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A SCREEN ADAPTATION
OF A TEXT BY VLADIMIR SOLOVYOV
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Zoyichka!
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Zoya!
Come inside!
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Careful, or you'll slip and fall.
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Be that as it may, but now let's take
a different path, dear Nikolai.
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Are you ready to follow me?
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Yes, I am.
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Let's return to the story
of the two monks.
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Well then, back to Alexandria.
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But that's not what interests me.
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We follow the same path,
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the same conclusions,
but we remove the essence,
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that is, the existence
of God and the Devil.
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We proceed from the next postulate:
Neither God nor the devil exists.
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What interests me here
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is that if we believe
that evil comes from within,
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then,
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which of the two men
would have taken this path,
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the three days of debauchery
in Alexandria, in your opinion?
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Which indeed?
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I don't know, it's just a hypothesis.
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It would be interesting
to assume that probably
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the initiative would be taken by him
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who feels no regret, does not repent,
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does not fall prey to despair.
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Do you remember the story?
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Sure, the story goes like this:
after spending three days in Alexandria…
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They return to the desert.
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- Together.
- Both of them.
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On the way, one of them laments,
flagellates himself…
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- He fades…
- Completely…
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He cannot forget
what happened in Alexandria…
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- Whereas the other…
- The other sings psalms
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as he goes.
And then back in their caves,
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one continues to repent,
to flagellate himself,
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finally he decides to return
to Alexandria.
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- He decides to leave.
- He decides.
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He leaves everything behind.
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Because he believes
that after succumbing to debauchery,
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there is no going back.
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I think the general is leaving.
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Shall we see him out?
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In three days
he embarks for Marseilles.
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For Toulon.
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Toulon?
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Andrey Nikolaevich,
maybe I should wake him?
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Yes.
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Fetch a bucket of cold water.
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Well,
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I should be leaving.
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I'll be right back.
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Why shouldn't a modern army
bear the title “Christ-loving”?
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A title!
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In that case,
is white or black a title?
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Is sweet or bitter a title?
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Is brave or cowardly a title?
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It is not I who says it,
but all law-abiding people.
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I beg your pardon!
But tell me, is there still
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a glorious and Christ-loving
Russian army?
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Why quibble over words?
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Ingrida meant something
by “Christ-loving army”.
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Thank you, Madeleine.
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This is what I meant:
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Since the beginning of time,
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every military man,
soldier or marshal,
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has known that he serves
a great and good cause.
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Not only a useful or necessary cause,
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such as emptying the privy
or doing the laundry,
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but in the loftier sense,
a good, noble and honourable cause,
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a cause always served by the best men:
the elite, the rulers, the heroes.
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Our cause has always been blessed
by the Church,
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all have glorified it.
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Suddenly we discover
that we must forget all that
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and radically alter
our opinion of ourselves
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and of our place under the sun.
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The cause we once proudly served
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is declared wicked and baleful,
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at odds with our Lord's commandments
and human sentiments,
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a misfortune
and a dreadful evil,
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that all nations must unite against it,
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and its ultimate demise
is only a matter of time.
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Have you not heard the voices
that condemn war and military service
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as vestiges of ancient cannibalism?
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Have I heard?
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Of course I have! And I've read it too.
In several languages.
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But the voices of which you speak,
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they were, to be frank,
nothing but hot air.
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We heard them
and then forgot them.
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But now things have totally changed.
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That is why I ask
what are we to do?
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How should I, or rather any soldier,
regard himself:
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As a real human
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or as nature's Quasimodo?
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Am I allowed to have self-respect
because I served a just cause?
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Or should I be aghast
at what I have done,
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should I repent
and beg all the civilians
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to forgive me
now that I am proscribed?
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Begone, Michel Kutuzoff!
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There was a great man!
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What an odd way
to pose the question!
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As if we had asked the military
to do something extraordinary.
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The new requirements apply not to them,
but to diplomats and other civilians,
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who do not care if they are proscribed,
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just as they do not care
how much you love Christ.
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This alone is demanded of them:
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to obey the orders of your superiors
unquestioningly.
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As you are not interested
in military matters,
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of course you get, as you just said,
to an odd conclusion.
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It is obvious you don't know
that in some cases
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a superior's orders
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mean neither waiting
nor asking for orders.
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Which is to say?
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Which is to say:
Imagine that on my superiors' orders
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I am placed in charge
of an entire military region.
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This means that my mission is
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to command the armies in my charge
in whatever way appropriate,
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that I must foster in them
a certain morale,
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I must act above their will
in a prudent way,
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I must tune their feelings
within a certain range,
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in short, I must educate them,
in the spirit of their task.
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Therefore I am allowed,
among other things, to give others…
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to give orders
to the troops in my region,
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on my own account
and taking full responsibility.
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If I asked high command
to dictate what orders to give
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or even to provide me
with guidelines,
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wouldn't I be thought a silly old fool
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and then relegated to the reserve?
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This means that I myself must instil
a certain spirit in my armies,
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which will have been
endorsed and confirmed
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by the high command.
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But even so,
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questions on this subject
are nothing but stupidity or insolence.
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But this spirit,
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the same, in essence,
from Sargon and Assurbanipal
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to Wilhelm II,
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is now all of a sudden challenged.
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Until recently, I knew I must
foster the military spirit in my troops,
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so a soldier would be ready
to strike the enemy or die.
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And to do so, we must be convinced
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that war is sacred.
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But now, for no reason,
we deprive them of this conviction
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and, as the erudite would say,
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martial deeds are deprived
of their moral-religious authority.
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All this is dreadfully exaggerated.
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Nothing permits us to say
that opinions have changed so much.
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On the one hand,
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everyone agrees that war is bad
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and the more seldom it occurs
the better.
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On the other hand,
serious-minded people
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understand that even today
it is an unavoidable evil.
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It is not a case of abolishing war,
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but rather of gradually confining it
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within narrower bounds.
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But, in principle,
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the opinion of war has not altered.
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It remains an unavoidable evil,
a calamity that must be borne.
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Nothing more?
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Yes.
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Have you ever cast a glance
at the Orthodox calendar?
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At the calendar?
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Have you noticed
what saints are to be found there?
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All kind of saints.
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What of their occupations?
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Every variety, I suppose.
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Actually, they do not differ very much.
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How so?
Could it be they are all soldiers?
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Not all of them, but half.
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Again you exaggerate.
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Certainly…
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It is not a case of classifying them
for the sake of statistics.
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I mean only that all the saints
of our Russian Church
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fall under just two categories.
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They are either monks
of various rank,
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or princes, who, in those days,
were definitely soldiers.
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We have no other saints
of the male sex.
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Either monks or soldiers.
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But you forget the holy fools!
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Not at all!
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But the holy fools
are a different kind of monk.
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They are to monasticism
what Cossacks are to the army.
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If among the Russian saints
you can find me just one priest,
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merchant, state official,
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secretary, bourgeois or peasant,
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in short, any occupation
besides monk or soldier,
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then I'll give you my entire winnings
the next time I go to Monte Carlo.
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Keep your treasure
and half your calendar!
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Explain to me just what you mean
to insinuate by this discovery?
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Do you mean only monks and soldiers
can provide a moral example?
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You are not even close.
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I myself know virtuous people
among the clergy,
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among bankers,
public officials and peasants.
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And the most virtuous person
I can remember
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was the nanny who served
in the household of a friend.
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But that to one side.
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I mentioned the saints
because I wish to know why there are
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so many soldiers among the monks…
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favoured over every other occupation,
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if we have always regarded
the art of war as a tolerable evil…
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It is obvious that all Christians,
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whose thinking is reflected,
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and not only the Russian ones,
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because in France
it's more or less the same,
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not only honour,
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but honour especially
the military profession.
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Of all occupations,
only that of arms was deemed capable
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of elevating the best specimens
to the rank of saints.
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00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,500
Which is at odds with the current
anti-war campaign, my dear Edouard.
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00:18:10,583 --> 00:18:11,625
There you have it!
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Did I say there has been no change?
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It's obvious it is already happening.
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The sacred halo
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that once crowned the army,
in the eyes of the mob, is fading.
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00:18:22,292 --> 00:18:24,417
That is where we are heading.
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00:18:24,500 --> 00:18:26,583
But who, in effect,
will be harmed by it?
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The clergy, probably,
since only they deal in haloes.
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00:18:30,667 --> 00:18:34,792
Rest assured, dear Edouard,
pious accommodations have already begun.
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For our magazine
I follow religious literature.
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In two issues I found
that Christianity condemns war.
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00:18:43,292 --> 00:18:46,292
- Impossible!
- I couldn't believe it either.
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- I can show you.
- Show me what?
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00:18:48,875 --> 00:18:50,625
You see?
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Although the absurd militarist system
is doomed to extinction,
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the army will be preserved.
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As long as it is tolerated
and seen as indispensable,
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we will demand of it
the same military virtues.
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00:19:03,208 --> 00:19:07,417
You're apt to butcher the cow
and then demand its milk.
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00:19:07,917 --> 00:19:10,958
Who will give you
the military virtues you demand,
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when the principal virtue,
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without which the others
matter not a whit, is courage?
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00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:20,583
That doesn't stand up if we don't believe
in the holiness of our cause.
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00:19:20,792 --> 00:19:22,125
How is that possible,
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if we declare war
to be perfidy and murder,
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tolerable only in the extreme,
when it is unavoidable?
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00:19:28,417 --> 00:19:30,833
We don't demand
soldiers accept such a thing,
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00:19:30,917 --> 00:19:33,333
they only have to believe themselves
the best in the world!
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Nikolai has already explained it to you.
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Don't loot our wallets, that's all!
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Where are we, on the moon?
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00:19:40,167 --> 00:19:43,417
Would you keep soldiers
in an absolute void?
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If military service is deemed
an unavoidable evil for the time being,
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no one will devote his life
to a military career.
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00:19:54,292 --> 00:19:58,167
Except perhaps some nature's rejects,
who have nowhere else to go.
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I have always thought that, after
the introduction of military service,
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the dissolution of armies
and then states themselves,
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00:20:04,917 --> 00:20:06,625
will only be a question of time.
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00:20:06,708 --> 00:20:09,875
A time not far away,
given the current haste of history.
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Perhaps you are right.
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00:20:11,792 --> 00:20:14,542
I am certain that you are right.
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Although such an idea
has never crossed my mind.
250
00:20:18,333 --> 00:20:20,500
Marvellous!
Just think of it!
251
00:20:20,583 --> 00:20:25,125
In its extreme form, militarism gives
rise to compulsory military service.
252
00:20:25,208 --> 00:20:29,083
Thanks to this,
not only will militarism perish,
253
00:20:29,167 --> 00:20:32,917
but also its old age foundations.
Wonderful!
254
00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,542
How nice that Olga has brightened up.
255
00:20:35,625 --> 00:20:40,042
So far she has displayed a gloominess
unworthy of a true Christian.
256
00:20:40,125 --> 00:20:43,125
Because there is too much sadness
around us.
257
00:20:43,542 --> 00:20:46,833
The only joy left is the thought
that reason will triumph.
258
00:20:46,917 --> 00:20:51,292
It is plain that in Europe and Russia
militarism is self-devouring.
259
00:20:51,375 --> 00:20:56,000
But what joy and what triumph
will spring from it, it's hard to tell.
260
00:20:56,333 --> 00:20:59,875
Do you doubt that war and militarism
are an absolute evil
261
00:20:59,958 --> 00:21:03,500
from which mankind
must liberate itself?
262
00:21:03,667 --> 00:21:07,250
That the total and immediate destruction
of this cannibalism
263
00:21:07,333 --> 00:21:10,083
will constitute the triumph
of reason and the good?
264
00:21:10,167 --> 00:21:12,250
I am convinced of the opposite.
265
00:21:12,333 --> 00:21:13,542
How so?
266
00:21:13,625 --> 00:21:16,417
War is not an absolute evil
267
00:21:16,500 --> 00:21:19,000
and peace is not an absolute good.
268
00:21:19,083 --> 00:21:24,083
Or put simply, a good war
is as possible as a bad peace.
269
00:21:25,917 --> 00:21:29,250
Now I see how your position
differs from Ingrida's.
270
00:21:29,333 --> 00:21:32,708
She thinks war is always good
and peace always bad.
271
00:21:32,792 --> 00:21:34,458
Not at all!
272
00:21:34,583 --> 00:21:36,542
I too understand perfectly
273
00:21:36,625 --> 00:21:39,625
that war can sometimes
be a very bad thing,
274
00:21:39,750 --> 00:21:43,083
particularly when we are defeated,
as, for example, at Austerlitz.
275
00:21:43,167 --> 00:21:45,708
And peace can be a wonderful thing,
276
00:21:45,792 --> 00:21:48,625
such as that of Nystad
or Kuchuk-Kainardji.
277
00:21:48,708 --> 00:21:52,292
Behold a variation on the famous words
of the Kaffir or Hottentot
278
00:21:52,375 --> 00:21:53,833
who told a missionary
279
00:21:53,917 --> 00:21:57,042
he understood
the difference between good and evil:
280
00:21:57,125 --> 00:21:59,750
Good is when I steal
another man's women and cattle,
281
00:21:59,833 --> 00:22:01,917
and evil is when he steals mine.
282
00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,792
- Both the African and I were joking.
- Obviously.
283
00:22:04,875 --> 00:22:06,750
He unwittingly, I deliberately.
284
00:22:06,833 --> 00:22:09,875
What about you, Edouard,
who are so well educated,
285
00:22:09,958 --> 00:22:14,625
what do you have to say about war,
from the moral standpoint?
286
00:22:14,708 --> 00:22:17,792
I wouldn't let scholasticism
and metaphysics
287
00:22:17,875 --> 00:22:20,917
alter such a clear
and historically determined problem!
288
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:22,917
Clear from what point of view?
289
00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:26,125
Mine, the typical, European one,
290
00:22:26,208 --> 00:22:30,417
about to be adopted
by educated people everywhere.
291
00:22:30,500 --> 00:22:32,125
Forgive me if I laugh!
292
00:22:32,208 --> 00:22:35,917
Evidently, it consists
in viewing everything as relative
293
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:37,875
and not allowing any differentiation
294
00:22:37,958 --> 00:22:40,542
between what we are
and are not permitted,
295
00:22:40,625 --> 00:22:43,458
between good and evil.
That's it, isn't it?
296
00:22:43,542 --> 00:22:48,417
My dear Olga, such an argument
is of no help in solving the problem.
297
00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:50,708
Take me, for example,
298
00:22:50,792 --> 00:22:55,000
I allow that morally, good and evil
are absolutely opposed.
299
00:22:55,083 --> 00:22:59,042
But it's clear to me that war and peace
do not fall under this category.
300
00:22:59,125 --> 00:23:00,542
You cannot view war
301
00:23:00,625 --> 00:23:03,167
as only black,
and peace as only white.
302
00:23:03,250 --> 00:23:06,375
A contradiction in terms
will then arise.
303
00:23:06,458 --> 00:23:09,667
If something evil in itself,
for example, murder,
304
00:23:09,750 --> 00:23:13,417
can become good in the case of war,
as you say,
305
00:23:13,750 --> 00:23:17,250
where does that leave the absolute
difference between good and evil?
306
00:23:17,333 --> 00:23:19,417
How much easier you make your task!
307
00:23:19,500 --> 00:23:21,458
All murder is an absolute evil,
308
00:23:21,542 --> 00:23:22,667
war is murder,
309
00:23:22,750 --> 00:23:24,958
therefore war is an absolute evil.
310
00:23:25,042 --> 00:23:27,208
It's a first-category syllogism.
311
00:23:27,292 --> 00:23:29,417
Except that you forget,
my dear Olga,
312
00:23:29,500 --> 00:23:32,042
that both premises,
both the major and the minor,
313
00:23:32,125 --> 00:23:33,708
have still to be proven.
314
00:23:33,792 --> 00:23:36,917
Consequently,
the conclusion is left hanging too.
315
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,625
Didn't I say
we've reverted to scholasticism?
316
00:23:39,708 --> 00:23:41,792
What exactly are we talking about?
317
00:23:41,875 --> 00:23:46,042
You therefore argue that to kill,
to take someone's life,
318
00:23:46,125 --> 00:23:48,542
is in any given situation
an absolute evil?
319
00:23:48,625 --> 00:23:49,708
Without a doubt.
320
00:23:49,792 --> 00:23:51,917
But is to be killed
321
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,708
an absolute evil?
322
00:23:54,708 --> 00:23:57,250
For the Hottentots it is, obviously.
323
00:23:57,875 --> 00:24:00,167
But were we not talking
about moral evil?
324
00:24:00,250 --> 00:24:03,958
This exists only in the deeds
of a rational being,
325
00:24:04,042 --> 00:24:08,250
deeds that depend on his will,
rather than chance.
326
00:24:08,500 --> 00:24:12,167
To be killed is therefore the same
as to die of cholera or influenza.
327
00:24:12,250 --> 00:24:16,417
Not only it's not an absolute evil,
but it's not even an evil.
328
00:24:16,500 --> 00:24:18,917
Socrates and the Stoics
knew it already.
329
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,208
I would leave
the ancients out of this.
330
00:24:21,292 --> 00:24:25,542
The absolute you cite,
in morally assessing murder, is shaky.
331
00:24:25,958 --> 00:24:28,000
From what you say,
332
00:24:28,083 --> 00:24:31,417
absolute evil means to do to a man
something that is not evil in itself.
333
00:24:31,500 --> 00:24:34,375
As you like, but it is shaky.
334
00:24:34,458 --> 00:24:36,375
But let us leave this aside,
335
00:24:36,458 --> 00:24:39,625
otherwise we really do revert
to scholasticism.
336
00:24:39,917 --> 00:24:42,500
So, in the case of a murder,
337
00:24:42,583 --> 00:24:45,500
the evil is not the physical act
of taking someone's life,
338
00:24:45,583 --> 00:24:50,625
rather it resides in the moral cause,
in the murderer's intention to do evil.
339
00:24:50,708 --> 00:24:52,958
- Is that not so?
- Evidently.
340
00:24:53,042 --> 00:24:54,375
Without the intention,
341
00:24:54,458 --> 00:24:57,167
it would not be murder,
but misfortune or carelessness.
342
00:24:57,250 --> 00:25:01,917
Therefore, without the intention,
it would be the same as botched surgery.
343
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,625
But we can imagine
a different situation,
344
00:25:05,750 --> 00:25:09,583
where the intention does not take
as its main aim the killing of a man,
345
00:25:09,667 --> 00:25:12,875
but consents to murder
in a case of extreme necessity.
346
00:25:12,958 --> 00:25:17,000
Would such a murder
be an absolute evil?
347
00:25:17,833 --> 00:25:21,875
Certainly,
since there was the intention to kill.
348
00:25:22,417 --> 00:25:27,958
Might the intention to kill not coincide
with the intention to do evil
349
00:25:28,042 --> 00:25:31,208
and therefore might the crime
not be an absolute evil,
350
00:25:31,292 --> 00:25:33,167
even subjectively speaking?
351
00:25:33,250 --> 00:25:35,625
I have heard this argument
a thousand times!
352
00:25:35,708 --> 00:25:37,875
That father who,
in a deserted place,
353
00:25:37,958 --> 00:25:41,417
sees a brute hurl himself
at his innocent daughter,
354
00:25:41,500 --> 00:25:44,375
ready to subject her to a base villainy,
355
00:25:44,458 --> 00:25:49,625
and who, finding no other solution,
kills the attacker.
356
00:25:49,958 --> 00:25:52,708
For adding effect, I'll say
that the daughter is a child.
357
00:25:52,792 --> 00:25:56,208
What is remarkable is not
that you've heard it a thousand times,
358
00:25:56,292 --> 00:25:59,292
but that nobody has heard
those who think like you
359
00:25:59,375 --> 00:26:02,042
put forward a valid objection
to this simple argument.
360
00:26:02,125 --> 00:26:04,625
- What objection?
- There you go!
361
00:26:04,708 --> 00:26:06,042
Well,
362
00:26:06,125 --> 00:26:09,000
if you don't want to put forward
any objection,
363
00:26:09,083 --> 00:26:11,917
then demonstrate straightforwardly
and positively
364
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,042
that in every case, without exception,
365
00:26:14,125 --> 00:26:16,625
not to use force in the battle with evil
366
00:26:16,708 --> 00:26:20,583
is better than to use it
and to risk killing an evil-doer.
367
00:26:20,667 --> 00:26:24,125
Is there a specific proof
for an isolated case?
368
00:26:24,208 --> 00:26:29,042
Once you allow that, in general,
murder is evil in a moral sense?
369
00:26:29,125 --> 00:26:32,208
It is clear that, in every case,
it will still be an evil.
370
00:26:32,292 --> 00:26:37,417
Nobody objects that in general,
it is better not to kill than to kill.
371
00:26:37,542 --> 00:26:40,667
But the question concerns
particular cases.
372
00:26:40,750 --> 00:26:43,250
If the general rule is
“thou shalt not kill”,
373
00:26:43,333 --> 00:26:45,083
it is therefore absolute
374
00:26:45,167 --> 00:26:49,958
and without no exceptions
or individual circumstances.
375
00:26:50,083 --> 00:26:53,417
I cannot accept
that the problem be put so formally.
376
00:26:53,500 --> 00:26:56,042
Let us say
that in this exceptional case,
377
00:26:56,125 --> 00:26:58,625
which you have invented
as an argument,
378
00:26:58,708 --> 00:27:03,875
let us allow that it is better to kill
than not to kill.
379
00:27:04,500 --> 00:27:07,917
Evidently, I do not allow it,
but let us say you are right.
380
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,250
Let us even say that the given situation
is not fiction, but reality,
381
00:27:11,333 --> 00:27:14,083
although it is extremely rare
and exceptional.
382
00:27:14,833 --> 00:27:19,417
But what we are talking about here
is war, a universal phenomenon.
383
00:27:20,292 --> 00:27:23,208
Do you contend that Napoleon
384
00:27:23,292 --> 00:27:26,333
found himself in a situation similar
385
00:27:26,417 --> 00:27:30,708
to that of the father forced to defend
his daughter from a monster?
386
00:27:30,792 --> 00:27:33,625
An improvement on earlier.
Bravo, Olga!
387
00:27:34,083 --> 00:27:36,792
You skillfully avoid
an annoying question.
388
00:27:36,875 --> 00:27:41,208
Let us rework the example,
lest the details blunt its meaning.
389
00:27:41,292 --> 00:27:44,000
No need for the father
or the little girl.
390
00:27:44,083 --> 00:27:48,375
Parental love will lead the father
to kill the villain,
391
00:27:48,458 --> 00:27:49,875
without wondering
392
00:27:49,958 --> 00:27:53,167
whether he does so in accordance
with the supreme moral principle.
393
00:27:53,250 --> 00:27:55,375
Therefore, instead of a father,
394
00:27:55,458 --> 00:27:57,375
let us take a childless moralist,
395
00:27:57,458 --> 00:28:03,375
before whose very eyes a defenseless
creature is attacked by a vile brute.
396
00:28:03,458 --> 00:28:04,792
According to you,
397
00:28:04,875 --> 00:28:08,417
ought he to stand aloof
and preach virtue,
398
00:28:08,500 --> 00:28:11,500
while the hellish brute
tortures his victim?
399
00:28:11,583 --> 00:28:13,500
Will the moralist
400
00:28:13,583 --> 00:28:16,958
feel no moral obligation
to stop the brute by force,
401
00:28:17,042 --> 00:28:20,292
even at risk of killing him?
402
00:28:20,458 --> 00:28:22,583
And if, on the contrary,
403
00:28:22,667 --> 00:28:26,000
he allows the crime to be committed,
in keeping with his fine maxims,
404
00:28:26,083 --> 00:28:29,208
do you not think his conscience
will reprove him
405
00:28:29,292 --> 00:28:32,625
and he will be ashamed of himself
to the point of revulsion?
