwowords，a，a——“
“N-n-o-u，n-n-o-u！“thebellofthemonasterytolledoverthetombsinlanguid，chillyaccents。
“——aschemethateverytownandeveryvillage，infact，everyunitofhomogeneouspopulation，shouldkeeparecordoftheparticularunit’saffairs，a，sotospeak，’bookoflife。’This’bookoflife’shouldbemorethanalistoftheresultsoftheunit’slabour；itshouldalsobealivingnarrativeoftheworkadayactivitiesaccomplishedbyeachmemberoftheunit。Eh？
And，ofcourse，therecordtobecompiledwithoutofficialinterference——solelybythetowncouncilordistrictadministration，orbyaspecial’board，oflifeandworks’orsomesuchbody，providedonlythatthetaskbenotcarriedoutbynomineesoftheGOVERNMENT。Andinthatrecordthereshouldbeenteredeverything——thatistosay，everythingofanaturewhichoughttobemadepublicconcerningeverymanwhohaslivedamongus，andhassincegonefromourmidst。“
HeretheLieutenantstretchedouthishandagaininthedirectionofthetombs。
“Myrightitis，“headded，“toknowhowthosefolktherespenttheirlives。Foritisbytheirlaboursandtheirthoughts，andevenontheproductoftheirbones，thatImyselfamnowsubsisting。Youagree，doyounot？“
InsilenceInodded；whereuponhecriedtriumphantly:
“Ah！Yousee，doyou？Yes，anindispensablepointisit，thatwhatsoeveramanmayhavedone，whethergoodorevil，shouldberecorded。Forexample，supposehehasmanufacturedastovespeciallygoodforheatingpurposes；recordthefact。Orsupposehehaskilledamaddog；recordthefact。Orsupposehehasbuiltaschool，orcleansedadirtystreet，orbeenapioneerintheteachingofsoundfarming，orstriven，bywordanddeed，hislifelong，tocombatofficialirregularities……
recordthefact。Again，supposeawomanhasborneten，orfifteen，healthychildren；recordthefact。Yes，andthislastwithparticularcare，sincetheconfermentofhealthychildrenuponthecountryisaworkofabsoluteimportance。“
Further，pointingtoagreyheadstonewithaworninscription，heshoutedoralmostdidso:
“Underthatstoneliesburiedthebodyofamanwhoneverinhislifelovedbutonewoman，butONEwoman。Now，THATisafactwhichoughttohavebeenrecordedabouthimforitisnotmerelyastringofnamesthatiswanted，butanarrativeofdeeds。Yes，Ihavenotonlyadesire，butaRIGHT，toknowtheliveswhichmenhavelived，andtheworkswhichtheyhaveperformed；andwheneveramanleavesourmidstweoughttoinscribeoverhistombfullparticularsofthe’crossandburden’whichhebore，asparticularsevertobeheldinremembrance，andinscribedtherebothformybenefitandforthebenefitoflifeingeneral，asconstitutingaclearandcircumstantialrecordofthegivencareer。Whydidthatmanlive？Tothequestionwritedown，always，theanswerinlargeandconspicuouscharacters。Eh？“
“Mostcertainly。“
ThisledtheLieutenant’senthusiasmtoincreasestillmoreas，forthethirdtimewavinghishandinthedirectionofthetombs，andmouthingeachword，hecontinued:
“Thefolkofthattownareliarspureandsimple，forofsetpurposetheyconcealtheparticularsofcareersthattheymaydepreciatethosecareersinoureyes，and，whileshowingustheinsignificanceofthedead，fillthelivingwithasenseofsimilarinsignificance，sinceinsignificantfolkaretheeasiesttomanage。Yes，itisaschemethoughtoutwithdiabolicalingenuity。Yet，formyself——well，tryandmakemedowhatIdon’tintendtodo！“
Towhich，withhisfacewrinkledwithdisgust，headdedinatonelikeashotfromapistol:
“Machinesarewe！Yes，machines，andnothingelse！“
Curiouswasittowatchtheoldman’sexcitementasonelistenedtothestrongbassvoiceamidthestillnessofthecemetery。
Oncemoreoverthetombs，therecamefloatingthelanguid，metallicnotesof“N-n-o-u！N-n-o-u！“
Theoilyglossonthewitheredgrasshadvanished，faded，andeverythingturneddull，thoughtheairremainedchargedwiththespringperfumeofthegeraniums，stocks，andnarcissiwhichencircledsomeofthegraves。
“Yousee，“continuedtheLieutenant，“onecouldnotdenythateachofushashisvalue。Bythetimethatonehaslivedthreescoreyears，oneperceivesthatfactveryclearly。NeverCONCEALthings，sinceeverylifelivedoughttobesetinthelight。Andiscapableofbeingso，inthateverymanisaworkmanfortheworldatlarge，andconstitutesaninstructoringoodorinevil，andthatlife，whenlookedinto，constitutes，asawhole，thesumofallthelabourdonebytheaggregateofuspetty，insignificantindividuals。Thatiswhyweoughtnottohideawayaman’swork，buttopublishitabroad，andtoinscribeonthecrossoverhistombhisdeeds，hisservices，intheirentirety。Yes，howevernegligiblemayhavebeenthosedeeds，thoseservices，holdthemupfortheperusalofthosewhocandiscovergoodeveninwhatisnegligible。NOWdoyouunderstandme？“