406
00:28:32,708 --> 00:28:35,125
Perhaps the moralist
will feel everything you say
407
00:28:35,208 --> 00:28:38,083
if he does not believe
in the reality of moral order.
408
00:28:38,250 --> 00:28:41,500
Or if he has forgotten that God
is to be found not in might but in right.
409
00:28:41,583 --> 00:28:43,417
Very well said.
410
00:28:43,500 --> 00:28:46,458
What will you say to that, Nikolai?
411
00:28:47,792 --> 00:28:50,708
I will say that I would like it
to be said better.
412
00:28:50,792 --> 00:28:54,833
That is, more directly, simply
and to the point.
413
00:28:55,542 --> 00:28:59,583
Did you mean that a moralist
who believes in divine justice
414
00:28:59,667 --> 00:29:02,333
ought, without stopping
the brute by force,
415
00:29:02,417 --> 00:29:06,167
to pray to God that He prevent
the commission of the evil,
416
00:29:06,250 --> 00:29:08,333
either through a moral miracle,
417
00:29:08,417 --> 00:29:11,500
for example the criminal's contrition,
418
00:29:11,583 --> 00:29:15,583
or through a physical miracle,
such as his sudden paralysis?
419
00:29:15,667 --> 00:29:17,458
No need of paralysis.
420
00:29:17,542 --> 00:29:19,333
The villain might take fright
421
00:29:19,417 --> 00:29:22,917
or something might divert him
in one way or the other.
422
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,417
It is not important what.
423
00:29:25,625 --> 00:29:27,792
The miracle resides not in the event,
424
00:29:27,875 --> 00:29:32,583
but in its causal connection
with the prayer and its moral object.
425
00:29:32,792 --> 00:29:36,667
At all events, Olga's solution
for preventing a crime
426
00:29:36,750 --> 00:29:39,333
is to pray to God
that He perform a miracle.
427
00:29:39,417 --> 00:29:41,125
Whence that conclusion?
428
00:29:41,208 --> 00:29:45,542
Since I believe the world is guided
by a good and rational principle,
429
00:29:45,625 --> 00:29:49,792
I also believe that the world moves
only in accordance with that principle,
430
00:29:49,875 --> 00:29:52,292
which is to say, the will of God.
431
00:29:52,458 --> 00:29:55,375
Forgive me, dear Olga,
but how old are you?
432
00:29:55,625 --> 00:29:58,042
If you know the answer,
why ask the question?
433
00:29:58,125 --> 00:30:00,750
For dialogue's sake, I assure you.
434
00:30:00,833 --> 00:30:02,667
Let us say twenty-six.
435
00:30:02,750 --> 00:30:03,917
A little older.
436
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,667
Then you will perhaps have seen,
heard, or read in the newspapers
437
00:30:08,750 --> 00:30:12,042
that evil and immoral acts
are committed everywhere in the world.
438
00:30:12,125 --> 00:30:13,167
Yes. So?
439
00:30:13,250 --> 00:30:17,208
In other words, the moral order,
justice and the divine will,
440
00:30:17,292 --> 00:30:19,750
do not come about by themselves.
441
00:30:19,833 --> 00:30:21,208
Clearly,
442
00:30:21,292 --> 00:30:25,000
if evil exists, then the gods
either cannot or will not prevent it.
443
00:30:25,083 --> 00:30:28,875
Therefore, the gods do not exist
as a good and omnipotent force.
444
00:30:28,958 --> 00:30:31,708
- Not a new idea, but fair.
- How can you say so?
445
00:30:31,792 --> 00:30:34,083
See where our conversation has led!
446
00:30:34,167 --> 00:30:36,542
Philosophy bewilders the mind.
447
00:30:36,625 --> 00:30:39,500
Because it is a false philosophy,
my dear Ingrida!
448
00:30:40,083 --> 00:30:44,583
As if the divine will depended on
how we view good and evil.
449
00:30:44,667 --> 00:30:47,250
It does not depend on
any representation
450
00:30:47,333 --> 00:30:51,542
but rather it is closely connected
to a true notion of the good.
451
00:30:51,625 --> 00:30:56,000
Otherwise, if good and evil
are equally indifferent to the deity,
452
00:30:56,083 --> 00:30:58,000
then you contradict yourself
once and for all.
453
00:30:58,083 --> 00:30:59,875
And why is that, may I ask?
454
00:30:59,958 --> 00:31:04,792
Because if the deity is indifferent
that a vile brute,
455
00:31:04,875 --> 00:31:09,208
driven by bestial passion,
defiles a defenseless creature,
456
00:31:09,708 --> 00:31:12,958
then the deity would not oppose
that person among us
457
00:31:13,042 --> 00:31:17,583
who, out of pity for the victim,
destroyed the beast.
458
00:31:18,292 --> 00:31:21,375
For you will hardly uphold
so absurd a notion that
459
00:31:21,458 --> 00:31:25,917
killing an innocent creature
would not be evil in the eyes of God,
460
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,542
whereas killing a vile brute
would be evil.
461
00:31:29,625 --> 00:31:34,208
It seems absurd to you because
you view it from the wrong direction.
462
00:31:34,458 --> 00:31:35,833
From the moral standpoint,
463
00:31:35,917 --> 00:31:39,125
not the victim but the murderer
is important.
464
00:31:39,208 --> 00:31:41,667
You called the malefactor a “brute”,
465
00:31:41,750 --> 00:31:44,042
that is,
a man without reason or conscience.
466
00:31:44,125 --> 00:31:46,458
What moral evil
can then exist in his actions?
467
00:31:46,542 --> 00:31:49,792
But do we speak of a “brute”
in the literal sense?
468
00:31:50,333 --> 00:31:54,042
It would be as if I told my daughter:
“That's silly, my angel,”
469
00:31:54,125 --> 00:31:57,042
and you chided me
that angels aren't silly!
470
00:31:57,125 --> 00:31:58,625
This is off the point…
471
00:31:58,708 --> 00:32:02,708
Forgive me, but I take it the brigand
was called a “brute” metaphorically
472
00:32:02,792 --> 00:32:04,750
and that he possesses
neither tail nor hooves.
473
00:32:04,833 --> 00:32:10,458
But we refer to his literal
lack of reason and conscience.
474
00:32:10,917 --> 00:32:14,167
A man of conscience could never
consent to such a thing!
475
00:32:14,250 --> 00:32:16,083
You're playing on words again!
476
00:32:16,167 --> 00:32:18,542
It is clear that a man
who behaves like a brute
477
00:32:18,625 --> 00:32:22,833
loses his reason and conscience,
in that he no longer hears their voice.
478
00:32:22,917 --> 00:32:25,625
But that he altogether lacks
reason and conscience
479
00:32:25,708 --> 00:32:27,625
is something
you will have to demonstrate.
480
00:32:27,708 --> 00:32:29,000
Until then,
481
00:32:29,083 --> 00:32:31,167
I shall continue to believe
that the man-brute
482
00:32:31,250 --> 00:32:35,708
differs from us two not by the absence
of reason and conscience,
483
00:32:35,792 --> 00:32:38,625
but because he acts despite them,
484
00:32:38,708 --> 00:32:40,875
driven by his brutish whims.
485
00:32:40,958 --> 00:32:43,417
A selfsame brute
is latent in each of us,
486
00:32:43,500 --> 00:32:46,917
but as a rule, we keep it chained.
487
00:32:47,208 --> 00:32:50,917
That man released his brute
and now obeys it.
488
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,167
He has a chain, but does not use it.
489
00:32:53,250 --> 00:32:54,667
Precisely.
490
00:32:54,750 --> 00:33:00,167
And if Olga does not agree,
defeat her with her own weapon!
491
00:33:00,917 --> 00:33:04,583
If the villain is a mere brute
without reason or conscience,
492
00:33:04,667 --> 00:33:09,917
to kill him would be the same as killing
a wolf or a tiger attacking a man.
493
00:33:10,292 --> 00:33:14,583
As far as I know, the Humane Society
has not yet outlawed it.
494
00:33:14,667 --> 00:33:17,417
Have you forgotten that,
whatever the man's condition,
495
00:33:17,500 --> 00:33:20,083
be it atrophy
of the reason and conscience
496
00:33:20,167 --> 00:33:22,125
or conscious immorality,
497
00:33:22,208 --> 00:33:24,500
if such a thing is at all possible,
498
00:33:24,583 --> 00:33:26,708
then it concerns not him,
but you yourselves.
499
00:33:26,792 --> 00:33:29,417
For your reason and your conscience
have not atrophied,
500
00:33:29,500 --> 00:33:33,542
nor do you wish
to disobey their commands.
501
00:33:34,167 --> 00:33:37,542
Therefore you will not kill that man,
whoever he may be.
502
00:33:37,625 --> 00:33:42,750
Of course I would not kill him
if my reason and conscience forbade it.
503
00:33:42,833 --> 00:33:46,833
But imagine
they told me something different,
504
00:33:46,917 --> 00:33:49,250
something that seemed to me
more reasonable and honest.
505
00:33:49,333 --> 00:33:51,542
Interesting. Please go on!
506
00:33:52,375 --> 00:33:53,625
Firstly,
507
00:33:53,708 --> 00:33:57,125
the reason and conscience
are able to count to three.
508
00:33:57,208 --> 00:33:58,333
Is that so!
509
00:33:58,417 --> 00:34:00,875
Wherefore the reason and conscience,
510
00:34:00,958 --> 00:34:04,000
unless they wish to lie,
will not say “two” instead of “three”…
511
00:34:04,083 --> 00:34:06,792
- Nikolai, please…
- I don't follow.
512
00:34:06,875 --> 00:34:07,917
In your opinion,
513
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,583
reason and conscience tell me
only about myself and the brigand,
514
00:34:11,667 --> 00:34:13,875
whom I am not allowed to harm.
515
00:34:13,958 --> 00:34:17,208
But there is also a third,
equally important person:
516
00:34:17,292 --> 00:34:20,292
the victim of aggression,
who demands my help.
517
00:34:20,375 --> 00:34:22,292
You keep forgetting her.
518
00:34:22,375 --> 00:34:26,333
But conscience does not,
and God's will is that I save the victim,
519
00:34:26,417 --> 00:34:29,583
while sparing the attacker
as best I can.
520
00:34:29,708 --> 00:34:32,542
But her I must assist at any cost.
521
00:34:32,667 --> 00:34:35,167
By verbal persuasion, if possible,
522
00:34:35,250 --> 00:34:37,542
if not, then by force,
523
00:34:37,625 --> 00:34:42,167
and if my hands are tied,
there remains but one solution:
524
00:34:42,292 --> 00:34:43,958
prayer.
525
00:34:44,042 --> 00:34:48,917
As to the solution, I leave it to you
to decide which is the better.
526
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,042
To me, one thing is certain,
527
00:34:51,125 --> 00:34:54,750
I have to save the victim,
that is what my conscience tells me.
528
00:34:54,833 --> 00:34:58,375
Breach to the centre! Hurrah!
529
00:34:58,792 --> 00:35:00,000
Well, Nikolai,
530
00:35:00,083 --> 00:35:03,042
I take care
not to have too broad a conscience.
531
00:35:03,125 --> 00:35:07,708
Mine tells me, quite bluntly,
not to kill, full stop.
532
00:35:08,208 --> 00:35:11,792
It seems to me that our discussion
has made no progress.
533
00:35:11,875 --> 00:35:15,542
Suppose I agreed with you
534
00:35:15,625 --> 00:35:20,292
that anyone might allow himself to kill,
what then?
535
00:35:20,625 --> 00:35:24,667
Do you think that Tamburlaine,
or Alexander the Great, or Lord Kitchener
536
00:35:24,750 --> 00:35:30,167
and their armies killed
to save innocents from evil-doers?
537
00:35:30,375 --> 00:35:33,958
Even though comparing Tamburlaine
with Alexander the Great
538
00:35:34,042 --> 00:35:37,583
risks affecting
the progress of our discussion,
539
00:35:37,667 --> 00:35:42,417
and inasmuch as this is the second time
you have rushed into the topic,
540
00:35:42,500 --> 00:35:46,292
allow me a historical reference
that will help us see the connection
541
00:35:46,375 --> 00:35:50,500
between the question of personal defence
and defence of the state.
542
00:35:51,625 --> 00:35:54,208
The place is Kiev,
the time, the 12th century.
543
00:35:54,292 --> 00:35:55,625
The crown princes
544
00:35:55,708 --> 00:35:58,542
who, it seems,
shared your opinion of war
545
00:35:58,625 --> 00:36:01,583
and chose to fight only in self-defence,
546
00:36:01,667 --> 00:36:05,042
refused to go to war
against the Polovtsians.
547
00:36:05,125 --> 00:36:09,083
They did not want to subject their people
to the calamities of war.
548
00:36:09,208 --> 00:36:13,708
To this, the great Prince
Vladimir the Monomachos replied:
549
00:36:13,958 --> 00:36:17,833
“You pity the yokels,
but forget that once spring arrives… “
550
00:36:17,917 --> 00:36:21,667
Nikolai, please, mind your language!
551
00:36:22,208 --> 00:36:24,375
- But it's from the chronicle!
- It doesn't matter.
552
00:36:24,458 --> 00:36:28,667
Since you don't know it by heart,
say it in your own words.
553
00:36:28,750 --> 00:36:31,875
Anyway, it sounds stupid:
“once spring arrives”.
554
00:36:31,958 --> 00:36:35,833
As if what comes next is:
“Flowers bloom, nightingales trill.”
555
00:36:35,917 --> 00:36:37,833
And from your mouth…
556
00:36:37,917 --> 00:36:41,125
a “yokel” pops out!
557
00:36:41,208 --> 00:36:42,667
Very well.
558
00:36:42,750 --> 00:36:47,583
“Once spring arrives,
the peasant will go out to plough.
559
00:36:47,667 --> 00:36:50,458
The Polovtsian will come,
kill the peasant,
560
00:36:50,542 --> 00:36:52,083
steal his horse,
561
00:36:52,167 --> 00:36:55,125
then hordes of Polovtsians will come,
massacre the peasants,
562
00:36:55,208 --> 00:36:58,000
enslave their wives and children,
563
00:36:58,083 --> 00:37:00,500
steal their cattle,
and burn down their village.
564
00:37:00,583 --> 00:37:03,583
Don't you want to protect them?
I do.
565
00:37:03,667 --> 00:37:06,875
That's why I call you
to fight the Polovtsians.”
566
00:37:07,292 --> 00:37:09,167
Ashamed, the princes now obeyed,
567
00:37:09,250 --> 00:37:12,417
and under Vladimir Monomachos
the country knew peace.
568
00:37:12,500 --> 00:37:15,083
But later they reverted
to their pacifism,
569
00:37:15,167 --> 00:37:18,500
giving themselves up
to scandalous living.
570
00:37:18,917 --> 00:37:22,625
For Russia,
it all ended with the Mongol yoke,
571
00:37:22,833 --> 00:37:25,208
and as for the descendants
of those princes,
572
00:37:25,292 --> 00:37:29,333
it ended with the feast served by history
in the form of Ivan the Terrible.
573
00:37:29,667 --> 00:37:31,542
I don't understand.
574
00:37:31,625 --> 00:37:35,375
First, you describe a situation
none of us is familiar with
575
00:37:35,458 --> 00:37:38,000
and probably never will be,
576
00:37:38,083 --> 00:37:41,875
then you cite a Vladimir Monomachos
who probably never existed
577
00:37:41,958 --> 00:37:44,000
and who is anyway
none of our concern.
578
00:37:44,083 --> 00:37:46,167
Speak for yourself, Olga!
579
00:37:46,417 --> 00:37:50,833
But Olga,
aren't you a Rurikovitch?
580
00:37:51,083 --> 00:37:52,458
Yes, I am.
581
00:37:52,542 --> 00:37:56,417
According to you, I ought to be
interested in Rurik, Sineus and Truvor.
582
00:37:56,500 --> 00:37:59,625
Don't get me wrong,
but he who doesn't know his ancestors
583
00:37:59,708 --> 00:38:04,417
is like a child who thinks
he was delivered by the stork.
584
00:38:05,458 --> 00:38:08,875
What about those unfortunates
who have no ancestors?
585
00:38:09,250 --> 00:38:10,958
You know…
586
00:38:11,167 --> 00:38:14,625
This morning,
before coming down for breakfast,
587
00:38:14,875 --> 00:38:17,583
Andrei Nikolaevich handed me a letter,
588
00:38:17,667 --> 00:38:21,208
then he made this confession
out of the blue:
589
00:38:21,292 --> 00:38:25,500
“Only once in my life have I felt
complete moral satisfaction,
590
00:38:25,583 --> 00:38:28,208
“even a form of ecstasy.
591
00:38:28,292 --> 00:38:32,500
“And this good deed
has been and always will be
592
00:38:32,750 --> 00:38:35,750
“my most beautiful and purest memory.”
593
00:38:36,292 --> 00:38:39,417
But his only good deed was a crime,
594
00:38:39,583 --> 00:38:41,167
and not a minor one,
595
00:38:41,250 --> 00:38:44,125
for in 15 minutes
he slaughtered more than 1,000 men.
596
00:38:44,208 --> 00:38:46,292
And where is the good in that?
597
00:38:47,333 --> 00:38:49,917
It is not easy for me to talk about it.
598
00:38:50,542 --> 00:38:54,292
Forgive me, but I cannot recount it
without great emotion,
599
00:38:54,375 --> 00:38:56,750
so strongly did it shake me.
600
00:38:56,833 --> 00:38:58,375
Tell us, Ingrida!
601
00:38:58,458 --> 00:39:01,750
Better I read you
a passage from his letter.
602
00:39:02,625 --> 00:39:04,333
It concerns cannons
603
00:39:04,417 --> 00:39:07,458
and the last war against the Turks.
604
00:39:07,542 --> 00:39:10,333
He was in the Cossack army.
After 3 October…
605
00:39:10,417 --> 00:39:12,375
3 October?
606
00:39:12,458 --> 00:39:15,833
The Battle of Aladja Dagh.
607
00:39:18,667 --> 00:39:20,042
Listen.
608
00:39:21,917 --> 00:39:24,375
“I had with me
the dragoons of Nizhny Novgorod,
609
00:39:24,458 --> 00:39:26,125
300 Cossacks from Kuban,
610
00:39:26,208 --> 00:39:29,083
and a battery of mounted artillery.
611
00:39:29,333 --> 00:39:30,792
The terrain was desolate.
612
00:39:30,875 --> 00:39:32,500
Up the mountains it was beautiful,
613
00:39:32,583 --> 00:39:36,875
but down in the valley there were
just burnt villages and barren fields.
614
00:39:37,500 --> 00:39:40,333
One day, it was October 28,
615
00:39:40,417 --> 00:39:42,125
I arrived in a valley where,
616
00:39:42,208 --> 00:39:46,458
by the map,
there was an Armenian village.
617
00:39:46,792 --> 00:39:49,833
At the entrance to the village
there was a bend in the road.
618
00:39:50,125 --> 00:39:53,875
My Cossacks were already there,
standing stock-still.
619
00:39:54,042 --> 00:39:55,583
I galloped up to them.
620
00:39:55,667 --> 00:39:59,875
Before I saw it,
I knew from the stench of roasted flesh,
621
00:39:59,958 --> 00:40:03,292
that the Bashi-Bazouks
had left behind their kitchen.
622
00:40:04,333 --> 00:40:09,583
They captured a convoy of Armenians
unable to save themselves,
623
00:40:09,708 --> 00:40:12,458
and dealt with them
in their own fashion.
624
00:40:12,583 --> 00:40:17,167
They lit fires under the carts,
having tied the Armenians to them.
625
00:40:17,250 --> 00:40:19,625
Some upright, some upside down,
626
00:40:19,708 --> 00:40:22,500
some on their backs,
some on their stomachs,
627
00:40:22,583 --> 00:40:24,958
hanging over the flames,
628
00:40:25,042 --> 00:40:27,208
roasted over a low flame.
629
00:40:28,042 --> 00:40:31,667
The women's breasts had been
chopped off, their bellies split open.
630
00:40:31,750 --> 00:40:34,250
I won't go into details.
631
00:40:34,333 --> 00:40:37,708
Apart from one,
which I can picture even now.
632
00:40:38,292 --> 00:40:41,250
A woman, stretched out on her back,
633
00:40:41,333 --> 00:40:45,458
her neck and shoulders
bound to the cart axle,
634
00:40:45,542 --> 00:40:48,208
so that she wouldn't be able
to turn her head.
635
00:40:48,292 --> 00:40:51,333
She had neither been burned
nor flayed alive,
636
00:40:51,417 --> 00:40:53,917
only her face was mutilated,
637
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:56,833
it was plain she had died of terror.
638
00:40:57,667 --> 00:40:58,917
In front of her
639
00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:02,083
was a stake planted in the ground,
640
00:41:02,208 --> 00:41:05,708
to which a naked baby was tied.
641
00:41:06,125 --> 00:41:08,083
Undoubtedly her son.
642
00:41:08,417 --> 00:41:11,292
Completely burned,
no eyes in his sockets.
643
00:41:12,292 --> 00:41:16,083
Next to him smouldered
a charcoal grill.
644
00:41:20,458 --> 00:41:23,458
At first,
I was gripped by deathly grief,
645
00:41:23,542 --> 00:41:27,458
I looked around in disgust,
acting mechanically.
646
00:41:27,542 --> 00:41:29,667
I gave the order:
ʻForward at a brisk pace!ʼ
647
00:41:29,750 --> 00:41:31,583
We entered the burned village.
648
00:41:31,667 --> 00:41:34,792
It had been pillaged,
razed to the ground.
649
00:41:34,875 --> 00:41:38,958
Suddenly, from a dry well,
a kind of ghost emerged.
650
00:41:39,042 --> 00:41:41,792
Having emerged, dirty and tattered,
651
00:41:41,875 --> 00:41:47,292
he fell to the ground
and released a lament in Armenian.
652
00:41:47,458 --> 00:41:49,958
I pulled him to his feet
and questioned him.
653
00:41:50,042 --> 00:41:53,083
He was an Armenian from another village,
654
00:41:53,167 --> 00:41:54,958
a good boy.
655
00:41:55,042 --> 00:41:56,833
He was there for business,
656
00:41:56,917 --> 00:42:00,125
just as the inhabitants
were about to flee.
657
00:42:00,208 --> 00:42:03,208
No sooner had they set out
than the Bashi-Bazouks struck.
658
00:42:03,292 --> 00:42:06,458
A large number…
40,000, he reckoned.
659
00:42:07,333 --> 00:42:12,417
He had heard the screams
and anyway knew how it ended.
660
00:42:12,583 --> 00:42:17,625
He then heard the Bashi-Bazouks
were returning by a different path.
661
00:42:17,708 --> 00:42:22,000
ʻThey're going to our villageʼ, he said,
ʻand will do the same to my people.ʼ
662
00:42:22,083 --> 00:42:26,458
He wept continually,
wringing his hands.
663
00:42:27,417 --> 00:42:31,292
All of a sudden,
it was as if I was enlightened.
664
00:42:31,958 --> 00:42:36,792
My heart melted and it was as if
the world smiled at me once more.
665
00:42:37,125 --> 00:42:41,167
I asked the Armenian
how long it had been since they left.
666
00:42:41,250 --> 00:42:44,083
He reckoned
it had been about three hours ago.
667
00:42:44,167 --> 00:42:47,750
ʻHow long to your village on horseback?ʼ
668
00:42:47,833 --> 00:42:49,542
ʻFive hours.ʼ
669
00:42:49,625 --> 00:42:53,375
I gave the Armenian a horse
and followed him
670
00:42:53,458 --> 00:42:56,042
through the gorge,
with the whole detachment.
671
00:42:56,125 --> 00:43:00,583
I no longer know
how we climbed those mountains.
672
00:43:01,667 --> 00:43:04,125
We had just emerged
from the final gorge,
673
00:43:04,208 --> 00:43:07,542
and were about to join
the main road,
674
00:43:07,708 --> 00:43:10,667
When suddenly,
I saw the Armenian galloping toward us,
675
00:43:10,750 --> 00:43:12,333
signalling us.
676
00:43:12,417 --> 00:43:13,958
They were there.
677
00:43:14,042 --> 00:43:17,500
I went to the vanguard,
focused my telescope:
678
00:43:17,583 --> 00:43:20,708
it was indeed them,
horsemen as far as the eye could see.
679
00:43:20,792 --> 00:43:25,917
Not 40,000, but about
three or four thousand, maybe even five.
680
00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:29,500
The devil's imps saw us
and turned to face us.
681
00:43:29,583 --> 00:43:34,583
Just as we came at their left flank,
they started shooting at our Cossacks.
682
00:43:34,667 --> 00:43:37,750
Those Asiatics
were firing European rifles
683
00:43:37,833 --> 00:43:40,417
almost like they were human beings!
684
00:43:43,250 --> 00:43:46,292
Here and there,
Cossacks fell from their horses.
685
00:43:46,667 --> 00:43:50,417
I therefore ordered my men
to fire on these demons,
686
00:43:50,500 --> 00:43:53,458
making a dispersed attack,
687
00:43:53,542 --> 00:43:57,667
and once they had provoked them,
to retreat to the cannons.
688
00:43:57,750 --> 00:44:00,125
I placed one company
to conceal the cannons,
689
00:44:00,208 --> 00:44:03,292
and lined up the Nizhny men
on the left of the battery.
690
00:44:03,833 --> 00:44:08,708
After exchanging a few shots,
the Cossacks withdrew, whooping.
691
00:44:08,875 --> 00:44:11,292
The demons gave chase.
692
00:44:11,375 --> 00:44:14,458
By now they were hurtling,
no longer even shooting.
693
00:44:14,542 --> 00:44:17,292
They galloped straight at us.
694
00:44:18,792 --> 00:44:23,542
I said to myself
that the hour of God's will had arrived.
695
00:44:24,375 --> 00:44:27,625
The company split in two,
revealing the cannons.
696
00:44:27,708 --> 00:44:30,167
I ordered the battery to fire.
697
00:44:30,250 --> 00:44:33,833
And God blessed all my six shots.
698
00:44:33,917 --> 00:44:37,333
Never in my life had I heard
such demonic howling!
699
00:44:37,417 --> 00:44:41,333
Before they knew what hit them,
the second salvo came.
700
00:44:41,417 --> 00:44:45,417
When I looked to see,
the horde was in rout.
701
00:44:45,500 --> 00:44:50,125
The third salvo struck them from behind,
wreaking mayhem.
702
00:44:50,208 --> 00:44:53,500
They were stampeding,
trampling each another.
703
00:44:53,583 --> 00:44:57,375
Then, with the dragoons
and Cossacks from the left flank,
704
00:44:57,458 --> 00:45:00,083
we butchered them.
705
00:45:00,458 --> 00:45:04,625
Few escaped.
The sword finished the cannons' work.
706
00:45:04,708 --> 00:45:08,000
Some threw down their weapons,
dismounted,
707
00:45:08,083 --> 00:45:09,792
begging for ʻamanʼ.
708
00:45:09,875 --> 00:45:11,625
I did not intervene,
709
00:45:11,708 --> 00:45:15,250
my men knew
it was not the time for ʻamanʼ,
710
00:45:15,333 --> 00:45:18,417
and the Cossacks and Dragoons
cut them all down.
711
00:45:19,167 --> 00:45:21,292
The task was finished.
712
00:45:21,417 --> 00:45:24,208
In my soul
I felt the Lord's Resurrection.
713
00:45:24,292 --> 00:45:26,542
We gathered our dead.
714
00:45:26,625 --> 00:45:29,917
37 men had entrusted their souls to God.
715
00:45:37,500 --> 00:45:42,500
We laid them on level ground
and closed their eyes.
716
00:45:43,833 --> 00:45:47,000
We had a non-commissioned officer,
Odarchenko,
717
00:45:47,083 --> 00:45:51,958
a remarkable old man,
with a good knowledge of holy writ.
718
00:45:52,750 --> 00:45:58,375
I told him, ʻWe are campaigning,
we are no good at hallelujahs,
719
00:45:58,458 --> 00:46:02,958
stand in for the priest,
chant the funeral rite for our dead.ʼ
720
00:46:08,125 --> 00:46:11,042
And he chanted the rite
as was befitting.
721
00:46:11,125 --> 00:46:14,333
But we had no priest
to forgive their sins.
722
00:46:14,833 --> 00:46:18,875
When Odarchenko
recited the names of the dead soldiers,
723
00:46:18,958 --> 00:46:22,458
who had fallen on the field of honour
for the faith,
724
00:46:22,542 --> 00:46:24,875
for tsar and country,
725
00:46:24,958 --> 00:46:30,167
I truly felt they were not empty words,
or ordinary titles,
726
00:46:30,250 --> 00:46:34,125
but that there really was
a Christ-loving army
727
00:46:34,208 --> 00:46:36,542
and that war was, is,
and will be,
728
00:46:36,625 --> 00:46:38,333
until the end of time,
729
00:46:38,417 --> 00:46:41,500
a great, honourable and holy thing.”
730
00:46:53,417 --> 00:46:57,167
After he buried his dead,
filled with such enlightenment,
731
00:46:57,250 --> 00:47:01,292
did he remember the foes
he had slain in their hundreds?
732
00:47:01,625 --> 00:47:04,125
Thank God they were able
to get themselves thence
733
00:47:04,208 --> 00:47:06,583
before the corpses could remind them.
734
00:47:06,667 --> 00:47:08,417
You have ruined everything.
735
00:47:08,500 --> 00:47:10,417
How can you say so?
736
00:47:10,750 --> 00:47:13,208
What would you have liked him to do?
737
00:47:13,292 --> 00:47:16,500
To give those jackals
a Christian burial?
738
00:47:16,625 --> 00:47:20,542
Who were neither Christians nor Muslims,
but the devil knows what?
739
00:47:20,625 --> 00:47:25,542
And even if he had been insane enough
to order a funeral service for them
740
00:47:25,625 --> 00:47:28,042
to be held
alongside that for the Cossacks,
741
00:47:28,125 --> 00:47:32,125
you would have accused him
of not respecting their religion.
742
00:47:32,208 --> 00:47:34,000
What! The poor things,
743
00:47:34,083 --> 00:47:37,583
who glorified the devil
and worshiped fire all their lives,
744
00:47:37,667 --> 00:47:40,000
to subject them post mortem
745
00:47:40,083 --> 00:47:44,250
to coarse,
superstitious Christian rites!
746
00:47:46,083 --> 00:47:48,542
He had other concerns.
747
00:47:48,917 --> 00:47:53,167
He ordered the officers
to forbid the men
748
00:47:53,250 --> 00:47:57,042
from going within twenty paces
of the corpses.
749
00:47:57,292 --> 00:48:01,125
He had seen
that the Cossacks were itching
750
00:48:01,208 --> 00:48:04,292
to loot the dead, as was customary.
751
00:48:04,375 --> 00:48:08,250
Who knows what pestilence they
might have caught from those devils.
752
00:48:08,458 --> 00:48:11,542
May they rot in hell!
753
00:48:13,042 --> 00:48:15,042
Do I understand correctly?
754
00:48:15,167 --> 00:48:18,917
You were afraid that the Cossacks,
by looting the Bashi-Bazouk corpses,
755
00:48:19,000 --> 00:48:23,458
might have spread contagion
in your husband's camp?
756
00:48:23,542 --> 00:48:25,167
It seems obvious to me.
757
00:48:25,250 --> 00:48:27,750
Behold the “Christ-loving army”!
758
00:48:28,583 --> 00:48:30,000
The Cossacks?
759
00:48:30,083 --> 00:48:33,625
Nothing but brigands!
They always have been.
760
00:48:33,708 --> 00:48:36,458
Does it not seem to you
that we are talking in the abstract?
761
00:48:36,542 --> 00:48:39,625
Yes, it seems to me
that something is amiss.
762
00:48:39,708 --> 00:48:43,000
I do not understand
what you want from me.
763
00:48:43,083 --> 00:48:46,917
Olga is surprised that the sublime,
almost saintly Cossacks
764
00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:50,833
proved to be, as you say,
“nothing but brigands”.
765
00:48:52,167 --> 00:48:55,500
How can war be
“a great, honourable and holy thing”
766
00:48:55,583 --> 00:48:59,833
if, as you say, it is the struggle
of brigands against other brigands?
767
00:48:59,917 --> 00:49:04,500
So that is what it was: “The struggle
of brigands against other brigands.”
768
00:49:05,292 --> 00:49:09,208
But this is about
a different kind of brigand…
769
00:49:09,542 --> 00:49:12,542
If you do not believe that theft
770
00:49:12,625 --> 00:49:17,708
is the same as roasting babies
under their mothers' eyes…
771
00:49:19,417 --> 00:49:22,167
This is what I still have
to read to you:
772
00:49:22,750 --> 00:49:24,500
My dear Ingrida,
773
00:49:24,583 --> 00:49:28,292
My conscience is so pure,
as I look back on it now,
774
00:49:28,375 --> 00:49:34,458
that I still regret not having died
after I ordered the last salvo.
775
00:49:34,917 --> 00:49:38,542
And I am in no doubt that,
had I died that moment,
776
00:49:38,625 --> 00:49:41,792
I would have gone
straight before God,
777
00:49:41,875 --> 00:49:44,958
along with my 37 Cossacks,
778
00:49:45,042 --> 00:49:47,417
and we would have received
a place in heaven
779
00:49:47,500 --> 00:49:50,500
next to the good thief of the Gospels.
780
00:49:50,708 --> 00:49:54,417
Not for nothing is he in the Gospels.
781
00:49:55,583 --> 00:49:57,333
But, my dear Ingrida,
782
00:49:57,417 --> 00:49:59,208
the Gospels do not say
783
00:49:59,292 --> 00:50:03,000
that only Christians
can be likened to the good thief.
784
00:50:03,083 --> 00:50:06,000
Why are you so antagonistic toward me?
785
00:50:06,167 --> 00:50:10,833
Where did he draw any distinction
between nations or religions?
786
00:50:11,375 --> 00:50:15,208
Are the Armenians
of the same nation or faith as us?
787
00:50:15,708 --> 00:50:20,167
Are not the “devil's imps” humans too?
788
00:50:20,375 --> 00:50:22,292
Did he say that in every man
can be good and evil?
789
00:50:22,375 --> 00:50:24,667
That in every thief,
coward or Bashi-Bazouk
790
00:50:24,750 --> 00:50:27,208
lies hidden a good thief?
791
00:50:27,292 --> 00:50:29,625
Who can understand you?
792
00:50:29,708 --> 00:50:31,292
She is right.
793
00:50:31,375 --> 00:50:35,417
Either you say the evil man
is an irresponsible brute,
794
00:50:35,500 --> 00:50:39,958
or that a Bashi-Bazouk
who roasts children over a low flame
795
00:50:40,042 --> 00:50:42,750
might prove to be
the good thief of the Gospels!
796
00:50:42,833 --> 00:50:47,833
And all this only to avoid
calling evil by its name.
797
00:50:48,875 --> 00:50:52,542
What matters to me
is not that in every man
798
00:50:52,625 --> 00:50:55,458
can be found the seeds of good and evil.
799
00:50:56,000 --> 00:50:57,750
What is important is
800
00:50:57,833 --> 00:51:00,458
not that grape juice
can make both wine and vinegar.
801
00:51:00,792 --> 00:51:05,708
What is important is whether the bottle
contains wine or vinegar.
802
00:51:06,250 --> 00:51:08,375
For if it is vinegar
803
00:51:08,458 --> 00:51:11,958
and I drink it and serve it to others,
804
00:51:12,042 --> 00:51:15,333
under the pretext that even so,
it is still made of grape juice,
805
00:51:15,417 --> 00:51:18,917
I do nobody a service,
806
00:51:19,000 --> 00:51:21,875
but rather I give us all a stomach ache.
807
00:51:23,458 --> 00:51:26,000
All men are brothers.
808
00:51:26,083 --> 00:51:27,667
Perfect.
809
00:51:27,750 --> 00:51:29,500
Glad to hear it.
810
00:51:30,042 --> 00:51:31,792
What then?
811
00:51:31,875 --> 00:51:34,917
Brothers can differ.
812
00:51:35,000 --> 00:51:39,875
Why shouldn't I wish to know
which is Cain and which Abel?
813
00:51:40,542 --> 00:51:44,542
What if my brother Cain
skins my brother Abel,
814
00:51:44,625 --> 00:51:48,208
and I, not being indifferent
to my brothers,
815
00:51:48,292 --> 00:51:50,500
box Cain's ears
816
00:51:50,583 --> 00:51:54,125
to stop him doing it again.
817
00:51:54,458 --> 00:51:57,750
“Should I stand aloof
or should I hit him?”
818
00:51:57,833 --> 00:51:59,583
Why this dilemma?
819
00:52:00,208 --> 00:52:03,375
Because we cannot find
a third way, Olga.
820
00:53:02,583 --> 00:53:04,542
Olga,
821
00:53:04,625 --> 00:53:08,292
earlier you suggested
that we pray to God
822
00:53:08,375 --> 00:53:14,333
that He intervenes
to mend a devil's ways.
823
00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:18,667
You seem to have abandoned this course.
824
00:53:18,750 --> 00:53:21,708
I too believe that prayer is the path,
825
00:53:21,875 --> 00:53:25,333
but it cannot replace deed.
826
00:53:28,625 --> 00:53:31,167
The pious, for example,
827
00:53:31,250 --> 00:53:33,208
pray before meals,
828
00:53:33,667 --> 00:53:37,917
but in order to chew,
they use their own jaws.
829
00:53:38,875 --> 00:53:40,958
I refuse to believe that,
830
00:53:41,042 --> 00:53:43,000
without praying,
831
00:53:43,667 --> 00:53:47,667
Andrei Nikolaevich
ordered his artillery to fire.
832
00:53:48,167 --> 00:53:51,208
Such a prayer is obviously
a blasphemy.
833
00:53:51,708 --> 00:53:54,833
It is not to pray that counts,
but rather to do God's will.
834
00:53:54,958 --> 00:53:57,000
Meaning?
835
00:53:57,458 --> 00:54:00,875
He who is deeply imbued
with the spirit of the Gospels
836
00:54:00,958 --> 00:54:03,417
will find within him, when needed,
837
00:54:03,500 --> 00:54:07,333
the ability to use words,
deeds and appearances
838
00:54:07,417 --> 00:54:11,875
to sway his blind brother who wants
to kill or commit some other evil.
839
00:54:11,958 --> 00:54:15,250
This will produce in him
such a strong impression
840
00:54:15,333 --> 00:54:19,750
that it will make him
turn back onto the right path.
841
00:54:19,958 --> 00:54:21,750
Heavens above!
842
00:54:22,083 --> 00:54:26,083
You mean that, faced with Bashi-Bazouks
who roast babies over a low flame,
843
00:54:26,167 --> 00:54:29,958
he ought to have made moving gestures
844
00:54:30,042 --> 00:54:32,500
and uttered moving words?
845
00:54:32,583 --> 00:54:34,292
Words, my dear Olga,
846
00:54:34,375 --> 00:54:37,583
given the distance between them
and the lack of a shared language,
847
00:54:37,667 --> 00:54:40,708
would likely have been out of place.
848
00:54:40,917 --> 00:54:45,708
As for moving gestures,
whatever you might say,
849
00:54:45,792 --> 00:54:50,083
nothing better than that
could have been found.
850
00:54:50,500 --> 00:54:51,792
In fact,
851
00:54:51,875 --> 00:54:54,917
in what language and by what means
852
00:54:55,000 --> 00:54:59,000
could the general have got along
with the Bashi-Bazouks?
853
00:54:59,083 --> 00:55:03,708
I didn't say he could have treated them
in accordance with the Gospels.
854
00:55:03,792 --> 00:55:07,083
I said only that a man
filled with evangelical grace
855
00:55:07,167 --> 00:55:09,833
would have found a solution
even in that situation
856
00:55:09,917 --> 00:55:14,417
to awaken in them
the good that lies hidden in every man.
857
00:55:14,542 --> 00:55:16,958
Do you really believe that?
858
00:55:17,042 --> 00:55:19,750
I do not doubt it.
859
00:55:19,833 --> 00:55:25,292
Then you believe that Christ was imbued
with sufficient evangelical grace?
860
00:55:25,375 --> 00:55:27,125
What kind of question is that?
861
00:55:27,208 --> 00:55:32,000
I wish to know why Christ
did not use His evangelical grace
862
00:55:32,083 --> 00:55:34,583
to awaken the hidden good
in the souls of Judas,
863
00:55:34,667 --> 00:55:38,667
Herod, the Jewish high priests
and the bad thief.
864
00:55:38,750 --> 00:55:41,458
We forget this
when we speak of the good.
865
00:55:41,542 --> 00:55:45,583
But Olga,
you must sacrifice one or the other.
866
00:55:45,667 --> 00:55:49,083
Either Christ and the Gospels
as the highest authority,
867
00:55:49,167 --> 00:55:51,958
or your moral optimism.
868
00:55:52,042 --> 00:55:54,292
Because the third path,
869
00:55:54,375 --> 00:56:00,167
to regard the Gospels
as fiction or priestly distortion,
870
00:56:00,250 --> 00:56:04,542
a well-trodden path,
is barred to you once and for all.
871
00:56:05,375 --> 00:56:09,417
No matter how much you truncate
the text of the Gospels to suit you,
872
00:56:09,500 --> 00:56:12,167
what remains indisputable,
873
00:56:12,250 --> 00:56:14,917
and what is essential
to our discussion,
874
00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:17,917
is the fact that Christ was persecuted
875
00:56:18,167 --> 00:56:21,292
and killed
because His enemies hated him.
876
00:56:23,583 --> 00:56:26,417
That He remained above such evil,
877
00:56:26,500 --> 00:56:31,958
that He did not resist and forgave them,
we both understand.
878
00:56:32,333 --> 00:56:36,042
But why, in forgiving His enemies,
to put it as you would,
879
00:56:36,125 --> 00:56:40,042
did He not save their souls
from the darkness in which they lay?
880
00:56:40,125 --> 00:56:44,458
Why did He not vanquish their evil
through the power of His meekness?
881
00:56:44,542 --> 00:56:47,500
Why did He not awaken
the dormant good in them?
882
00:56:47,583 --> 00:56:51,292
Why did He not give them
the light and rebirth?
883
00:56:51,375 --> 00:56:54,667
Why did He not act upon Judas,
Herod and the high priests,
884
00:56:54,750 --> 00:56:57,833
as in the case of the good thief?
885
00:56:58,750 --> 00:57:02,458
Therefore,
He either could not or would not.
886
00:57:02,875 --> 00:57:05,542
In both cases, according to you,
it results
887
00:57:05,625 --> 00:57:10,042
that He was not sufficiently imbued
with the true evangelical spirit.
888
00:57:10,125 --> 00:57:14,250
And since we are talking about
The Gospel of Christ,
889
00:57:14,333 --> 00:57:16,000
it becomes clear that Christ
890
00:57:16,083 --> 00:57:20,333
was not imbued
with the true spirit of Christ.
891
00:57:20,417 --> 00:57:22,333
My congratulations!
892
00:57:23,458 --> 00:57:27,042
I am not going to engage you
in a duel of words,
893
00:57:28,125 --> 00:57:32,583
nor would I duel with Ingrida
over the love of Christ.
894
00:57:40,667 --> 00:57:42,917
Nikolai, it seems to me
895
00:57:43,208 --> 00:57:47,042
that the time to have lunch
gradually approaches.
896
00:57:47,625 --> 00:57:48,833
Yes…
897
00:57:49,333 --> 00:57:51,500
we are just about to be served.
898
00:57:52,458 --> 00:57:54,292
Perfect.
899
00:57:54,625 --> 00:57:57,875
And, of course, we cannot conclude
900
00:57:59,333 --> 00:58:02,375
such a discussion so abruptly.
901
00:58:02,667 --> 00:58:05,958
And later we shall have a game of cards.
902
00:58:06,917 --> 00:58:12,083
But we really must continue
this discussion.
903
00:58:12,250 --> 00:58:14,042
Don't you agree, Edouard?
904
00:58:14,125 --> 00:58:16,417
That we should continue
the discussion?
905
00:58:16,500 --> 00:58:20,000
And there I was glad
that it was over!
906
00:58:20,083 --> 00:58:23,625
The discussion had begun
to take on an unpleasant air,
907
00:58:23,708 --> 00:58:26,292
specific to the religious wars.
908
00:58:26,375 --> 00:58:28,667
It is no longer in fashion,
and I value my own skin.
909
00:58:28,750 --> 00:58:30,625
Don't be facetious, Edouard!
910
00:58:30,708 --> 00:58:33,667
You too must take part.
911
00:58:33,750 --> 00:58:37,708
I agree, but on one condition:
less of the religion.
912
00:58:38,083 --> 00:58:42,667
I won't say we'll exclude it altogether,
as that would be impossible.
913
00:58:42,750 --> 00:58:46,000
But let there be less of it,
for God's sake!
914
00:58:46,083 --> 00:58:49,042
That “for God's sake”
is adorable, given the context!
915
00:58:49,125 --> 00:58:54,417
If you want less of the religion,
you should do more of the talking.
916
00:58:54,875 --> 00:58:59,250
Although I would rather listen,
especially in weather like this,
917
00:58:59,333 --> 00:59:02,083
I'm prepared to sacrifice myself
for two hours
918
00:59:02,167 --> 00:59:05,042
to save our little club from civil war,
919
00:59:05,125 --> 00:59:09,250
which might have calamitous effects
on our card game.
920
00:59:09,333 --> 00:59:10,792
What a pure soul!
921
00:59:10,875 --> 00:59:12,542
Perfect!
922
00:59:12,625 --> 00:59:14,333
So…
923
00:59:14,667 --> 00:59:18,750
later we will be able to finish
924
00:59:18,833 --> 00:59:21,667
this discussion of the Gospels,
925
00:59:21,833 --> 00:59:25,958
and Olga might be able to prepare
some unbeatable argument.
926
00:59:30,083 --> 00:59:31,417
In that case,
927
00:59:31,500 --> 00:59:34,042
stay for dinner too, Edouard…
928
00:59:34,125 --> 00:59:37,333
It wouldn't be a bad thing for you
to accustom yourself to spiritual topics.
929
00:59:37,417 --> 00:59:39,583
My self-sacrifice does not go that far.
930
00:59:39,667 --> 00:59:41,542
And tomorrow I depart for Nice.
931
00:59:41,625 --> 00:59:42,958
Nice?
932
00:59:43,042 --> 00:59:44,792
Such naïve diplomacy!
933
00:59:44,875 --> 00:59:49,125
But it's futile!
I deciphered your code long ago.
934
00:59:49,208 --> 00:59:52,333
We all know that when you say
“I depart for Nice,”
935
00:59:52,417 --> 00:59:55,833
it means “a party in Monte Carlo”.
936
00:59:55,917 --> 00:59:57,167
A shame!
937
00:59:57,250 --> 00:59:59,375
We shall manage.
938
00:59:59,458 --> 01:00:01,333
Immerse yourself in matter
939
01:00:01,417 --> 01:00:05,917
if you are not daunted
by the thought of soon becoming spirit.
940
01:00:06,625 --> 01:00:09,583
Go to Nice, to Monte Carlo!
941
01:00:12,000 --> 01:00:14,917
And may Providence reward you
according to your merits!
942
01:00:15,000 --> 01:00:17,750
My merits have nothing to do
with Providence,
943
01:00:17,833 --> 01:00:21,792
but rather the application
of indispensable measures.
944
01:00:22,708 --> 01:00:26,083
As for winnings and other sums,
I accept Providence,
945
01:00:26,167 --> 01:00:29,417
at roulette, as in everything else.
946
01:00:29,500 --> 01:00:34,250
But we should all meet again together.
947
01:00:34,583 --> 01:00:36,458
- Olga!
- Poor child!
948
01:00:37,208 --> 01:00:38,292
Olga!
949
01:00:40,125 --> 01:00:42,458
- István!
- I'll fetch some water.
950
01:00:45,208 --> 01:00:47,583
You know, such topics…
951
01:00:52,292 --> 01:00:54,500
She is as cold as ice!
952
01:00:57,375 --> 01:00:59,375
Open her mouth, please!
953
01:01:00,208 --> 01:01:03,875
Give her room to breathe!
You are crowding her.
954
01:02:10,500 --> 01:02:14,917
Via Chernivtsi,
it is two days to Königsberg.
955
01:02:15,000 --> 01:02:19,417
So, Chernivtsi, Lemberg,
Warsaw, Vilnius.
956
01:02:21,958 --> 01:02:27,167
There is another route,
but it takes longer, around three days.
957
01:02:27,250 --> 01:02:32,417
Via Budapest, Vienna,
Prague, Berlin, Danzig.
958
01:02:32,500 --> 01:02:35,417
Then you reach Königsberg.
959
01:05:20,292 --> 01:05:21,750
Kolea…
960
01:05:42,708 --> 01:05:44,333
Done.
961
01:06:52,042 --> 01:06:53,792
Have you tried it?
962
01:06:54,500 --> 01:06:56,333
Of course.
963
01:06:56,417 --> 01:06:58,500
And you have too, haven't you?
964
01:06:58,583 --> 01:07:02,667
The moving walkway is an invention
965
01:07:02,750 --> 01:07:08,750
used for conveying
the countless visitors…
966
01:07:08,833 --> 01:07:11,417
- 50 million.
- Yes.
967
01:07:13,333 --> 01:07:15,542
Fewer, actually.
968
01:07:17,625 --> 01:07:21,417
I have always felt well
in such a company.
969
01:07:21,500 --> 01:07:23,750
At Monte Carlo, for example.
970
01:07:24,458 --> 01:07:27,208
At Monte Carlo or elsewhere.
971
01:07:27,292 --> 01:07:31,417
Nowhere is there felt the need
for a specimen of higher virtue.
972
01:07:32,667 --> 01:07:36,667
But try living in a world
with not even one polite man.
973
01:07:36,750 --> 01:07:40,458
I'm not sure I understand.
To which world do you refer?
974
01:07:41,042 --> 01:07:44,125
Imagine the soldiers, at Solferino,
975
01:07:44,208 --> 01:07:48,250
exchanging pleasantries
as they shoot at each other.
976
01:07:48,333 --> 01:07:51,750
You might as well have said
that people crossing central Africa
977
01:07:51,833 --> 01:07:53,958
require something other
than politeness.
978
01:07:54,625 --> 01:07:59,125
But I refer to everyday life,
in a civilised human society.
979
01:07:59,208 --> 01:08:00,958
Well, in that case,
980
01:08:01,083 --> 01:08:03,958
there is no need for higher virtue
981
01:08:04,042 --> 01:08:06,542
or for so-called Christianity.
982
01:08:08,125 --> 01:08:09,833
Do you nod?
983
01:08:09,917 --> 01:08:13,333
I'm thinking of a sad event
of which I recently learned.
984
01:08:13,417 --> 01:08:16,167
Our friend Miklos, who died last Monday.
985
01:08:16,250 --> 01:08:18,708
But how is it
that you recalled him now?
986
01:08:18,792 --> 01:08:20,833
Did he die
due to somebody's impoliteness?
987
01:08:20,917 --> 01:08:24,250
On the contrary,
he died due to his own politeness.
988
01:08:24,333 --> 01:08:27,375
Tell us about it, if you are able.
989
01:08:27,458 --> 01:08:29,167
There is nothing to hide.
990
01:08:29,917 --> 01:08:31,792
Our friend,
991
01:08:31,875 --> 01:08:34,750
who also regarded politeness
as the first rung of social morality,
992
01:08:34,833 --> 01:08:39,000
felt duty-bound to follow its rules
as strictly as possible.
993
01:08:39,083 --> 01:08:40,167
Meaning?
994
01:08:40,250 --> 01:08:43,417
To read every letter,
regardless of the sender,
995
01:08:43,500 --> 01:08:47,417
as well as every book and pamphlet
he was sent to review,
996
01:08:47,500 --> 01:08:49,917
to answer every letter,
997
01:08:50,000 --> 01:08:52,292
and to write every review,
998
01:08:52,375 --> 01:08:55,708
to meet absolutely
every demand made of him.
999
01:08:55,792 --> 01:08:57,083
That is enormous!
1000
01:08:57,167 --> 01:09:00,500
As a result, every day
he was busy with others' affairs,
1001
01:09:00,583 --> 01:09:02,875
setting aside for himself
only the nights.
1002
01:09:02,958 --> 01:09:05,208
Further, he accepted every invitation,
1003
01:09:05,292 --> 01:09:08,458
and received every guest
who found him at home.
1004
01:09:09,167 --> 01:09:12,208
As long as he was young
and could handle strong liquor,
1005
01:09:12,292 --> 01:09:15,792
this convict's life,
although oppressive,
1006
01:09:15,875 --> 01:09:21,083
was not transformed into tragedy,
since wine saved him from despair.
1007
01:09:21,167 --> 01:09:24,417
When he felt like hanging himself,
he laid hands on a bottle
1008
01:09:24,500 --> 01:09:28,333
and having taken a gulp,
he bore his cross more bravely.
1009
01:09:28,875 --> 01:09:31,250
But he had a delicate constitution.
1010
01:09:31,333 --> 01:09:34,125
At the age of around forty,
he gave up drinking.
1011
01:09:34,208 --> 01:09:36,833
Without strong drink,
his penance seemed hellish,
1012
01:09:36,917 --> 01:09:38,792
and we heard
he has committed suicide.
1013
01:09:38,875 --> 01:09:42,000
All because of politeness?
He was clearly insane!
1014
01:09:42,083 --> 01:09:44,708
He had lost his equilibrium,
but he was not insane.
1015
01:09:44,792 --> 01:09:46,708
I too know of cases of insanity
1016
01:09:46,792 --> 01:09:49,667
that are enough
to make you lose your mind.
1017
01:09:49,917 --> 01:09:51,583
It is not so simple.
1018
01:09:51,667 --> 01:09:55,167
Forgive me, but politeness is not
to blame for your friend's insanity.
1019
01:09:55,250 --> 01:09:59,250
He meant that politeness
cannot be an absolute rule.
1020
01:09:59,333 --> 01:10:04,500
Absolute rules were invented
by those devoid of any sense of reality.
1021
01:10:04,833 --> 01:10:07,292
I do not allow any absolute rule.
1022
01:10:07,833 --> 01:10:10,500
I only allow only indispensable rules.
1023
01:10:10,958 --> 01:10:15,375
I know for certain that
if I do not obey the rules of hygiene,
1024
01:10:15,458 --> 01:10:18,250
both I myself and others
will be disgusted at me.
1025
01:10:18,333 --> 01:10:22,250
Not wishing to cause or experience
unpleasant sensations,
1026
01:10:22,417 --> 01:10:26,083
every day I obey the rule
of washing myself,
1027
01:10:26,167 --> 01:10:28,125
changing my underlinen,
1028
01:10:28,333 --> 01:10:31,250
and not because
it's the done thing
1029
01:10:31,333 --> 01:10:33,833
or because it's something sacred,
1030
01:10:33,917 --> 01:10:36,167
but because violation of this rule
1031
01:10:36,250 --> 01:10:39,417
is ipso facto unprofitable.
1032
01:10:39,500 --> 01:10:41,667
Such pragmatism!
1033
01:10:41,750 --> 01:10:46,792
It is the same with politeness,
of which bodily hygiene is part.
1034
01:10:47,250 --> 01:10:50,792
It's more convenient to obey the rules
than to break them.
1035
01:10:50,875 --> 01:10:53,333
Therefore I obey them.
1036
01:10:53,417 --> 01:10:56,208
If your friend deemed
that politeness required him
1037
01:10:56,292 --> 01:10:59,458
to answer every letter and request,
1038
01:10:59,542 --> 01:11:01,542
heedless of his own convenience,
1039
01:11:01,625 --> 01:11:03,625
it was no longer politeness,
1040
01:11:03,750 --> 01:11:05,917
but stupid self-sacrifice.
1041
01:11:06,000 --> 01:11:09,417
Scrupulousness became a mania
that destroyed him.
1042
01:11:09,500 --> 01:11:12,958
It is terrible to see a man die
for so stupid a reason.
1043
01:11:13,042 --> 01:11:15,583
Couldn't you make him see sense?
1044
01:11:15,667 --> 01:11:17,958
I tried everything.
1045
01:11:18,625 --> 01:11:21,667
He had a strong ally, Umberto,
1046
01:11:21,792 --> 01:11:24,833
a monk, a kind of holy fool.
1047
01:11:24,917 --> 01:11:27,042
Miklos, my friend,
1048
01:11:27,167 --> 01:11:31,417
respected him and often asked
his advice on spiritual matters.
1049
01:11:31,500 --> 01:11:34,333
Umberto immediately sniffed out
the root of his sufferings.
1050
01:11:34,417 --> 01:11:39,083
I know this monk and was sometimes
present during their talks.
1051
01:11:39,208 --> 01:11:42,708
As soon as Miklos laid out to him
his moral doubts,
1052
01:11:42,792 --> 01:11:46,458
asking him whether he was right,
or whether he had erred,
1053
01:11:46,542 --> 01:11:49,250
Umberto interrupted: “Enough!
1054
01:11:49,333 --> 01:11:52,042
There's no point
glooming over your sins.
1055
01:11:52,125 --> 01:11:53,542
Listen to what I say:
1056
01:11:53,625 --> 01:11:55,833
Sin 539 times a day…”
1057
01:11:55,917 --> 01:11:58,167
539 times?
1058
01:11:58,250 --> 01:12:00,083
- 539 times.
- How healthy.
1059
01:12:00,167 --> 01:12:01,333
A day!
1060
01:12:01,417 --> 01:12:03,250
“And above all, do not repent,
1061
01:12:03,333 --> 01:12:06,125
anyone can repent after sinning.
1062
01:12:06,208 --> 01:12:09,208
Sin away and never repent.
1063
01:12:10,167 --> 01:12:11,708
If sinning is evil,
1064
01:12:11,792 --> 01:12:15,625
remembering evil means being rancorous,
which is not good.
1065
01:12:16,167 --> 01:12:18,958
The worst rancour
is to remember your own sins.
1066
01:12:19,042 --> 01:12:22,792
Better you remember
the evil done to you by others,
1067
01:12:23,042 --> 01:12:25,625
it will help you in future
to avoid them.
1068
01:12:25,708 --> 01:12:29,958
As for the evil you yourself do,
erase it completely from memory.
1069
01:12:30,333 --> 01:12:33,958
The only mortal sin is sorrow,
because it gives rise to despair,
1070
01:12:34,042 --> 01:12:38,375
and despair goes beyond sin,
it is the very death of the soul.
1071
01:12:39,375 --> 01:12:42,042
And then, what other sins are there?
1072
01:12:42,125 --> 01:12:43,625
Drunkenness?
1073
01:12:44,708 --> 01:12:47,792
An intelligent man
drinks as much as he can hold,
1074
01:12:48,417 --> 01:12:50,750
if he can't hold it,
he doesn't drink.
1075
01:12:50,917 --> 01:12:54,125
But a fool gets drunk
even on spring water.
1076
01:12:54,208 --> 01:12:57,667
It means that not wine,
but stupidity is to blame.
1077
01:12:57,792 --> 01:13:00,500
Out of stupidity,
some inflame themselves with wine
1078
01:13:00,583 --> 01:13:04,208
not only on the outside,
but on the inside too,
1079
01:13:04,458 --> 01:13:10,042
they are inflamed and burn,
I have seen it myself,” said Umberto.
1080
01:13:10,125 --> 01:13:12,250
Of what evil do we speak
1081
01:13:12,333 --> 01:13:15,958
when before your very eyes,
you spout the flames of hell?
1082
01:13:16,750 --> 01:13:19,333
“As for breaking the 6th commandment,
1083
01:13:19,458 --> 01:13:21,750
with hand on heart, I say:
1084
01:13:21,833 --> 01:13:24,875
to judge is not easy,
but to praise is impossible.
1085
01:13:24,958 --> 01:13:26,250
I don't recommend it!
1086
01:13:26,333 --> 01:13:28,583
Certainly, it is a great pleasure,
1087
01:13:28,667 --> 01:13:30,292
no doubt about it,
1088
01:13:30,375 --> 01:13:33,833
but thereafter comes despair,
which shortens life.”
1089
01:13:35,917 --> 01:13:37,958
He used to say:
1090
01:13:38,500 --> 01:13:40,750
“In youth, when one is still raw,
1091
01:13:40,833 --> 01:13:44,667
desire is great, but after that,
you control yourself.
1092
01:13:44,750 --> 01:13:49,917
Then you start raking up the past,
tormenting yourself with questions:
1093
01:13:50,000 --> 01:13:54,667
How did I lose my innocence,
purity and bodily cleanliness?
1094
01:13:54,750 --> 01:13:58,500
It is utter stupidity,
it means becoming the devil's buffoon.
1095
01:13:58,583 --> 01:14:03,333
And devil is flattered to see
that your soul, rather than rising,
1096
01:14:03,417 --> 01:14:06,167
still flounders in the mud.
1097
01:14:06,833 --> 01:14:08,750
My advice is this:
1098
01:14:09,208 --> 01:14:15,167
As soon as the devil appears,
tempting you with repentance,
1099
01:14:15,333 --> 01:14:17,958
spit in the wind and tell him:
1100
01:14:18,042 --> 01:14:19,542
These are my grave sins,
1101
01:14:19,625 --> 01:14:22,542
and this is
how much I think they're worth!
1102
01:14:22,625 --> 01:14:25,167
He will leave you alone,
I speak from experience”,
1103
01:14:25,250 --> 01:14:27,000
said Umberto.
1104
01:14:29,625 --> 01:14:32,083
“What other sins are there?
1105
01:14:32,250 --> 01:14:34,375
You're not going to steal, are you?
1106
01:14:34,458 --> 01:14:38,458
And even if you did, it's not serious.
Nowadays everyone steals.
1107
01:14:38,542 --> 01:14:42,958
Stop worrying about trifles
and seek to avoid sorrow.
1108
01:14:43,042 --> 01:14:45,417
When you remember your sins,
1109
01:14:45,500 --> 01:14:48,542
when you ask yourself
whether you have upset anyone,
1110
01:14:48,625 --> 01:14:50,583
go to the theatre instead.
1111
01:14:50,708 --> 01:14:53,083
Go out with friends.
1112
01:14:53,167 --> 01:14:55,000
Read farces.
1113
01:14:55,375 --> 01:14:59,083
And if you really want a rule,
this is it:
1114
01:14:59,167 --> 01:15:00,958
Be strong in faith,
1115
01:15:01,042 --> 01:15:06,292
not for the fear of sin,
but for the joy of living with God.”
1116
01:15:06,958 --> 01:15:08,500
Do you hear that?
1117
01:15:09,875 --> 01:15:13,500
“Without God it is terrible.
1118
01:15:13,583 --> 01:15:15,708
Study the word of God.
1119
01:15:16,083 --> 01:15:19,583
If you read carefully,
every verse is a pearl.
1120
01:15:19,667 --> 01:15:23,708
Pray from your heart,
at least once or twice a day.
1121
01:15:29,958 --> 01:15:31,792
And of course, don't forget to wash…”
1122
01:15:31,875 --> 01:15:33,750
That's for you.
1123
01:15:33,917 --> 01:15:37,083
“A sincere prayer
is the best soap for the soul.
1124
01:15:37,167 --> 01:15:40,958
Fast for a healthy stomach and innards,
1125
01:15:41,042 --> 01:15:43,208
don't think about
other people's affairs,
1126
01:15:44,125 --> 01:15:47,292
don't engage in good works
if you have other business,
1127
01:15:47,375 --> 01:15:50,542
be generous to the paupers
who cross your path,
1128
01:15:50,625 --> 01:15:54,000
donate to churches and monasteries
without keeping score,
1129
01:15:54,083 --> 01:15:57,042
since the balance
will be settled in Heaven.
1130
01:15:57,125 --> 01:16:00,250
In this way,
you will be healthy in body and soul.
1131
01:16:00,667 --> 01:16:03,833
Ignore the bigots who look
1132
01:16:03,917 --> 01:16:05,750
to sway your soul,
since theirs are empty.”
1133
01:16:09,583 --> 01:16:12,833
These words had an effect on our friend,
1134
01:16:12,917 --> 01:16:16,208
but could not halt
the tide of impressions
1135
01:16:16,292 --> 01:16:17,500
that overwhelmed him.
1136
01:16:17,583 --> 01:16:22,625
But your monk, in his own fashion,
says more or less the same as I do.
1137
01:16:22,708 --> 01:16:24,667
What an astounding moralist!
1138
01:16:24,750 --> 01:16:28,250
Sin and do not repent: That I like.
1139
01:16:28,333 --> 01:16:31,167
I assume he does not say
the same thing to everyone.
1140
01:16:31,250 --> 01:16:35,583
I think he takes a different tone
with fools or villains.
1141
01:16:35,917 --> 01:16:37,208
Quite right.
1142
01:16:37,292 --> 01:16:40,750
When he observes excess scruple,
he becomes philosophical,
1143
01:16:40,833 --> 01:16:42,417
even fatalistic.
1144
01:16:43,208 --> 01:16:48,417
Umberto also stirred the interest
of a very intelligent old lady.
1145
01:16:48,500 --> 01:16:51,625
She was of the Russian faith,
but educated abroad.
1146
01:16:51,708 --> 01:16:56,125
On hearing of him, she wanted him
to be her spiritual adviser.
1147
01:16:56,583 --> 01:16:59,542
But he would not let her voice
her spiritual concerns.
1148
01:16:59,625 --> 01:17:03,417
“Why fret over such foolery?”
he said.
1149
01:17:03,542 --> 01:17:04,833
“To what avail?
1150
01:17:04,917 --> 01:17:09,333
“If it bores me, a mere peasant,
how could it be of any interest to God?
1151
01:17:09,417 --> 01:17:13,958
“Enough! You're a wizened old crone
and you'll never be more than that.”
1152
01:17:15,500 --> 01:17:18,667
She herself told me the story,
with tears of laughter.
1153
01:17:24,458 --> 01:17:27,708
She tried to contradict him,
1154
01:17:29,083 --> 01:17:33,917
but he won the argument with a tale
from the Lives of the Holy Fathers.
1155
01:17:34,000 --> 01:17:35,583
What tale?
1156
01:17:36,583 --> 01:17:40,083
A story Umberto used to tell us,
Miklos and me.
1157
01:17:40,167 --> 01:17:41,750
A beautiful story,
1158
01:17:41,833 --> 01:17:44,583
but it would take too long
to tell it now.
1159
01:17:44,667 --> 01:17:46,333
Do you hear?
1160
01:17:47,250 --> 01:17:48,500
Yes.
1161
01:17:48,583 --> 01:17:50,667
Yes, it's Christmas Eve.
1162
01:17:50,750 --> 01:17:53,250
Is it to… to herald Christmas.
1163
01:17:53,333 --> 01:17:54,958
It is the tradition here.
1164
01:17:55,042 --> 01:17:57,667
- Do you want to listen to them?
- Certainly.
1165
01:17:58,250 --> 01:18:00,542
We would like to go outside, please.
1166
01:18:01,833 --> 01:18:03,875
It is a male choir, isn't it?
1167
01:18:05,375 --> 01:18:08,250
Yes, the villagers carol at every house.
1168
01:18:10,917 --> 01:18:12,750
Quick, quick!
1169
01:19:31,375 --> 01:19:33,583
Let's have some tea.
1170
01:19:46,042 --> 01:19:48,125
A little brandy, perhaps?
1171
01:21:46,333 --> 01:21:49,292
Tell Madame to come quickly,
the Count is unwell.
1172
01:21:49,375 --> 01:21:50,750
Tell her!
1173
01:22:05,750 --> 01:22:07,333
Kolea!
1174
01:22:10,542 --> 01:22:14,792
Fetch Dr. Blumenfeld,
the count is bleeding.
1175
01:22:14,875 --> 01:22:16,208
Quickly!
1176
01:23:32,167 --> 01:23:35,083
… 29th, Saint Thomas à Becket,
1177
01:23:35,167 --> 01:23:39,333
30th, Sunday of the Holy Family,
1178
01:23:39,417 --> 01:23:42,792
31st, Saint…
1179
01:23:44,417 --> 01:23:47,375
Saint Silvester I, Pope,
1180
01:23:47,458 --> 01:23:51,500
1st, St. Mary, Mother of God…
1181
01:23:57,500 --> 01:23:59,542
Sárika, come here!
1182
01:24:00,667 --> 01:24:02,875
Smell this!
1183
01:24:05,292 --> 01:24:07,792
Is that normal?
1184
01:24:07,875 --> 01:24:09,708
Smell it again!
1185
01:24:15,042 --> 01:24:17,125
I've told you before!
1186
01:24:17,708 --> 01:24:19,625
Go and fetch him!
1187
01:24:26,917 --> 01:24:29,833
Water, please. Five glasses.
1188
01:26:13,875 --> 01:26:15,792
Taste it.
1189
01:26:21,958 --> 01:26:23,667
Drink it all!
1190
01:26:26,417 --> 01:26:28,125
Go on.
1191
01:26:29,167 --> 01:26:30,792
Go on.
1192
01:26:39,750 --> 01:26:42,500
It happened last week,
1193
01:26:43,958 --> 01:26:46,250
it happened this week,
1194
01:26:50,125 --> 01:26:52,375
if it happens again…
1195
01:26:58,292 --> 01:27:01,708
Jancsi. What about the samovar?
1196
01:27:09,958 --> 01:27:12,333
They will have tea now.
1197
01:27:12,417 --> 01:27:15,083
We serve dinner at eight.
1198
01:27:15,167 --> 01:27:19,000
Go to the kitchen
and correct everything, everything.
1199
01:27:19,083 --> 01:27:22,667
Because if it happens again,
1200
01:27:23,625 --> 01:27:26,333
I will be very, very upset.
1201
01:27:26,417 --> 01:27:28,125
Do you understand?
1202
01:27:28,708 --> 01:27:30,292
Go.
1203
01:27:56,792 --> 01:28:01,125
For a cough, butter a quince,
boil it thoroughly,
1204
01:28:01,208 --> 01:28:04,292
then eat the quince
and drink the liquid.
1205
01:28:04,792 --> 01:28:08,708
For bad breath,
boil white willow leaf
1206
01:28:08,792 --> 01:28:11,875
and wash your mouth ten times…
1207
01:28:11,958 --> 01:28:13,625
Careful!
1208
01:28:15,792 --> 01:28:18,250
You wash your mouth ten times.
1209
01:28:18,458 --> 01:28:24,625
For a cramp, rub the spot,
three Tuesdays in a row,
1210
01:28:24,708 --> 01:28:28,042
with the dust from the peel of a quince.
1211
01:28:38,042 --> 01:28:40,875
Truly sensational!
1212
01:28:41,625 --> 01:28:44,583
- Pardon?
- They killed that girl.
1213
01:28:44,667 --> 01:28:46,000
Who?
1214
01:28:46,083 --> 01:28:48,375
From the Cabaret.
1215
01:28:53,500 --> 01:28:55,667
Turcsánsky…
1216
01:28:56,792 --> 01:28:58,458
Elsa.
1217
01:29:10,417 --> 01:29:12,667
Now we lift you up.
1218
01:29:13,792 --> 01:29:16,042
Gently, gently!
1219
01:29:16,833 --> 01:29:18,542
Easy does it.
1220
01:29:21,042 --> 01:29:22,958
Easy.
1221
01:29:30,917 --> 01:29:33,958
She was called Elsa the Witch.
1222
01:29:34,375 --> 01:29:36,417
Who?
1223
01:29:37,125 --> 01:29:40,875
The husband, Schmitt… Miksa.
1224
01:29:41,917 --> 01:29:45,000
The tycoon, with the furniture factory.
1225
01:29:45,083 --> 01:29:46,792
I read about it.
1226
01:29:53,917 --> 01:29:55,958
We've finished.
1227
01:30:05,542 --> 01:30:07,167
Easy…
1228
01:30:18,875 --> 01:30:20,667
- What about the tea?
- Straight away.
1229
01:30:20,750 --> 01:30:23,958
Chamomile, marigold, lavender, mint.
1230
01:30:27,708 --> 01:30:30,000
We lift him up slowly.
1231
01:30:36,208 --> 01:30:38,292
Gently, gently.
1232
01:30:42,875 --> 01:30:44,792
Alright.
1233
01:30:49,500 --> 01:30:51,583
Now a little higher.
1234
01:31:06,333 --> 01:31:08,333
Are you comfortable?
1235
01:31:25,250 --> 01:31:28,000
- Olga?
- I'm here!
1236
01:31:28,083 --> 01:31:30,208
- Do you still need me?
- No.
1237
01:31:39,417 --> 01:31:42,875
Yesterday, European nations
were united in the struggle for defence,
1238
01:31:42,958 --> 01:31:45,833
today are they united
in spreading civilisation?
1239
01:31:46,250 --> 01:31:47,625
Excuse me…
1240
01:31:56,542 --> 01:31:58,958
The bad politics of the Bourbons…
1241
01:31:59,042 --> 01:32:01,083
- Did you call me?
- What do you want?
1242
01:32:01,167 --> 01:32:04,625
- Did you call me?
- No, damn it! Leave me alone.
1243
01:32:06,083 --> 01:32:08,708
This is precisely what we call
an ugly story.
1244
01:32:09,583 --> 01:32:12,708
Let me invite you to take tea
in the library.
1245
01:32:13,458 --> 01:32:16,667
It's not a question of words,
political mistakes must be paid for.
1246
01:32:16,750 --> 01:32:19,250
Let them see it as something mystical,
if they like.
1247
01:32:19,333 --> 01:32:23,750
Admit that your political remedy
is ultimately tedious.
1248
01:32:23,833 --> 01:32:26,750
Had I not been interrupted,
I would have finished with the topic
1249
01:32:26,833 --> 01:32:29,542
and given the floor
to a more entertaining speaker.
1250
01:32:29,625 --> 01:32:32,333
Don't be angry, I was joking.
1251
01:32:32,417 --> 01:32:35,500
Quite the contrary,
I find you highly witty
1252
01:32:35,583 --> 01:32:39,000
for your age and condition.
1253
01:32:39,083 --> 01:32:42,333
All I was saying is that now
we are united with Europe
1254
01:32:42,417 --> 01:32:44,667
in our task of civilising Turkey.
1255
01:32:44,750 --> 01:32:48,167
That is why
we must have a common strategy.
1256
01:32:50,958 --> 01:32:54,375
Well then, dear Nikolai,
do you have Turkish tea for us?
1257
01:32:54,458 --> 01:32:56,042
Turkish tea? No.
1258
01:32:56,125 --> 01:32:58,875
That was cutting, Madeleine.
1259
01:32:58,958 --> 01:33:01,833
I would not have dared
with Turkish tea.
1260
01:33:01,917 --> 01:33:04,542
It's ordinary Russian tea.
1261
01:33:06,417 --> 01:33:08,000
The best.
1262
01:33:08,083 --> 01:33:10,708
Exactly, the best tea.
1263
01:33:11,833 --> 01:33:14,708
I'm thinking of a Chinese dictum,
1264
01:33:14,792 --> 01:33:18,917
related to me
by our friend, the Ambassador.
1265
01:33:20,833 --> 01:33:24,333
It goes like this:
1266
01:33:52,083 --> 01:33:54,125
Although we are still powerless
in Turkey,
1267
01:33:54,208 --> 01:33:56,625
we can play a key role
1268
01:33:56,708 --> 01:33:59,208
in Central Asia
and the Far East in particular,
1269
01:33:59,292 --> 01:34:04,250
where, it seems, universal history
is about to shift its centre of gravity.
1270
01:34:04,875 --> 01:34:07,375
Thanks to its position,
1271
01:34:07,458 --> 01:34:11,042
Russia can do more there
than any other nation,
1272
01:34:11,125 --> 01:34:13,333
apart from England, of course.
1273
01:34:13,417 --> 01:34:15,875
Therefore our policy in this respect
1274
01:34:15,958 --> 01:34:20,375
must aim for a permanent agreement
with the English,
1275
01:34:20,458 --> 01:34:23,208
lest our civilising partnership
1276
01:34:23,292 --> 01:34:28,000
deteriorate into absurd animosity
or undignified rivalry.
1277
01:34:28,333 --> 01:34:31,542
Never in people's lives
or in that of nations
1278
01:34:31,917 --> 01:34:36,208
have I heard of a case
where hostility or envy between partners
1279
01:34:36,292 --> 01:34:40,417
has made
either stronger, richer, happier.
1280
01:34:40,500 --> 01:34:44,042
Intelligent people know this
and I think
1281
01:34:44,125 --> 01:34:47,500
an intelligent nation such as Russia
will act on it.
1282
01:34:47,583 --> 01:34:51,708
To be at odds with the English
in the Far East would be insane.
1283
01:34:51,792 --> 01:34:56,542
Not to mention the disadvantage
of quarrelling in front of strangers.
1284
01:34:56,625 --> 01:35:01,875
Or do you think we're more akin
to the yellow-faced Chinese
1285
01:35:01,958 --> 01:35:04,625
than to the fellow countrymen
of Shakespeare and Byron?
1286
01:35:04,708 --> 01:35:06,750
It is a delicate matter.
1287
01:35:07,167 --> 01:35:09,458
Just remember,
1288
01:35:09,542 --> 01:35:13,708
if we accept my viewpoint
and recognise that at present
1289
01:35:13,917 --> 01:35:16,833
Russia's policy must set itself
two tasks alone:
1290
01:35:16,917 --> 01:35:19,458
To preserve the peace in Europe,
1291
01:35:19,542 --> 01:35:22,458
since any war in Europe would,
at this point,
1292
01:35:22,542 --> 01:35:26,125
be an absurd and criminal civil war,
1293
01:35:26,458 --> 01:35:27,500
and two,
1294
01:35:27,583 --> 01:35:31,333
to civilise the barbarian peoples
within our sphere of influence.
1295
01:35:31,417 --> 01:35:33,833
We shall see that these two tasks
1296
01:35:33,917 --> 01:35:37,292
are of intrinsic value,
and mutually support each other,
1297
01:35:37,375 --> 01:35:39,708
astonishingly so,
1298
01:35:39,792 --> 01:35:42,792
as each is conditional
upon the other.
1299
01:35:42,917 --> 01:35:46,333
If the Chinese knew
that Europe was behind us,
1300
01:35:46,417 --> 01:35:48,792
do you think
we would be powerless in Asia?
1301
01:35:49,458 --> 01:35:53,500
But if they see Europe
not behind Russia, but against it,
1302
01:35:53,833 --> 01:35:58,792
they might even think
to attack our borders,
1303
01:35:59,292 --> 01:36:04,000
forcing us to defend our borders
on two fronts 10,000 km apart.
1304
01:36:04,083 --> 01:36:07,250
I don't believe in the bogeyman
of a Mongol invasion,
1305
01:36:07,333 --> 01:36:11,167
because I do not allow
the possibility of war in Europe,
1306
01:36:11,250 --> 01:36:15,417
but should there be a war,
we would also have to fear the Mongols.
1307
01:36:15,500 --> 01:36:20,042
According to you, war in Europe
and a Mongol invasion are unlikely,
1308
01:36:20,125 --> 01:36:24,917
but I don't believe at all in this
“solidarity of the European nations”
1309
01:36:25,000 --> 01:36:27,708
or in a future universal peace.
1310
01:36:27,792 --> 01:36:29,500
It is unnatural,
1311
01:36:29,583 --> 01:36:32,042
a chimaera.
1312
01:36:32,125 --> 01:36:35,375
Not for nothing do we sing in church:
1313
01:36:35,458 --> 01:36:38,000
“Peace on earth
and goodwill to man.”
1314
01:36:38,083 --> 01:36:40,875
In other words, there will be peace
1315
01:36:40,958 --> 01:36:44,208
only when there is goodwill to man.
1316
01:36:44,292 --> 01:36:47,750
But where is this goodwill?
1317
01:36:47,833 --> 01:36:49,792
Have you seen it?
1318
01:36:51,500 --> 01:36:55,625
There is only one European power
to which we both feel
1319
01:36:55,708 --> 01:36:59,458
a genuine and sincere goodwill:
the Principality of Monaco.
1320
01:36:59,542 --> 01:37:02,333
And our peace with it is very stable.
1321
01:37:03,250 --> 01:37:08,333
But let us consider the Germans
and those Englishmen of ours,
1322
01:37:08,583 --> 01:37:11,000
since their interests are ours too,
1323
01:37:11,083 --> 01:37:14,667
since their contentment
is ours too, is it not?
1324
01:37:14,750 --> 01:37:18,667
This solidarity with the Europeans
will never be possible over here.
1325
01:37:18,750 --> 01:37:20,292
How can it not be possible,
1326
01:37:20,375 --> 01:37:23,958
when it already exists?
When it is in the nature of things?
1327
01:37:24,042 --> 01:37:28,250
We are in solidarity with the Europeans
because we too are Europeans.
1328
01:37:28,333 --> 01:37:31,583
Ever since the 18th century,
it has been an accomplished fact.
1329
01:37:31,667 --> 01:37:34,250
Neither the savagery
of the Russian masses
1330
01:37:34,333 --> 01:37:37,000
nor the chimaeras of the Slavophiles
will alter anything.
1331
01:37:37,083 --> 01:37:39,917
Are then the Europeans
in solidarity among themselves?
1332
01:37:40,000 --> 01:37:42,000
The French and the Germans,
for example,
1333
01:37:42,083 --> 01:37:44,833
or the English
with the one and the other?
1334
01:37:44,917 --> 01:37:50,375
Apparently, even the Swedes have shed
their solidarity with the Norwegians.
1335
01:37:51,542 --> 01:37:53,167
I shall say only this:
1336
01:37:53,250 --> 01:37:56,875
before declaring ourselves Europeans,
let us at least wait
1337
01:37:56,958 --> 01:37:59,667
until the European nations are united.
1338
01:37:59,750 --> 01:38:03,417
We can hardly tear ourselves to pieces
out of solidarity with Europeans,
1339
01:38:03,500 --> 01:38:06,292
when they are
at daggers drawn among themselves.
1340
01:38:06,375 --> 01:38:08,708
Now they're at daggers drawn!
Don't worry.
1341
01:38:08,792 --> 01:38:12,750
Neither between Sweden and Norway,
nor even between France and Germany,
1342
01:38:12,833 --> 01:38:15,500
will there be a rupture.
1343
01:38:15,583 --> 01:38:16,708
So much is obvious.
1344
01:38:16,792 --> 01:38:18,250
Only in our country
1345
01:38:18,333 --> 01:38:20,958
do so many people believe that France
1346
01:38:21,042 --> 01:38:24,042
is a bunch of adventurers
fit for prison.
1347
01:38:24,125 --> 01:38:25,750
That is where they belong.
1348
01:38:25,833 --> 01:38:30,042
Let them voice their nationalism there
and preach war with Germany.
1349
01:38:30,458 --> 01:38:32,208
It would be good
1350
01:38:32,292 --> 01:38:35,208
if nationalist animosity
could be put in prison.
1351
01:38:35,292 --> 01:38:37,625
But I think you're wrong.
1352
01:38:37,708 --> 01:38:39,167
Naturally,
1353
01:38:39,250 --> 01:38:41,208
I said it with a grain of salt.
1354
01:38:41,292 --> 01:38:45,000
Obviously,
Europe is not yet a unified whole.
1355
01:38:45,125 --> 01:38:49,583
Even if regional separatism
existed even in the 16th century,
1356
01:38:49,667 --> 01:38:51,458
it was giving up the ghost,
1357
01:38:51,542 --> 01:38:55,833
and state unity, now a reality,
had begun to take shape.
1358
01:38:55,917 --> 01:38:57,458
The same as in Europe now:
1359
01:38:57,542 --> 01:39:00,667
although there are still
regional antagonisms,
1360
01:39:00,750 --> 01:39:04,167
particularly among the masses
and ill-educated politicians,
1361
01:39:04,250 --> 01:39:07,333
they cannot lead
to any significant action.
1362
01:39:07,417 --> 01:39:10,542
They cannot cause a war in Europe!
1363
01:39:10,625 --> 01:39:12,708
Does it matter
that the French and Germans
1364
01:39:12,792 --> 01:39:16,167
bear each other no goodwill,
as long as they don't fight?
1365
01:39:16,250 --> 01:39:18,333
And that will not happen.
1366
01:39:18,417 --> 01:39:23,000
If we concede Europe to be a whole,
it does not follow that we are European.
1367
01:39:23,333 --> 01:39:27,833
For the last 20 years, there has been
a widespread opinion that Europe,
1368
01:39:27,917 --> 01:39:30,042
that is, the aggregate
of the Romano-German peoples,
1369
01:39:30,125 --> 01:39:34,792
constitutes a unified
cultural and historical type.
1370
01:39:34,958 --> 01:39:37,542
But we Russians
belong not to this type,
1371
01:39:37,625 --> 01:39:40,750
but to another, the Greco-Slavic.
1372
01:39:40,833 --> 01:39:44,125
We are familiar with those gentlemen
who rail against Europe
1373
01:39:44,208 --> 01:39:46,625
and our Greco-Slavonic origins,
1374
01:39:46,708 --> 01:39:48,625
casting themselves headlong
1375
01:39:48,708 --> 01:39:52,875
into preaching Confucianism,
Buddhism, Tibetanism,
1376
01:39:52,958 --> 01:39:56,042
and other Indo-Mongolian barbarities.
1377
01:39:56,625 --> 01:39:57,792
Their distance from Europe
1378
01:39:57,875 --> 01:40:01,417
is directly proportional
to their attraction to Asia.
1379
01:40:01,500 --> 01:40:04,292
Russia was, is and will always act
1380
01:40:04,375 --> 01:40:07,417
as Europe's buffer against Asia.
1381
01:40:08,375 --> 01:40:10,417
That is why
1382
01:40:10,500 --> 01:40:15,167
more than other European countries,
our homeland
1383
01:40:15,250 --> 01:40:18,375
is influenced by the Asian element,
1384
01:40:18,458 --> 01:40:20,917
hence our imaginative originality.
1385
01:40:21,000 --> 01:40:23,750
Not even Byzantium was original
in and of itself,
1386
01:40:23,833 --> 01:40:26,792
but rather through Asian influence.
1387
01:40:26,875 --> 01:40:29,292
In our case,
from the very beginning,
1388
01:40:29,375 --> 01:40:31,458
particularly since Batu Khan,
1389
01:40:31,542 --> 01:40:34,333
the Asian element
has permeated our being,
1390
01:40:34,417 --> 01:40:36,708
become our second nature,
1391
01:40:37,042 --> 01:40:39,625
prompting the Germans to say of us:
1392
01:40:39,708 --> 01:40:42,583
“They have two souls in one breast,
1393
01:40:42,667 --> 01:40:45,875
“and one wants to break free
of the other.”
1394
01:40:45,958 --> 01:40:48,708
- I hope I didn't mangle it.
- No, very nice.
1395
01:40:49,208 --> 01:40:52,958
It would be impossible for us
to break free of our second nature,
1396
01:40:53,042 --> 01:40:54,625
for real,
1397
01:40:54,708 --> 01:40:57,833
and it would be pointless,
since we are indebted to it.
1398
01:40:57,917 --> 01:41:01,500
But lest this clash tear us apart,
1399
01:41:01,583 --> 01:41:03,375
as you said, Ingrida,
1400
01:41:03,458 --> 01:41:07,917
it is necessary that one alone
triumph and dominate.
1401
01:41:08,000 --> 01:41:10,125
The best, of course!
1402
01:41:10,333 --> 01:41:14,917
That is, the most intellectually robust,
the one most capable of progress,
1403
01:41:15,000 --> 01:41:18,000
the one richest in potential.
1404
01:41:18,542 --> 01:41:23,833
It happened under Peter the Great,
but the deep affinity with Asia,
1405
01:41:23,917 --> 01:41:27,167
although suppressed once and for all,
continues
1406
01:41:27,250 --> 01:41:28,917
to urge others
1407
01:41:29,000 --> 01:41:32,708
foolishly to dream
of the chimerical solution
1408
01:41:32,792 --> 01:41:36,125
to a historical problem already solved.
1409
01:41:36,208 --> 01:41:38,292
Hence Slavophilia,
1410
01:41:38,375 --> 01:41:43,167
the theory of the cultural-historical
original type, and so on.
1411
01:41:43,250 --> 01:41:45,792
In reality,
we are irrevocably European,
1412
01:41:45,875 --> 01:41:48,958
with an Asian sediment
in the depths of our soul.
1413
01:41:49,042 --> 01:41:51,375
As far as I am concerned,
1414
01:41:51,458 --> 01:41:54,083
it is a grammatical evidence,
so to speak.
1415
01:41:54,167 --> 01:41:56,667
What is “Russian”,
grammatically speaking?
1416
01:41:58,750 --> 01:42:00,167
An adjective.
1417
01:42:00,875 --> 01:42:04,000
With which noun does it agree?
1418
01:42:04,083 --> 01:42:07,917
With the noun “man”: “a Russian man”,
“the Russian people”.
1419
01:42:08,000 --> 01:42:11,000
No, it's too broad, too vague.
1420
01:42:11,125 --> 01:42:15,500
Papuans and Eskimos are also men,
but I refuse to share my noun
1421
01:42:15,583 --> 01:42:18,000
with Papuans and Eskimos.
1422
01:42:18,750 --> 01:42:22,833
Nonetheless there are important things
humans have in common.
1423
01:42:22,958 --> 01:42:24,583
Love, for example.
1424
01:42:24,667 --> 01:42:26,333
That's even broader:
1425
01:42:26,417 --> 01:42:29,917
how could I deem love
as essentially individualising,
1426
01:42:30,000 --> 01:42:33,083
knowing that it belongs
to animals and all creatures?
1427
01:42:33,167 --> 01:42:35,125
I, for example, am a meek man.
1428
01:42:35,208 --> 01:42:40,458
In love, I am closer to a white dove
than to black Othello,
1429
01:42:40,542 --> 01:42:42,417
even if Othello is a man.
1430
01:42:42,500 --> 01:42:47,042
From a certain age, every reasonable man
is in solidarity with white doves.
1431
01:42:47,125 --> 01:42:49,542
What was that?
1432
01:42:50,125 --> 01:42:51,625
It was a play on words,
1433
01:42:51,708 --> 01:42:54,542
not for you,
but for His Excellency…
1434
01:42:54,625 --> 01:42:58,000
Joking aside! This is not
the Comic Opera, as far as I know.
1435
01:42:58,083 --> 01:43:02,542
I meant that the true noun
for the adjective “Russian”
1436
01:43:02,625 --> 01:43:04,625
is the word “European”.
1437
01:43:04,833 --> 01:43:06,667
We are Russian Europeans,
1438
01:43:06,750 --> 01:43:09,375
the same as the English,
the French and the Germans.
1439
01:43:09,458 --> 01:43:11,042
If I feel myself to be European,
1440
01:43:11,125 --> 01:43:15,875
is it not stupid to demonstrate
that I am Russo-Slavic
1441
01:43:15,958 --> 01:43:17,250
or Greco-Slavic?
1442
01:43:17,333 --> 01:43:20,417
I know for a fact that I am a European,
1443
01:43:20,500 --> 01:43:23,833
just as I know I am a Russian,
a Franco-Russian, even.
1444
01:43:25,083 --> 01:43:27,875
I can
and perhaps even must
1445
01:43:27,958 --> 01:43:30,625
be charitable to every man and animal.
1446
01:43:30,708 --> 01:43:33,542
But if I am to feel solidarity,
1447
01:43:34,208 --> 01:43:35,708
to feel at home,
1448
01:43:35,792 --> 01:43:38,708
it will not be
with the Zulus or Chinese,
1449
01:43:38,792 --> 01:43:40,375
but only
1450
01:43:40,458 --> 01:43:42,250
with the nations
1451
01:43:42,333 --> 01:43:46,292
that have created and preserved
this treasury of high civilisation
1452
01:43:46,375 --> 01:43:50,292
on which I nourish my soul and which
provides me with supreme delights.
1453
01:43:50,375 --> 01:43:52,000
Are you sure?
1454
01:43:52,750 --> 01:43:56,375
First of all, these chosen nations
had to take shape,
1455
01:43:56,458 --> 01:44:00,792
to gain strength and to survive
against inferior elements.
1456
01:44:00,875 --> 01:44:03,917
War was necessary,
war was sacred.
1457
01:44:04,000 --> 01:44:06,208
Now they have taken shape,
1458
01:44:06,292 --> 01:44:07,917
they have acquired power
1459
01:44:08,000 --> 01:44:12,167
and they have nothing more to fear,
except internal strife.
1460
01:44:12,250 --> 01:44:15,458
Everywhere today,
an age of peace is heralded,
1461
01:44:15,542 --> 01:44:19,875
an age of peaceful expansion
of European civilisation.
1462
01:44:20,375 --> 01:44:23,167
All must become Europeans.
1463
01:44:23,583 --> 01:44:27,500
The notion of European
must coincide with that of man,
1464
01:44:27,583 --> 01:44:31,458
and the notion of European civilisation,
with that of mankind.
1465
01:44:32,083 --> 01:44:35,792
- This is the meaning of history.
- This is becoming serious…
1466
01:44:36,042 --> 01:44:38,750
First they were only Greek Europeans,
1467
01:44:38,833 --> 01:44:40,875
then Roman Europeans,
1468
01:44:40,958 --> 01:44:42,792
then all the rest appeared,
1469
01:44:42,875 --> 01:44:46,125
first in the West,
then in the East,
1470
01:44:46,250 --> 01:44:48,542
Russian Europeans appeared,
1471
01:44:49,625 --> 01:44:52,875
across the ocean, American Europeans,
1472
01:44:52,958 --> 01:44:55,625
now is the turn
of the Turkish Europeans,
1473
01:44:55,708 --> 01:44:59,167
the Persian, Indian, Japanese,
and even Chinese Europeans.
1474
01:44:59,250 --> 01:45:02,750
“European” is a notion
1475
01:45:02,833 --> 01:45:07,167
with a well-defined content
and which is constantly growing.
1476
01:45:07,250 --> 01:45:12,625
Regarding this, notice the difference:
every man is just as human as any other.
1477
01:45:12,708 --> 01:45:14,542
Therefore, if we take
1478
01:45:14,625 --> 01:45:17,875
so abstract a notion as a noun,
1479
01:45:17,958 --> 01:45:22,167
we will arrive at
egalitarian non-differentiation
1480
01:45:22,250 --> 01:45:23,500
and we will not grant
1481
01:45:23,583 --> 01:45:28,125
the nation of Shakespeare and Newton
any greater weight than the Papuans.
1482
01:45:28,208 --> 01:45:32,208
Excuse me,
but it is taking longer than expected.
1483
01:45:32,292 --> 01:45:34,125
Don't worry.
1484
01:45:34,208 --> 01:45:36,125
I'll be back in half an hour.
1485
01:45:36,208 --> 01:45:39,000
- Will you be needing me, Olga?
- No, thank you.
1486
01:45:40,833 --> 01:45:42,208
As I was saying,
1487
01:45:42,292 --> 01:45:45,792
first and foremost it is absurd,
and deleterious in practice.
1488
01:45:46,917 --> 01:45:49,500
If my noun is not “man”,
1489
01:45:49,583 --> 01:45:50,875
that biped devoid of content,
1490
01:45:50,958 --> 01:45:53,375
but cultural man,
1491
01:45:53,458 --> 01:45:55,458
that is, the European,
1492
01:45:55,958 --> 01:45:58,333
then absurd egalitarianism
no longer has any place.
1493
01:45:58,417 --> 01:46:02,292
The notion of “European”
or, in other words, “culture”,
1494
01:46:02,375 --> 01:46:04,583
contains a sure criterion
1495
01:46:04,667 --> 01:46:06,208
for determining,
1496
01:46:06,292 --> 01:46:08,583
by comparison, the quality or value
1497
01:46:08,667 --> 01:46:11,000
of the different races,
nations, individuals.
1498
01:46:11,708 --> 01:46:13,292
These differences in value
1499
01:46:13,375 --> 01:46:16,833
must be taken into account
by a healthy policy.
1500
01:46:16,917 --> 01:46:19,333
Otherwise,
if we place on the same level
1501
01:46:19,417 --> 01:46:21,250
relatively civilised Austria
1502
01:46:21,333 --> 01:46:23,833
and some semi-savage Hertzegovans,
1503
01:46:23,917 --> 01:46:26,417
it will lead us straight
1504
01:46:26,500 --> 01:46:29,458
to the absurd,
dangerous adventures
1505
01:46:29,542 --> 01:46:33,417
yearned for
by the last Mohicans of Slavophilia.
1506
01:46:33,500 --> 01:46:36,083
There are Europeans and Europeans.
1507
01:46:36,167 --> 01:46:37,958
Is that so?
1508
01:46:40,958 --> 01:46:43,792
When the long-awaited time comes,
1509
01:46:43,875 --> 01:46:46,333
hopefully very soon,
when Europe, that is,
1510
01:46:46,417 --> 01:46:48,125
the civilised world
1511
01:46:48,375 --> 01:46:51,667
will genuinely coincide,
in its dimensions,
1512
01:46:51,750 --> 01:46:53,958
with the whole population of the globe,
1513
01:46:54,042 --> 01:46:58,542
there will remain in the bosom
of a mankind united and at peace
1514
01:46:58,625 --> 01:47:00,667
those natural gradations
1515
01:47:00,750 --> 01:47:04,708
and nuances of cultural value
that history has laid down,
1516
01:47:04,792 --> 01:47:09,375
according to which our relations
with various peoples must be adjusted.
1517
01:47:09,458 --> 01:47:13,625
And in the triumphant, universal
kingdom of the higher civilisation,
1518
01:47:13,708 --> 01:47:17,250
it will be as in the Kingdom of Heaven:
1519
01:47:17,333 --> 01:47:19,458
“One is the light of the sun,
1520
01:47:19,542 --> 01:47:23,125
“one is the light of the moon,
one is the light of the stars,
1521
01:47:23,208 --> 01:47:26,000
“for star differs from star
in its brilliance.”
1522
01:47:26,083 --> 01:47:28,125
That is what the Catechism says.
1523
01:47:29,542 --> 01:47:33,000
When the target is so close
but has not been reached,
1524
01:47:33,083 --> 01:47:34,792
we must guard
1525
01:47:34,875 --> 01:47:38,625
against the errors
of undifferentiated egalitarianism.
1526
01:47:39,208 --> 01:47:42,125
Recently,
the papers have reported a conflict
1527
01:47:42,208 --> 01:47:44,583
between England and Transvaal.
1528
01:47:45,167 --> 01:47:49,708
It seems the Africans
threaten England with war.
1529
01:47:51,792 --> 01:47:54,958
Already I see all kinds
of journalists and politicians,
1530
01:47:55,042 --> 01:47:58,458
from here and maybe even
all across the continent,
1531
01:47:58,542 --> 01:48:00,958
waging a campaign against England
1532
01:48:01,042 --> 01:48:04,500
and taking the side
of those oppressed Africans.
1533
01:48:04,583 --> 01:48:06,042
How shameful!
1534
01:48:06,125 --> 01:48:09,125
If only those wretched cowherds
1535
01:48:09,208 --> 01:48:12,458
had had the flair
to accept their Dutch origins.
1536
01:48:12,542 --> 01:48:17,250
Holland is a real nation,
honourable, patently superior.
1537
01:48:17,333 --> 01:48:20,917
But no! They consider themselves
a nation apart
1538
01:48:21,375 --> 01:48:24,125
and they want to build
an African homeland of their own.
1539
01:48:24,208 --> 01:48:25,500
The scoundrels!
1540
01:48:25,583 --> 01:48:27,333
First of all,
do not use derogatory words,
1541
01:48:27,417 --> 01:48:31,167
then explain what the Transvaal is
and what kind of people live there?
1542
01:48:31,250 --> 01:48:33,417
A mixture of Europeans and blacks:
1543
01:48:33,500 --> 01:48:36,333
Neither white nor black, but brown.
1544
01:48:36,417 --> 01:48:38,750
Another calembour, apparently.
1545
01:48:39,208 --> 01:48:42,625
- Not one of the best.
- A calembour for a Boer.
1546
01:48:42,708 --> 01:48:45,917
If you do not like that colour,
there is also the Orange Republic.
1547
01:48:46,000 --> 01:48:47,667
Wonderful…
1548
01:48:48,375 --> 01:48:50,333
But seriously, the Boers
1549
01:48:50,417 --> 01:48:53,208
are still Europeans,
but of the bad variety.
1550
01:48:53,792 --> 01:48:56,375
Isolated from their glorious homeland,
1551
01:48:56,458 --> 01:49:00,500
they have, to a large extent,
lost their civilisation.
1552
01:49:00,583 --> 01:49:03,958
Surrounded by savages,
they have grown savage and harsh.
1553
01:49:04,042 --> 01:49:06,250
To place them
on the same level as the English
1554
01:49:06,333 --> 01:49:10,000
or worse, to wish for their victory
in the war with England,
1555
01:49:10,083 --> 01:49:11,917
is inconceivable!
1556
01:49:12,500 --> 01:49:15,583
But the same Europeans sympathise
with the mountain tribes of the Caucasus,
1557
01:49:15,667 --> 01:49:18,792
who oppose you,
fighting for their freedom.
1558
01:49:18,875 --> 01:49:22,917
And Russia is far more civilised
than the Circassians.
1559
01:49:23,000 --> 01:49:24,500
On that we agree.
1560
01:49:24,583 --> 01:49:26,167
Setting aside
1561
01:49:26,250 --> 01:49:29,500
the reasons for Europe's sympathy
for the Caucasus savages,
1562
01:49:29,583 --> 01:49:33,708
I shall say only
that we must assimilate
1563
01:49:34,042 --> 01:49:36,875
the global European spirit,
1564
01:49:37,042 --> 01:49:40,125
not the follies
of this or that European.
1565
01:49:40,208 --> 01:49:44,708
Certainly, I would deeply regret it
if England were forced
1566
01:49:44,792 --> 01:49:46,958
to employ the obsolete
1567
01:49:47,042 --> 01:49:49,750
and historically blameworthy means
that is war
1568
01:49:49,833 --> 01:49:52,167
to appease
those arrogant barbarians.
1569
01:49:52,250 --> 01:49:55,458
But if war proves inevitable,
1570
01:49:55,542 --> 01:49:57,625
because of Zulu savagery,
1571
01:49:57,708 --> 01:50:01,542
encouraged
by continental envy of England,
1572
01:50:01,625 --> 01:50:05,792
then naturally,
I will hope the war concludes
1573
01:50:05,875 --> 01:50:08,375
with the African brigands crushed,
1574
01:50:08,458 --> 01:50:12,625
so that we shall never again hear
of their independence.
1575
01:50:14,208 --> 01:50:18,333
Were they to prevail,
possible given the context,
1576
01:50:19,125 --> 01:50:21,583
it would be the triumph of barbarity
over civilisation,
1577
01:50:21,667 --> 01:50:25,500
and for me as a Franco-Russian,
i.e. a European,
1578
01:50:25,583 --> 01:50:28,000
it would be a day of national mourning.
1579
01:50:28,208 --> 01:50:29,958
No, I disagree.
1580
01:50:31,125 --> 01:50:33,833
Why shouldn't we sympathise
with the Boers
1581
01:50:33,917 --> 01:50:35,667
the same as we do with Wilhelm Tell?
1582
01:50:35,750 --> 01:50:38,917
Well, if they had created
their own legend,
1583
01:50:39,000 --> 01:50:42,917
if they had inspired artists
like Schiller or Rossini,
1584
01:50:43,042 --> 01:50:45,875
if they had produced
a Jean-Jacques Rousseau,
1585
01:50:45,958 --> 01:50:47,208
we would speak differently.
1586
01:50:47,292 --> 01:50:49,667
But they all came afterward.
1587
01:50:49,750 --> 01:50:52,583
Even the Swiss were originally
nothing but shepherds.
1588
01:50:52,667 --> 01:50:53,708
And not only they.
1589
01:50:53,792 --> 01:50:57,208
When they rebelled against the English
1590
01:50:57,292 --> 01:50:58,750
to gain independence,
1591
01:50:58,833 --> 01:51:01,458
were the Americans
notable for their education? No.
1592
01:51:01,542 --> 01:51:03,125
Even if they were not brown,
1593
01:51:03,208 --> 01:51:05,667
they had red skin
and scalped their enemies.
1594
01:51:05,750 --> 01:51:07,042
Read Mayne Reid.
1595
01:51:07,125 --> 01:51:09,833
But even so,
La Fayette sympathised with them.
1596
01:51:09,917 --> 01:51:11,083
And he was right.
1597
01:51:11,167 --> 01:51:15,458
Because now all the religions
have been assembled in Chicago,
1598
01:51:15,542 --> 01:51:18,875
they have held an exhibition,
an amazing thing.
1599
01:51:19,583 --> 01:51:23,875
They intended to do the same in Paris
for the exhibition,
1600
01:51:23,958 --> 01:51:25,667
but nothing came of it.
1601
01:51:25,750 --> 01:51:27,917
An abbot did his utmost,
1602
01:51:28,000 --> 01:51:30,250
Father Victor Charbonnel.
1603
01:51:30,333 --> 01:51:34,042
He wrote me some letters.
A very nice man.
1604
01:51:34,750 --> 01:51:36,792
But all the religions declined.
1605
01:51:36,875 --> 01:51:39,375
The Grand Rabbi said:
“For religion,
1606
01:51:39,458 --> 01:51:42,792
“we have the Bible,
an exhibition is superfluous.”
1607
01:51:42,875 --> 01:51:47,250
Poor Charbonnel, out of sorrow,
has abandoned Christ.
1608
01:51:48,042 --> 01:51:52,542
The newspapers say he has retired,
and was quite an admirer of Renan.
1609
01:51:52,708 --> 01:51:54,375
He ended up badly,
1610
01:51:54,458 --> 01:51:57,708
they say either he married
1611
01:51:57,917 --> 01:52:00,250
or succumbed to drink.
1612
01:52:00,625 --> 01:52:03,375
Your Neplyuev ended up the same,
1613
01:52:03,458 --> 01:52:06,042
but he was disillusioned
with all religions.
1614
01:52:07,708 --> 01:52:10,125
That idealist wrote to me
1615
01:52:10,208 --> 01:52:12,542
saying he has faith only in humanity.
1616
01:52:12,625 --> 01:52:15,750
But how to exhibit humanity
at the Paris Exhibition?
1617
01:52:15,833 --> 01:52:17,917
It seems to me utter folly!
1618
01:52:18,000 --> 01:52:21,375
But the Americans
did do a very good job.
1619
01:52:21,458 --> 01:52:24,917
Representatives of every religion
answered their call.
1620
01:52:25,000 --> 01:52:27,333
They appointed a Catholic bishop
as chairman,
1621
01:52:27,417 --> 01:52:30,708
who read the Lord's Prayer in English,
1622
01:52:30,792 --> 01:52:34,292
and the Chinese and Buddhist
idolater priests
1623
01:52:34,375 --> 01:52:39,625
politely answered:
“Oh, yes! All right, sir!
1624
01:52:39,708 --> 01:52:41,625
We wish nobody any ill,
1625
01:52:41,708 --> 01:52:46,583
we ask only
that your missionaries leave us alone.
1626
01:52:46,667 --> 01:52:48,083
Because
1627
01:52:48,167 --> 01:52:51,375
your religion is very good for you,
1628
01:52:51,458 --> 01:52:54,458
and it is not our fault
if you do not follow it,
1629
01:52:54,542 --> 01:52:58,125
but our religion is the best for us.”
1630
01:52:58,208 --> 01:53:00,708
And it all ended well,
1631
01:53:00,792 --> 01:53:04,042
there was no fighting,
to everyone's surprise.
1632
01:53:04,125 --> 01:53:06,792
That's Americans today.
1633
01:53:06,875 --> 01:53:07,917
Who knows?
1634
01:53:08,000 --> 01:53:12,625
Today's Africans might one day
become Americans like that.
1635
01:53:12,708 --> 01:53:15,167
Anything is possible, of course.
1636
01:53:15,250 --> 01:53:18,500
Even a rascal can become a scientist.
Until then,
1637
01:53:18,583 --> 01:53:20,458
a sound thrashing will do him good.
1638
01:53:20,542 --> 01:53:22,458
What an expression!
1639
01:53:22,542 --> 01:53:25,750
You have succumbed to vice.
Is it because of Monte Carlo?
1640
01:53:25,833 --> 01:53:29,708
Whose company do you keep there?
The families of croupiers?
1641
01:53:34,833 --> 01:53:36,917
Anyway, it's your business.
1642
01:53:38,000 --> 01:53:42,792
I merely ask you to shorten
your exposition on political wisdom.
1643
01:53:42,875 --> 01:53:44,375
It is time that we conclude.
1644
01:53:44,458 --> 01:53:49,292
I was about to sum up
and link to what I said at the start.
1645
01:53:49,375 --> 01:53:52,583
I don't believe you,
you won't conclude by yourself.
1646
01:53:52,667 --> 01:53:56,625
I really must help you
clarify your position.
1647
01:53:57,792 --> 01:54:00,542
You said, didn't you,
1648
01:54:00,875 --> 01:54:02,458
that in the olden days,
1649
01:54:02,542 --> 01:54:05,792
there existed God and war,
1650
01:54:06,083 --> 01:54:10,458
but now, instead of God,
we have culture and peace?
1651
01:54:13,500 --> 01:54:15,167
That was it, wasn't it?
1652
01:54:15,625 --> 01:54:17,708
In a way, yes.
1653
01:54:17,958 --> 01:54:19,542
Perfect.
1654
01:54:19,875 --> 01:54:23,750
I neither know nor can explain
what God is,
1655
01:54:23,833 --> 01:54:25,708
but I can sense Him.
1656
01:54:25,792 --> 01:54:29,958
As for your Culture,
it stirs nothing in me.
1657
01:54:30,083 --> 01:54:32,333
Therefore, in brief,
explain to me what it is.
1658
01:54:33,625 --> 01:54:37,250
What Culture is, what it consists of,
you already know.
1659
01:54:37,333 --> 01:54:40,250
It is the whole treasury
of thought and genius,
1660
01:54:40,333 --> 01:54:43,333
created by the elect minds
of elect peoples.
1661
01:54:43,417 --> 01:54:44,542
Yes,
1662
01:54:44,625 --> 01:54:48,542
but that can mean anything,
and there is considerable diversity.
1663
01:54:49,500 --> 01:54:53,292
Let us take Voltaire, Bossuet,
the Madonna, Nana,
1664
01:54:53,375 --> 01:54:55,500
Alfred de Musset, Filaret.
1665
01:54:55,583 --> 01:54:59,917
How can you lump them all together
and then replace God with them?
1666
01:55:01,250 --> 01:55:06,167
I also meant that we shouldn't bother
about culture as a historical treasure.
1667
01:55:06,250 --> 01:55:08,375
Culture was created, it exists.
1668
01:55:08,458 --> 01:55:12,292
We can still hope there will be
other Shakespeares and Newtons,
1669
01:55:12,375 --> 01:55:15,875
but that does not depend on us
and is of no practical interest.
1670
01:55:16,667 --> 01:55:18,333
Culture also has
1671
01:55:18,417 --> 01:55:21,167
a practical or, if you like, moral side,
1672
01:55:21,250 --> 01:55:25,708
that is precisely what in private life
is known as politeness, courtesy.
1673
01:55:26,250 --> 01:55:29,417
To a superficial eye
it may seem unimportant,
1674
01:55:29,500 --> 01:55:32,292
but it has a vast and unique meaning
1675
01:55:32,375 --> 01:55:37,500
because only this can take on
a universal, obligatory character.
1676
01:55:37,833 --> 01:55:42,083
We cannot demand of anyone lofty virtue,
or superior intelligence or genius,
1677
01:55:42,167 --> 01:55:45,958
but we can demand of all
that they show politeness.
1678
01:55:49,375 --> 01:55:52,542
It is the minimum
of common feeling and morality,
1679
01:55:54,917 --> 01:55:58,125
which allows people
to live like human beings.
1680
01:56:00,625 --> 01:56:03,542
We clearly cannot reduce culture
to politeness,
1681
01:56:03,625 --> 01:56:07,083
but it is the indispensable condition
for every culture.
1682
01:56:07,625 --> 01:56:10,167
Just as writing and reading
are indispensable
1683
01:56:10,250 --> 01:56:12,375
to the mind's education.
1684
01:56:16,458 --> 01:56:19,417
Even if the latter
entails more than that.
1685
01:56:29,667 --> 01:56:31,250
What is it?
1686
01:56:38,583 --> 01:56:40,958
Edouard, if you could see your face…
1687
01:56:41,042 --> 01:56:42,833
What's happening?
1688
01:56:48,292 --> 01:56:50,250
What is it?
1689
01:56:51,083 --> 01:56:52,625
I don't know.
1690
01:56:52,708 --> 01:56:54,958
Please, Edouard, continue!
1691
01:56:55,042 --> 01:56:59,292
Excuse me, I lost the thread
of what you were saying.
1692
01:56:59,375 --> 01:57:01,250
- No, he'd just finished.
- I was saying…
1693
01:57:01,333 --> 01:57:05,333
We should not be concerned
with culture in general,
1694
01:57:05,667 --> 01:57:09,458
as a historical treasure,
it was created, it exists.
1695
01:57:09,542 --> 01:57:13,458
We can still hope there will be
new Shakespeares and Newtons,
1696
01:57:13,542 --> 01:57:17,708
but that does not depend on us
and is of no practical interest.
1697
01:57:18,167 --> 01:57:20,875
Culture also has another aspect,
1698
01:57:20,958 --> 01:57:23,875
a practical or, if you like,
moral aspect,
1699
01:57:23,958 --> 01:57:26,875
that is precisely what in private life
1700
01:57:26,958 --> 01:57:30,667
is called politeness, courtesy.
1701
01:57:33,208 --> 01:57:34,750
Really?
1702
01:57:35,333 --> 01:57:36,875
Strange…
1703
01:57:41,500 --> 01:57:43,000
Excuse me.
1704
01:57:43,083 --> 01:57:46,042
Now we really are at the Comic Opera.
1705
01:57:51,208 --> 01:57:54,792
- Nobody comes.
- Yes, strange that nobody comes.
1706
01:57:54,875 --> 01:57:56,583
Is this a joke?
1707
01:58:00,375 --> 01:58:03,042
How strange that nobody comes.
1708
01:58:08,083 --> 01:58:10,083
It is strange, isn't it?
1709
01:58:11,250 --> 01:58:14,417
Perhaps it is the carollers
from earlier.
1710
01:58:17,750 --> 01:58:19,542
But where is Olga?
1711
01:58:23,708 --> 01:58:27,708
Is she in the house?
Strange that nobody comes.
1712
01:58:38,708 --> 01:58:40,292
István!
1713
01:58:47,542 --> 01:58:49,292
Maybe we ought to go and see.
1714
01:58:49,375 --> 01:58:51,333
Edouard is uneasy.
1715
01:58:53,042 --> 01:58:55,542
Ring again!
1716
01:58:56,042 --> 01:58:59,708
It's not usual in this house.
1717
01:59:00,958 --> 01:59:05,833
Do you see where you have brought
our dear Nikolai's house?
1718
01:59:05,917 --> 01:59:07,833
Everything is out of joint.
1719
01:59:22,750 --> 01:59:24,750
What's with this silence?
1720
01:59:25,500 --> 01:59:27,333
Don't worry.
1721
01:59:29,708 --> 01:59:31,375
Zoyichka!… Zoya!…
1722
01:59:31,458 --> 01:59:34,042
- I'll go and see.
- You'd…
1723
01:59:34,125 --> 01:59:36,583
István!
1724
01:59:42,625 --> 01:59:45,042
What's going on?
1725
01:59:45,208 --> 01:59:47,333
Answer me, what's going on?
1726
02:01:06,792 --> 02:01:08,167
Ingrida!
1727
02:04:58,958 --> 02:05:00,583
Easy…
1728
02:05:05,375 --> 02:05:07,750
- Gently.
- Mind the door.
1729
02:05:10,042 --> 02:05:11,750
Ready.
1730
02:05:13,333 --> 02:05:14,792
Here we are.
1731
02:05:14,875 --> 02:05:16,792
- Now.
- Yes.
1732
02:05:25,250 --> 02:05:26,833
Here you are…
1733
02:05:34,292 --> 02:05:37,417
- Are you comfortable?
- István…
1734
02:05:37,500 --> 02:05:38,750
Yes?
1735
02:05:38,917 --> 02:05:43,583
What do you think of this:
“Arise, life's accursed,
1736
02:05:44,667 --> 02:05:47,458
“Arise, those condemned to hunger!”
1737
02:05:47,542 --> 02:05:51,750
I think it refers
to the foundry workers.
1738
02:05:52,875 --> 02:05:57,208
Those who want to work less
but earn more…
1739
02:05:58,333 --> 02:05:59,708
Their wages…
1740
02:05:59,792 --> 02:06:02,083
What about this line?
1741
02:06:02,875 --> 02:06:06,250
“The International
will be the human race.”
1742
02:06:07,833 --> 02:06:09,750
István, I need your help.
1743
02:06:09,833 --> 02:06:11,125
Sure.
1744
02:06:12,667 --> 02:06:16,625
In another week
you will have recovered.
1745
02:06:20,292 --> 02:06:22,500
Tell me when you finish.
1746
02:06:22,583 --> 02:06:23,958
Yes, sir.
1747
02:07:34,042 --> 02:07:36,625
So you think it is the Antichrist?
1748
02:07:37,458 --> 02:07:38,875
Of course not.
1749
02:07:38,958 --> 02:07:41,958
There are hints as to his nature,
1750
02:07:42,042 --> 02:07:44,500
but he has not yet arrived.
1751
02:07:44,792 --> 02:07:48,917
Then explain him to us
as simply as possible.
1752
02:07:49,542 --> 02:07:52,167
I cannot guarantee
it will be simple.
1753
02:07:52,333 --> 02:07:54,792
It is not easy to achieve
genuine simplicity,
1754
02:07:54,875 --> 02:07:59,292
and illusory, artificial, false
simplicity is the most sinful.
1755
02:08:00,042 --> 02:08:04,583
According to an ancient maxim,
which a late friend used to repeat:
1756
02:08:04,667 --> 02:08:07,583
“Simplicity can easily be deceptive.”
1757
02:08:08,042 --> 02:08:10,625
Not even that is so simple.
1758
02:08:10,708 --> 02:08:14,208
The same as in the folk saying,
probably.
1759
02:08:16,917 --> 02:08:18,583
Which is?
1760
02:08:19,292 --> 02:08:22,833
“Simplicity is the worst theft.”
1761
02:08:23,917 --> 02:08:26,667
Simplicity is worse than theft.
1762
02:08:26,750 --> 02:08:28,083
Exactly.
1763
02:08:28,167 --> 02:08:29,917
Now I understand.
1764
02:08:30,000 --> 02:08:33,625
A pity the Antichrist cannot be
explained through proverbs.
1765
02:08:33,708 --> 02:08:35,833
Then enlighten us.
1766
02:08:36,417 --> 02:08:38,208
Very well.
1767
02:08:38,292 --> 02:08:39,542
But before I do,
1768
02:08:39,625 --> 02:08:42,875
tell me whether you recognise
the existence
1769
02:08:42,958 --> 02:08:45,708
and power of Evil in the world?
1770
02:08:46,292 --> 02:08:48,750
We wouldn't wish to recognise them,
1771
02:08:49,458 --> 02:08:51,292
but we are forced to do so.
1772
02:08:51,833 --> 02:08:53,750
Death is no small matter,
1773
02:08:53,833 --> 02:08:56,500
an evil none escapes.
1774
02:08:57,208 --> 02:09:00,625
I think the final enemy
to be defeated will be death.
1775
02:09:00,708 --> 02:09:02,625
And as long as it is undefeated,
1776
02:09:02,708 --> 02:09:06,500
it is clear that Evil
is stronger than Good.
1777
02:09:08,292 --> 02:09:10,583
What do you think, Ingrida?
1778
02:09:11,125 --> 02:09:14,792
Of course Evil exists,
the same as Good exists.
1779
02:09:14,917 --> 02:09:18,208
If God exists,
then the devil also exists.
1780
02:09:18,583 --> 02:09:21,458
As long as God permits,
of course.
1781
02:09:21,708 --> 02:09:24,792
For the time being,
I refrain from comment.
1782
02:09:24,875 --> 02:09:28,292
But I am curious
as to other opinions.
1783
02:09:28,375 --> 02:09:30,833
I understand Olga's way of thinking,
1784
02:09:30,917 --> 02:09:34,917
that is, it's obvious to me
it isn't really a way of thinking,
1785
02:09:35,000 --> 02:09:38,083
but quite simply a pretence,
1786
02:09:38,167 --> 02:09:40,583
which makes no sense.
1787
02:09:40,667 --> 02:09:44,500
But the obviously more consistent
religious viewpoint
1788
02:09:44,583 --> 02:09:46,417
is what interests me more,
1789
02:09:46,500 --> 02:09:50,000
although I've encountered it
only in its bureaucratic form
1790
02:09:50,083 --> 02:09:52,000
and it doesn't satisfy me.
1791
02:09:52,583 --> 02:09:56,750
I would very much like
to hear about this,
1792
02:09:56,833 --> 02:10:01,375
not some pious homilies,
but a human opinion.
1793
02:10:02,458 --> 02:10:04,167
Of the stars that
1794
02:10:04,250 --> 02:10:08,583
rise in the mind
of him who reads the scriptures,
1795
02:10:08,667 --> 02:10:12,750
none, I think,
is brighter or more astonishing
1796
02:10:12,833 --> 02:10:15,250
than that which shines
in the Gospels.
1797
02:10:15,333 --> 02:10:16,917
Behold the poet.
1798
02:10:17,708 --> 02:10:19,333
No, wait!
1799
02:10:21,292 --> 02:10:25,750
“Think not that I have come
to send peace on earth.
1800
02:10:25,833 --> 02:10:29,125
“I came not to send peace,
but a sword.”
1801
02:10:30,583 --> 02:10:32,958
He came to bring us the Truth,
1802
02:10:33,042 --> 02:10:35,958
and the Truth, like the Good,
is a sword, it divides.
1803
02:10:36,417 --> 02:10:38,708
Nor is this very clear.
1804
02:10:38,792 --> 02:10:42,000
Why then is Christ named
“Prince of Peace”
1805
02:10:42,083 --> 02:10:43,750
and why did He say
1806
02:10:43,833 --> 02:10:47,125
the peacemakers
will be named “sons of the Lord”?
1807
02:10:47,875 --> 02:10:50,833
Note that we can only reconcile
contradictory texts
1808
02:10:50,917 --> 02:10:53,625
by separating the good peace,
the true peace,
1809
02:10:53,708 --> 02:10:55,625
from the false peace,
1810
02:10:55,792 --> 02:10:57,333
the bad peace.
1811
02:10:57,708 --> 02:11:00,625
This distinction was clearly shown
1812
02:11:00,708 --> 02:11:05,000
by Him who brought true peace
and good enmity.
1813
02:11:05,583 --> 02:11:07,917
“My peace I give unto you.
1814
02:11:08,000 --> 02:11:10,833
“Not as the world giveth,
give I unto you.”
1815
02:11:10,917 --> 02:11:13,583
Therefore, there is a good peace,
Christ's peace,
1816
02:11:13,667 --> 02:11:17,500
based on the division
Christ brings to the world,
1817
02:11:17,583 --> 02:11:20,917
that is, the distinction
between Good and Evil,
1818
02:11:21,000 --> 02:11:23,542
lie and truth.
1819
02:11:24,458 --> 02:11:27,208
And there is an evil, worldly peace,
1820
02:11:27,583 --> 02:11:30,458
which rests upon the confusion
or seeming reconciliation
1821
02:11:30,542 --> 02:11:33,375
of what essentially
cannot be reconciled.
1822
02:11:34,125 --> 02:11:38,708
How do you explain to us the difference
between the good and the bad peace?
1823
02:11:39,667 --> 02:11:41,458
Like Ingrida this morning,
1824
02:11:41,542 --> 02:11:44,292
when she joked about
there being “good peace”,
1825
02:11:44,375 --> 02:11:47,500
like that of Nystadt
or Kuchuk-Kainardji.
1826
02:11:47,583 --> 02:11:52,083
This joke conceals a more important
and more general meaning.
1827
02:11:52,458 --> 02:11:55,875
In the spiritual struggle,
the same as in the political one,
1828
02:11:55,958 --> 02:11:57,125
a good peace
1829
02:11:57,208 --> 02:12:01,000
is that attained only when
the purpose of the war is achieved.
1830
02:12:03,042 --> 02:12:07,042
But ultimately,
why are Good and Evil at war?
1831
02:12:08,167 --> 02:12:11,625
Is it really necessary
that they confront each other?
1832
02:12:11,708 --> 02:12:16,625
Can there be hand-to-hand fighting
between them?
1833
02:12:17,458 --> 02:12:19,708
In a war,
1834
02:12:20,583 --> 02:12:23,958
when one side gains ground,
the other side, the enemy,
1835
02:12:24,042 --> 02:12:25,917
seeks reinforcements,
1836
02:12:26,125 --> 02:12:30,667
and the conflict must be solved
at the front, with cannon and bayonet.
1837
02:12:31,292 --> 02:12:34,750
But in the battle of Good against Evil,
there is no such thing.
1838
02:12:35,250 --> 02:12:38,292
When Good gains strength,
Evil is weakened at once,
1839
02:12:38,375 --> 02:12:40,625
and they never actually
confront each other.
1840
02:12:40,708 --> 02:12:43,167
Such things are figurative.
1841
02:12:43,917 --> 02:12:45,583
I think that…
1842
02:12:46,708 --> 02:12:49,125
we must merely take care
1843
02:12:49,208 --> 02:12:52,000
that the Good predominate in people,
1844
02:12:52,083 --> 02:12:54,875
for then Evil will be diminished
of itself.
1845
02:12:55,125 --> 02:12:57,792
Do you think the good
must simply become better
1846
02:12:57,875 --> 02:13:00,417
in order for the wicked
to shed their wickedness
1847
02:13:00,500 --> 02:13:02,958
and themselves to become good?
1848
02:13:03,458 --> 02:13:06,000
Yes, I do.
1849
02:13:06,917 --> 02:13:10,750
Has a good man's goodness
ever made an evil man good?
1850
02:13:10,833 --> 02:13:12,958
Or at least less evil?
1851
02:13:13,917 --> 02:13:15,167
No.
1852
02:13:17,292 --> 02:13:21,167
Never have I heard the like…
1853
02:13:23,375 --> 02:13:27,375
What you say is similar
to what you told Olga this morning.
1854
02:13:27,458 --> 02:13:29,125
In other words,
1855
02:13:29,625 --> 02:13:31,333
not even Christ,
1856
02:13:31,417 --> 02:13:35,042
in all His goodness,
could derive any good
1857
02:13:35,125 --> 02:13:37,958
from the soul of Judas Iscariot
1858
02:13:38,042 --> 02:13:40,250
or the soul of the bad thief.
1859
02:13:40,583 --> 02:13:44,750
Olga should answer your question,
remember to ask her when she comes.
1860
02:13:45,750 --> 02:13:50,083
Since I don't believe she is Antichrist,
I don't believe she'll come.
1861
02:13:50,167 --> 02:13:53,208
I believe even less
in her theological astuteness.
1862
02:13:53,500 --> 02:13:57,500
In order for the question
not to hamper our discussion,
1863
02:13:57,792 --> 02:14:02,792
I shall present the objection
that Olga might express.
1864
02:14:03,708 --> 02:14:06,125
“Why did Christ not use His goodness
1865
02:14:06,208 --> 02:14:09,083
“to restore the souls of Judas and co.?”
1866
02:14:10,042 --> 02:14:13,792
Simply because the age
was too ignorant
1867
02:14:13,875 --> 02:14:18,125
and only few souls
had attained the moral level
1868
02:14:18,208 --> 02:14:20,417
at which can be perceived
1869
02:14:20,500 --> 02:14:22,875
the intrinsic power of truth.
1870
02:14:23,000 --> 02:14:25,958
Judas and co.
had not sufficiently evolved.
1871
02:14:26,958 --> 02:14:30,208
As Christ told His Disciples:
1872
02:14:31,125 --> 02:14:33,417
“The works that I do,
1873
02:14:33,500 --> 02:14:36,583
“greater works than these shall you do.”
1874
02:14:37,292 --> 02:14:40,500
At the advanced stage
of moral development
1875
02:14:40,583 --> 02:14:42,750
we have now attained,
1876
02:14:42,833 --> 02:14:45,375
the true disciples of Christ can,
1877
02:14:45,458 --> 02:14:48,750
by the power of their meekness
and non-violence,
1878
02:14:49,167 --> 02:14:53,042
work miracles superior
to those of 18 centuries ago.
1879
02:14:53,125 --> 02:14:55,083
If I may!
1880
02:14:55,167 --> 02:14:58,792
If they can, then why don't they?
1881
02:15:00,167 --> 02:15:03,167
Or perhaps you have seen
such new miracles?
1882
02:15:03,708 --> 02:15:05,250
So it is that Olga,
1883
02:15:05,333 --> 02:15:08,833
not even after 18 centuries
of moral development
1884
02:15:08,917 --> 02:15:10,375
of the Christian awareness,
1885
02:15:10,458 --> 02:15:14,000
still cannot enlighten
my darkened soul.
1886
02:15:14,083 --> 02:15:17,083
And I remain the same cannibal
1887
02:15:17,167 --> 02:15:19,458
as before I met her.
1888
02:15:19,542 --> 02:15:24,042
The same as up until now,
more than anything in the world,
1889
02:15:24,125 --> 02:15:26,833
after God and Russia,
I favour the military art,
1890
02:15:26,917 --> 02:15:29,125
and the artillery in particular.
1891
02:15:30,167 --> 02:15:35,000
After all, I have met
apostles of non-violence before,
1892
02:15:35,292 --> 02:15:39,125
and of a different calibre
than our dear Olga.
1893
02:15:39,208 --> 02:15:40,375
Please,
1894
02:15:40,458 --> 02:15:43,792
why take such a personal stance?
1895
02:15:43,875 --> 02:15:45,708
What do you expect of me?
1896
02:15:45,792 --> 02:15:49,875
I've presented to you on Olga's behalf
a Gospel text she had forgotten.
1897
02:15:49,958 --> 02:15:52,917
“That's good, or not so good
1898
02:15:53,000 --> 02:15:55,458
“I can't answer for
other people's dreams.”
1899
02:15:56,417 --> 02:16:00,208
Well, now I shall take
the defence of our dear Olga.
1900
02:16:01,292 --> 02:16:06,167
She would have shown intelligence
if she had answered Ingrida thus:
1901
02:16:07,167 --> 02:16:10,708
“I myself and people like me,
whom you have met,
1902
02:16:10,833 --> 02:16:15,125
“regard ourselves
as true disciples of Christ
1903
02:16:15,208 --> 02:16:16,958
“only with regard to…”
1904
02:16:17,708 --> 02:16:19,625
Dinner is served.
1905
02:16:19,708 --> 02:16:21,167
Yes, very well.
1906
02:16:23,708 --> 02:16:26,208
- Sorry, what were you saying?
- Nothing.
1907
02:16:26,292 --> 02:16:28,000
I was saying that,
1908
02:16:28,833 --> 02:16:32,375
were I to speak on Olga's behalf,
1909
02:16:33,292 --> 02:16:35,833
this is how I would
have answered Ingrida:
1910
02:16:36,833 --> 02:16:40,083
“I myself and people like me,
whom you have met,
1911
02:16:40,167 --> 02:16:42,958
regard ourselves
as true disciples of Christ,
1912
02:16:43,042 --> 02:16:45,917
only with regard
to our thoughts and deeds,
1913
02:16:46,000 --> 02:16:49,792
not because we think
we have acquired a higher power.
1914
02:16:50,583 --> 02:16:53,458
Certainly,
somewhere there exist or will exist,
1915
02:16:53,542 --> 02:16:55,000
one fine day,
1916
02:16:55,708 --> 02:16:58,167
better Christians than us,
1917
02:16:58,292 --> 02:17:01,792
and they would be able
to enlighten even you.”
1918
02:17:03,292 --> 02:17:06,792
This answer, certainly,
would be convenient,
1919
02:17:06,875 --> 02:17:09,417
since it appeals
to an unknown authority.
1920
02:17:09,833 --> 02:17:11,625
But no matter.
1921
02:17:12,708 --> 02:17:15,875
They would say, for example:
1922
02:17:15,958 --> 02:17:17,750
“We cannot do anything.
1923
02:17:17,833 --> 02:17:20,417
Neither more
nor the same as Christ did,
1924
02:17:20,500 --> 02:17:23,958
neither less nor even close.”
1925
02:17:24,125 --> 02:17:27,167
What then may we logically
deduce therefrom?
1926
02:17:27,250 --> 02:17:30,250
We may deduce only one thing.
1927
02:17:30,333 --> 02:17:34,375
That Christ's words:
“Greater works than these shall you do”,
1928
02:17:34,458 --> 02:17:38,292
were not addressed to those men
but to others,
1929
02:17:38,417 --> 02:17:40,542
who resemble them not at all.
1930
02:17:41,750 --> 02:17:42,958
However,
1931
02:17:43,167 --> 02:17:45,208
we may imagine
1932
02:17:45,708 --> 02:17:48,792
that a man will fulfil
the teachings of Christ
1933
02:17:48,875 --> 02:17:51,875
as to loving one's enemy
and turning the other cheek.
1934
02:17:51,958 --> 02:17:53,833
And also through Christ,
1935
02:17:53,917 --> 02:17:57,167
he will be able to turn,
by his meekness,
1936
02:17:57,250 --> 02:17:59,500
evil souls into good souls.
1937
02:18:00,333 --> 02:18:04,167
Not long ago,
such an experiment was performed.
1938
02:18:04,250 --> 02:18:05,542
Not only did it fail,
1939
02:18:05,625 --> 02:18:08,958
but it proved exactly
the opposite of your claims.
1940
02:18:11,292 --> 02:18:14,875
There lived a man of boundless meekness,
1941
02:18:15,208 --> 02:18:17,750
who not only forgave every insult,
1942
02:18:17,917 --> 02:18:21,375
but answered every evil deed
with greater and greater good.
1943
02:18:21,458 --> 02:18:22,667
What then?
1944
02:18:22,917 --> 02:18:25,333
Did he shake his enemy's soul
to its foundations?
1945
02:18:25,417 --> 02:18:28,000
Did he cause him to be morally reborn?
1946
02:18:28,083 --> 02:18:31,500
Alas, he only has harshened
the villain's heart,
1947
02:18:31,583 --> 02:18:34,042
and he died a wretched death
by his hand.
1948
02:18:35,250 --> 02:18:37,833
But please, let us take our seats
at the dinner table.
1949
02:18:46,042 --> 02:18:48,542
Who were you talking about?
1950
02:18:48,625 --> 02:18:50,208
Who was this man?
1951
02:18:50,292 --> 02:18:52,542
Where and when did he live?
1952
02:18:52,625 --> 02:18:54,833
Not long ago, in St. Petersburg.
1953
02:18:54,917 --> 02:18:56,792
I thought you knew him.
1954
02:18:56,875 --> 02:18:58,500
He's Delarue, the Chamberlain.
1955
02:18:58,583 --> 02:19:01,542
Never heard of him in my life…
1956
02:19:24,875 --> 02:19:27,792
You argued that the meaning of History
1957
02:19:27,875 --> 02:19:30,333
resides in the fact
that natural humanity,
1958
02:19:30,417 --> 02:19:33,875
initially composed of peoples
of greater or lesser savagery,
1959
02:19:33,958 --> 02:19:37,708
which differed from each other,
and either ignored or fought each other,
1960
02:19:37,792 --> 02:19:40,958
gradually gives birth to a better,
more educated condition,
1961
02:19:41,042 --> 02:19:42,417
the civilised world.
1962
02:19:42,500 --> 02:19:43,625
Or European world.
1963
02:19:43,708 --> 02:19:45,583
Which grows and expands
1964
02:19:45,667 --> 02:19:50,125
to encompass every remaining people
left behind by this movement of history,
1965
02:19:50,375 --> 02:19:54,833
bringing them together in a unitary whole,
pacifist, international, in solidarity.
1966
02:19:55,833 --> 02:19:59,625
“The establishment of everlasting
international peace.”
1967
02:19:59,833 --> 02:20:02,042
That was how you put it, wasn't it?
1968
02:20:02,292 --> 02:20:04,833
The imminent realisation these words
1969
02:20:04,917 --> 02:20:09,292
will lead to far more civilisational
successes than might now appear.
1970
02:20:09,375 --> 02:20:12,458
Think of how much Evil will,
necessarily, have atrophied
1971
02:20:12,542 --> 02:20:13,833
and how much Good,
1972
02:20:13,917 --> 02:20:17,292
by the nature of things,
will appear and develop.
1973
02:20:17,583 --> 02:20:21,250
How much energy will be released
for productive activities,
1974
02:20:21,333 --> 02:20:24,500
how the sciences and arts will flourish,
industry and commerce…
1975
02:20:24,583 --> 02:20:27,333
Do you include
the elimination of disease and death
1976
02:20:27,417 --> 02:20:30,625
among the imminent successes
of civilisation?
1977
02:20:30,708 --> 02:20:31,917
It goes without saying.
1978
02:20:32,000 --> 02:20:33,458
Up to a point.
1979
02:20:33,542 --> 02:20:36,208
Much has been achieved
in the medical sphere,
1980
02:20:36,292 --> 02:20:38,792
hygiene, antisepsis, organotherapy…
1981
02:20:38,875 --> 02:20:41,458
But are not these evident
positive achievements
1982
02:20:41,542 --> 02:20:45,375
counterbalanced
by an equally evident progress
1983
02:20:45,458 --> 02:20:49,292
of the degenerative psychopathic
and neuropathological phenomena
1984
02:20:49,375 --> 02:20:52,417
that go hand in hand with
the development of civilisation?
1985
02:20:52,625 --> 02:20:54,958
But what scales
could weigh such a thing?
1986
02:20:56,875 --> 02:21:00,333
In any event, it is clear that
the negative increases with the positive.
1987
02:21:00,417 --> 02:21:03,958
The sum tends toward zero.
So much for diseases.
1988
02:21:04,208 --> 02:21:06,208
Then, as for death,
1989
02:21:06,292 --> 02:21:10,167
progress has never been
anything other than zero.
1990
02:21:10,250 --> 02:21:14,042
Does the progress of civilisation
aim to eliminate death?
1991
02:21:15,500 --> 02:21:17,125
I know very well it does not.
1992
02:21:17,208 --> 02:21:20,208
This is why it's not good
to have such expectations.
1993
02:21:20,500 --> 02:21:21,750
In fact,
1994
02:21:21,833 --> 02:21:25,042
if I were certain
that I would die once and for all,
1995
02:21:25,125 --> 02:21:27,458
along with all that I love,
would I not be indifferent
1996
02:21:27,542 --> 02:21:30,833
whether various nations warred
or lived in peace,
1997
02:21:30,917 --> 02:21:33,292
if they were civilised or savage,
polite or not?
1998
02:21:33,375 --> 02:21:37,208
From a personal, selfish viewpoint,
certainly it's all the same.
1999
02:21:37,333 --> 02:21:38,917
Selfish in what way?
2000
02:21:39,208 --> 02:21:40,750
Death levels all.
2001
02:21:40,833 --> 02:21:44,083
In the face of death, selfishness
and altruism are just as absurd.
2002
02:21:44,167 --> 02:21:46,167
True. Nevertheless,
2003
02:21:46,250 --> 02:21:49,458
the absurdity of selfishness
does not stop us being selfish.
2004
02:21:49,542 --> 02:21:51,917
Likewise altruism,
insofar as it is possible,
2005
02:21:52,000 --> 02:21:53,333
does not require reason,
2006
02:21:53,417 --> 02:21:56,458
and the thought of death
changes nothing.
2007
02:21:57,125 --> 02:21:59,792
My children and my grandchildren
will die, I'm aware of it,
2008
02:21:59,875 --> 02:22:02,458
but that does not stop me
caring for them
2009
02:22:02,542 --> 02:22:04,542
as if they will live forever.
2010
02:22:04,625 --> 02:22:07,292
I work for them, first of all,
because I love them.
2011
02:22:07,375 --> 02:22:10,417
I'm glad to devote my life to them.
I like doing so.
2012
02:22:10,917 --> 02:22:12,708
It's as simple as that.
2013
02:22:13,167 --> 02:22:15,375
Yes, as long as all is well.
2014
02:22:16,542 --> 02:22:19,625
But the thought of death is still there.
2015
02:22:20,625 --> 02:22:25,042
But when bad things happen
to your children and grandchildren,
2016
02:22:25,708 --> 02:22:27,208
what joy,
2017
02:22:27,292 --> 02:22:29,292
what pleasure will you find then?
2018
02:22:29,583 --> 02:22:31,708
It's the same as with waterlilies:
2019
02:22:31,792 --> 02:22:34,500
when you pick them,
you sink in the mire.
2020
02:22:35,167 --> 02:22:39,125
But it is still your duty to care
for your children and grandchildren.
2021
02:22:39,208 --> 02:22:40,333
Of course.
2022
02:22:40,417 --> 02:22:43,333
Without having answered
or even asked the question
2023
02:22:43,417 --> 02:22:47,792
of whether your care for them
provides with them a real, definite good.
2024
02:22:48,167 --> 02:22:52,250
You care for them, not without reason,
but because you bear them a living love.
2025
02:22:52,750 --> 02:22:56,875
We can't bear the same love
for people who do not yet exist.
2026
02:22:57,417 --> 02:23:01,042
And this is where the question
that reason asks us comes in,
2027
02:23:01,125 --> 02:23:04,333
with regard to the final purpose
of our care.
2028
02:23:05,250 --> 02:23:09,750
If the answer, ultimately,
is the death of each and everyone,
2029
02:23:09,958 --> 02:23:12,750
if the final result of progress
2030
02:23:12,833 --> 02:23:14,500
and of your civilisation
2031
02:23:14,583 --> 02:23:17,042
is in every case the death of all,
2032
02:23:17,125 --> 02:23:18,667
then it is clear
2033
02:23:18,750 --> 02:23:22,375
that all civilised activity is in vain.
2034
02:23:22,458 --> 02:23:24,250
It is pointless and absurd.
2035
02:23:24,875 --> 02:23:28,500
The true Christian doctrine does not
even allow such an approach.
2036
02:23:30,375 --> 02:23:32,167
The evangelical solution
2037
02:23:32,250 --> 02:23:36,542
is clearly and thoroughly expressed
in the parable of the vineyard.
2038
02:23:37,208 --> 02:23:41,792
The servants imagined the vineyard
they were to tend for their master
2039
02:23:41,875 --> 02:23:43,792
was their own property
2040
02:23:43,875 --> 02:23:46,333
and that everything there was theirs.
2041
02:23:47,500 --> 02:23:51,417
They set about enjoying life
in the vineyard, forgot their master,
2042
02:23:51,500 --> 02:23:55,917
and slew those who reminded them
of him and their duties.
2043
02:23:57,083 --> 02:24:00,125
Almost everyone today lives like them.
2044
02:24:00,208 --> 02:24:01,500
In the absurd belief
2045
02:24:01,583 --> 02:24:05,458
that they are masters of their lives
given to them for their own pleasure.
2046
02:24:06,750 --> 02:24:08,417
It is obviously absurd.
2047
02:24:08,708 --> 02:24:12,125
If we have been sent here,
2048
02:24:13,500 --> 02:24:16,583
it was by someone's will
and for a reason.
2049
02:24:17,417 --> 02:24:20,208
But we have decided
we are like mushrooms:
2050
02:24:20,500 --> 02:24:24,167
we are born
and we live only for our pleasures.
2051
02:24:25,208 --> 02:24:27,167
It is clearly not good for us,
2052
02:24:27,250 --> 02:24:29,958
nor will it be
for the disobedient servant.
2053
02:24:30,042 --> 02:24:33,708
The master's will is expressed
in the doctrine of Christ.
2054
02:24:33,792 --> 02:24:37,750
Let people obey His doctrine,
and heaven will reign on earth.
2055
02:24:38,250 --> 02:24:42,500
People will then receive
the greatest good they are permitted.
2056
02:24:42,708 --> 02:24:43,917
It's all here.
2057
02:24:44,833 --> 02:24:47,333
Seek the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness,
2058
02:24:47,417 --> 02:24:49,833
and the rest will be given to you
in abundance.
2059
02:24:50,708 --> 02:24:53,042
We do not seek the rest
and we do not find it.
2060
02:24:53,875 --> 02:24:57,208
Not only do we not establish
the Kingdom of God, but we destroy it
2061
02:24:57,292 --> 02:24:59,250
with our states, our armies,
2062
02:24:59,333 --> 02:25:02,208
courts, universities and factories.
2063
02:25:04,625 --> 02:25:06,833
- Have you finished?
- Yes.
2064
02:25:11,958 --> 02:25:13,792
I have to…
2065
02:25:13,875 --> 02:25:17,292
to tell you that I simply
cannot understand your way
2066
02:25:17,375 --> 02:25:19,083
of solving the problem.
2067
02:25:19,167 --> 02:25:20,917
You seem to reason,
2068
02:25:21,000 --> 02:25:23,458
argue and explicate,
2069
02:25:24,375 --> 02:25:27,208
you wish to convince us of something,
2070
02:25:27,292 --> 02:25:29,708
and yet you put forward nothing
2071
02:25:29,792 --> 02:25:33,417
but a series of arbitrary,
meaningless statements.
2072
02:25:33,500 --> 02:25:35,083
You say, for example:
2073
02:25:35,250 --> 02:25:37,708
if we have been sent here,
2074
02:25:37,875 --> 02:25:40,208
it was by someone's will
and for a reason.
2075
02:25:40,292 --> 02:25:42,000
This seems to be the principal idea.
2076
02:25:42,917 --> 02:25:45,083
But what does it mean?
2077
02:25:45,167 --> 02:25:49,375
How do you know we were sent here
by someone, for something?
2078
02:25:49,458 --> 02:25:51,167
Who told you so?
2079
02:25:53,583 --> 02:25:55,458
It is true we exist on earth,
2080
02:25:55,542 --> 02:25:59,542
that our life consists
in fulfilling some mission or other
2081
02:25:59,625 --> 02:26:01,333
is a wholly gratuitous statement.
2082
02:26:01,417 --> 02:26:04,250
In my youth,
when I was sent on mission,
2083
02:26:04,333 --> 02:26:06,250
I knew it for certain.
2084
02:26:06,333 --> 02:26:10,583
I knew by whom and for what purpose.
2085
02:26:11,000 --> 02:26:15,208
First of all because
I had indisputable documents,
2086
02:26:15,292 --> 02:26:16,333
secondly,
2087
02:26:16,417 --> 02:26:19,458
because I had had an audience
with the late Alexander II,
2088
02:26:19,542 --> 02:26:22,125
who personally gave me instructions,
2089
02:26:22,208 --> 02:26:23,583
and thirdly,
2090
02:26:23,667 --> 02:26:26,292
because every year
I was paid 30,000 gold rubles.
2091
02:26:26,375 --> 02:26:27,750
A handsome sum!
2092
02:26:29,625 --> 02:26:31,417
If, rather than all that,
2093
02:26:32,292 --> 02:26:35,458
somebody had approached me
on the street,
2094
02:26:35,542 --> 02:26:38,250
made me a minister
2095
02:26:38,333 --> 02:26:40,583
and sent me off on a mission,
2096
02:26:40,667 --> 02:26:45,875
then I would have looked around
for a policeman
2097
02:26:45,958 --> 02:26:49,542
to arrest that lunatic
lest he take my life.
2098
02:26:49,625 --> 02:26:50,667
In our case,
2099
02:26:50,750 --> 02:26:54,833
your supposed master
did not give you indisputable documents,
2100
02:26:55,000 --> 02:26:57,292
he did not grant you a private audience,
2101
02:26:57,375 --> 02:26:59,333
he does not pay you a salary.
2102
02:26:59,417 --> 02:27:01,333
What kind of emissary are you?
2103
02:27:01,417 --> 02:27:05,042
And I refer not just to you,
but to all people,
2104
02:27:05,125 --> 02:27:07,708
whether envoys or servants,
we do not know for sure.
2105
02:27:07,792 --> 02:27:10,583
By what right? On what basis?
I do not understand.
2106
02:27:10,833 --> 02:27:14,417
My impression is
that it is a rhetorical exercise,
2107
02:27:14,500 --> 02:27:16,500
and not a very inspired one.
2108
02:27:18,750 --> 02:27:19,958
Please,
2109
02:27:20,667 --> 02:27:23,000
don't play-act again.
2110
02:27:24,958 --> 02:27:26,958
You understand perfectly
2111
02:27:27,042 --> 02:27:30,792
that Olga was not
attacking your unbelief,
2112
02:27:30,875 --> 02:27:33,917
but expositing
the general Christian view
2113
02:27:34,000 --> 02:27:36,250
according to which we all depend on God
2114
02:27:36,333 --> 02:27:38,417
and must serve Him.
2115
02:27:38,500 --> 02:27:41,167
To serve him without a wage,
this I do not understand.
2116
02:27:41,250 --> 02:27:44,583
And if this wage
is the same for all, meaning death,
2117
02:27:44,667 --> 02:27:46,625
then my compliments.
2118
02:27:46,708 --> 02:27:48,375
You will die anyway
2119
02:27:48,458 --> 02:27:50,917
and nobody will ask your opinion.
2120
02:27:52,333 --> 02:27:55,750
Precisely this “anyway”
shows us that life is not a paid job.
2121
02:27:55,833 --> 02:27:59,292
Whether or not
I am asked for my consent,
2122
02:27:59,375 --> 02:28:03,875
since my consent is not required
in order to die or be born,
2123
02:28:03,958 --> 02:28:06,167
I prefer to regard both death and life,
2124
02:28:06,250 --> 02:28:09,833
as what they are, that is,
necessities of nature.
2125
02:28:10,000 --> 02:28:12,792
Rather than tell myself
I serve a master.
2126
02:28:13,375 --> 02:28:14,917
Here is my conclusion:
2127
02:28:15,000 --> 02:28:16,958
Live your life
2128
02:28:17,125 --> 02:28:19,083
and strive to live
2129
02:28:19,333 --> 02:28:22,333
as intelligently
and as well as possible.
2130
02:28:22,417 --> 02:28:25,417
The condition
for an intelligent and good life
2131
02:28:25,500 --> 02:28:27,708
is a pacifist civilisation.
2132
02:28:28,500 --> 02:28:32,458
Besides, I assume that not even
in the realm of Christian teaching
2133
02:28:32,542 --> 02:28:36,667
does Olga's pseudo-solution
stand up to criticism.
2134
02:28:37,125 --> 02:28:39,958
But I surrender the floor
to more competent speakers.
2135
02:28:40,042 --> 02:28:41,542
What answer are we talking about?
2136
02:28:41,625 --> 02:28:43,833
The question
has neither been asked nor answered.
2137
02:28:43,917 --> 02:28:46,000
Instead, we keep
going around and around it.
2138
02:28:46,083 --> 02:28:50,458
It is as if I were to draw battalions
2139
02:28:50,542 --> 02:28:52,792
around an enemy fortress on a map
2140
02:28:52,875 --> 02:28:55,125
and imagine I had conquered it.
2141
02:29:03,625 --> 02:29:05,417
I don't understand a thing!
2142
02:29:06,625 --> 02:29:09,667
Is that all you can muster
against what I said?
2143
02:29:10,833 --> 02:29:13,625
What was genuinely hard
for me to understand
2144
02:29:13,708 --> 02:29:17,958
was the part about mushrooms
living for their own pleasures.
2145
02:29:18,042 --> 02:29:21,292
I've always thought they were
for the pleasure of gourmets,
2146
02:29:21,375 --> 02:29:23,792
served with cream or in pastry.
2147
02:29:25,375 --> 02:29:29,792
And if God's kingdom on earth
leaves death intact,
2148
02:29:29,875 --> 02:29:33,000
then it follows that people
live against their will
2149
02:29:33,083 --> 02:29:35,250
and in that kingdom,
2150
02:29:35,333 --> 02:29:37,958
we will live like mushrooms.
2151
02:29:38,042 --> 02:29:40,917
But not like
your pleasure-taking mushrooms,
2152
02:29:41,000 --> 02:29:44,542
rather as real mushrooms,
which will end up in the pan.
2153
02:29:44,792 --> 02:29:46,708
The same for humans
2154
02:29:46,833 --> 02:29:49,875
in God's kingdom on earth,
2155
02:29:49,958 --> 02:29:52,292
they will finally be devoured by death.
2156
02:29:52,375 --> 02:29:53,708
And that will be that.
2157
02:29:54,208 --> 02:29:56,042
Olga didn't say that.
2158
02:29:56,875 --> 02:29:58,875
Neither that, nor anything else.
2159
02:29:58,958 --> 02:30:02,875
Why do we overlook
the most important thing?
2160
02:30:02,958 --> 02:30:04,042
Before that,
2161
02:30:04,125 --> 02:30:07,417
I'd like to know
where you got that parable,
2162
02:30:07,500 --> 02:30:10,875
Olga,
whereby you expressed your opinion?
2163
02:30:11,417 --> 02:30:14,167
Or maybe you invented it yourself?
2164
02:30:15,500 --> 02:30:17,250
Invented it myself?
2165
02:30:17,333 --> 02:30:19,208
But it's from the Gospels!
2166
02:30:20,542 --> 02:30:23,333
That parable is not in any Gospel.
2167
02:30:24,042 --> 02:30:26,000
For God's sake!
2168
02:30:26,417 --> 02:30:28,583
Why are you picking on Olga?
2169
02:30:37,125 --> 02:30:39,958
There is a parable
of the vine workers in the Gospels.
2170
02:30:40,833 --> 02:30:43,292
There is something on a similar subject,
2171
02:30:43,375 --> 02:30:46,083
but its meaning and content
refer to something else.
2172
02:30:46,167 --> 02:30:48,833
This is too much!
To me, it is the same parable.
2173
02:30:48,917 --> 02:30:52,250
And besides, it seems to me
that you are splitting hairs.
2174
02:30:52,333 --> 02:30:54,792
And I don't take your word for it.
2175
02:30:54,875 --> 02:30:56,500
Nor is there any need to.
2176
02:30:56,583 --> 02:30:59,625
The parable can be found
in three of the Evangelists:
2177
02:30:59,708 --> 02:31:01,625
Matthew, Mark, and Luke,
2178
02:31:01,708 --> 02:31:04,125
but there is no noticeable difference
among them,
2179
02:31:04,208 --> 02:31:08,083
therefore let us look
at only one of them, the most detailed,
2180
02:31:08,167 --> 02:31:09,500
in Luke.
2181
02:31:10,000 --> 02:31:11,875
It is in chapter 20,
2182
02:31:11,958 --> 02:31:14,708
where we find Christ's final sermon.
2183
02:31:15,625 --> 02:31:19,250
The end was approaching,
and here we are told,
2184
02:31:19,667 --> 02:31:23,542
at the end of chapter 19
and the beginning of chapter 20,
2185
02:31:23,625 --> 02:31:26,083
how Christ's enemies,
2186
02:31:26,167 --> 02:31:28,333
the high priests and scribes,
2187
02:31:28,417 --> 02:31:31,375
made a determined attack,
2188
02:31:31,583 --> 02:31:34,875
demanding He reveal who authorised Him,
2189
02:31:34,958 --> 02:31:36,417
and to say
2190
02:31:37,208 --> 02:31:38,458
by what right
2191
02:31:38,542 --> 02:31:42,583
and by what authority He acted.
But better I read it.
2192
02:31:44,250 --> 02:31:46,792
And he taught daily in the temple
2193
02:31:47,208 --> 02:31:49,917
But the chief priests and the scribes
2194
02:31:50,000 --> 02:31:52,000
sought to destroy him
2195
02:31:52,417 --> 02:31:57,792
and could not find what they might do,
for all people were waiting to hear him.
2196
02:31:58,208 --> 02:32:01,917
On one of those days
as he taught the people in the temple,
2197
02:32:02,000 --> 02:32:05,083
the chief priests and the scribes
came upon him with the elders,
2198
02:32:05,167 --> 02:32:07,208
and spoke unto him, saying,
2199
02:32:07,292 --> 02:32:11,500
Tell us by what authority you do these
things, or who gave you this authority?
2200
02:32:11,667 --> 02:32:13,333
And he answered and said unto them:
2201
02:32:13,417 --> 02:32:17,500
I will ask you one thing, and answer me:
2202
02:32:17,583 --> 02:32:21,167
the baptism of John,
was it from heaven, or of men?
2203
02:32:21,542 --> 02:32:24,167
And they reasoned with themselves,
saying,
2204
02:32:24,708 --> 02:32:26,792
If we shall say, From heaven,
he will say,
2205
02:32:26,875 --> 02:32:28,667
Why then believed ye him not?
2206
02:32:28,750 --> 02:32:31,750
But and if we say, Of men,
all the people will stone us,
2207
02:32:31,833 --> 02:32:34,458
for they be persuaded
that John was a prophet.
2208
02:32:34,542 --> 02:32:37,583
And they answered
that they could not tell whence it was.
2209
02:32:37,667 --> 02:32:39,083
And Jesus said unto them,
2210
02:32:39,167 --> 02:32:42,583
Neither tell I you by what authority
I do these things.
2211
02:32:42,833 --> 02:32:44,958
Why do you read this to us?
2212
02:32:45,208 --> 02:32:48,625
It was well that Christ didn't answer
when they berated Him.
2213
02:32:48,708 --> 02:32:50,833
What does this have to do
with vineyard workers?
2214
02:32:50,917 --> 02:32:52,667
Wait a minute, it all comes together.
2215
02:32:52,750 --> 02:32:55,583
You are wrong that Jesus didn't answer.
2216
02:32:55,667 --> 02:32:58,083
He answered very precisely,
2217
02:32:58,167 --> 02:32:59,667
twice even.
2218
02:32:59,750 --> 02:33:04,000
He called on a witness to His power
that they could not challenge.
2219
02:33:04,083 --> 02:33:05,708
Then He showed them
2220
02:33:05,792 --> 02:33:08,833
they had neither power
nor any right over Him,
2221
02:33:08,917 --> 02:33:11,000
as they were acting
from fear of the people,
2222
02:33:11,083 --> 02:33:12,958
submitting to the mob,
2223
02:33:13,042 --> 02:33:14,500
from fear of death.
2224
02:33:15,083 --> 02:33:17,500
But the true power, isn't it,
2225
02:33:17,583 --> 02:33:20,792
consists not in following others,
but in being followed.
2226
02:33:21,250 --> 02:33:23,958
Fearing the people and heeding them,
2227
02:33:24,042 --> 02:33:25,500
they showed that power
2228
02:33:25,583 --> 02:33:27,917
eluded them
and belonged to the people.
2229
02:33:28,000 --> 02:33:30,583
It is the people Christ now addresses,
2230
02:33:30,667 --> 02:33:33,208
to accuse them of opposing Him.
2231
02:33:34,792 --> 02:33:36,333
This I like very much!
2232
02:33:53,583 --> 02:33:56,417
The content of vineyard parable
2233
02:33:56,500 --> 02:34:01,875
condemns the unworthy Jewish leaders
for opposing the Messiah.
2234
02:34:02,542 --> 02:34:04,083
As you will now see.
2235
02:34:05,708 --> 02:34:08,667
Then he began to speak to the people
this parable:
2236
02:34:09,458 --> 02:34:11,083
A man planted a vineyard,
2237
02:34:11,167 --> 02:34:14,833
let it forth to husbandmen
and went abroad for a long time.
2238
02:34:14,917 --> 02:34:17,833
At harvest time he sent a servant
to the husbandmen,
2239
02:34:17,917 --> 02:34:20,500
so they should give him
the fruit of the vineyard.
2240
02:34:20,583 --> 02:34:23,542
But the husbandmen beat him,
and sent him away empty handed.
2241
02:34:23,625 --> 02:34:26,000
And again he sent another servant
2242
02:34:26,083 --> 02:34:27,792
and they beat him also,
2243
02:34:27,875 --> 02:34:31,000
and treated him shamefully,
and sent him away empty handed.
2244
02:34:31,083 --> 02:34:34,208
And again he sent a third,
and they wounded him also
2245
02:34:34,292 --> 02:34:36,250
and cast him out.
2246
02:34:36,333 --> 02:34:38,750
Then the lord of the vineyard
said to himself:
2247
02:34:38,917 --> 02:34:40,208
What shall I do?
2248
02:34:40,292 --> 02:34:42,750
I will send my beloved son,
2249
02:34:42,833 --> 02:34:45,417
hopefully they will reverence him.
2250
02:34:45,500 --> 02:34:47,542
But when the husbandmen saw him,
2251
02:34:47,625 --> 02:34:50,375
they reasoned among themselves, saying
2252
02:34:50,708 --> 02:34:52,167
This is the heir,
2253
02:34:52,250 --> 02:34:54,708
let us kill him,
that the inheritance may be ours.
2254
02:34:54,792 --> 02:34:58,167
So they cast him out of the vineyard,
and killed him.
2255
02:34:58,292 --> 02:35:00,625
What therefore shall the lord
of the vineyard do unto them?
2256
02:35:00,708 --> 02:35:01,750
He shall come
2257
02:35:01,833 --> 02:35:06,167
and destroy these husbandmen,
and shall give the vineyard to others.
2258
02:35:06,417 --> 02:35:08,250
And when they heard it, they said:
2259
02:35:08,333 --> 02:35:09,875
God forbid.
2260
02:35:10,000 --> 02:35:13,083
And he beheld them, and said:
2261
02:35:13,167 --> 02:35:14,833
What is this that is written?
2262
02:35:14,917 --> 02:35:17,333
The stone which the builders rejected,
2263
02:35:17,417 --> 02:35:19,333
became the head of the corner.
2264
02:35:19,417 --> 02:35:22,000
Whosoever shall fall upon it
shall be broken,
2265
02:35:22,083 --> 02:35:25,000
on whomsoever it shall fall,
it will grind him to powder.
2266
02:35:25,167 --> 02:35:28,917
The chief priests and the scribes
sought to lay hands on him,
2267
02:35:29,000 --> 02:35:30,958
but they feared the people.
2268
02:35:31,292 --> 02:35:32,917
For they perceived
2269
02:35:33,000 --> 02:35:35,792
that he had spoken this parable
against them.
2270
02:35:38,625 --> 02:35:41,000
To whom and to what, I ask you,
2271
02:35:41,083 --> 02:35:43,542
does the parable of the vineyard refer?
2272
02:35:43,917 --> 02:35:46,333
I don't understand your objection.
2273
02:35:46,917 --> 02:35:49,625
The high priests and scribes
were offended
2274
02:35:49,708 --> 02:35:54,042
because they knew they were
like the workers in this parable.
2275
02:35:54,292 --> 02:35:57,083
But of what exactly were they accused?
2276
02:35:57,167 --> 02:35:59,542
Of not practising the true doctrine.
2277
02:35:59,625 --> 02:36:00,917
This much seems obvious.
2278
02:36:01,000 --> 02:36:03,875
These villains lived like mushrooms,
for their own pleasure.
2279
02:36:03,958 --> 02:36:06,375
They smoked tobacco, drank brandy,
2280
02:36:06,458 --> 02:36:09,333
they ate dead flesh,
made offerings of it to their god,
2281
02:36:09,417 --> 02:36:10,875
they also married,
2282
02:36:10,958 --> 02:36:13,625
they judged others and waged war.
2283
02:36:13,708 --> 02:36:19,292
Does such mockery befit
your age and rank?
2284
02:36:19,625 --> 02:36:21,542
Don't listen to him, Olga.
2285
02:36:22,208 --> 02:36:24,583
I am convinced…
2286
02:36:25,292 --> 02:36:26,625
I beg your pardon.
2287
02:36:28,750 --> 02:36:31,458
We are trying
to have a serious discussion with you.
2288
02:36:31,750 --> 02:36:34,208
Merely tell me,
2289
02:36:34,542 --> 02:36:37,375
in Gospel parable,
2290
02:36:38,792 --> 02:36:41,333
the vineyard workers perish
2291
02:36:41,417 --> 02:36:44,708
because they kill
their master's son and heir.
2292
02:36:44,792 --> 02:36:47,250
That is what is essential,
according to the Gospel.
2293
02:36:47,333 --> 02:36:49,333
Why do you omit this fact?
2294
02:36:50,083 --> 02:36:53,833
Because it refers to the fate of Christ,
2295
02:36:54,333 --> 02:36:56,542
which, of course,
has its own importance and value,
2296
02:36:56,625 --> 02:36:59,958
but is not essential
to the only thing necessary.
2297
02:37:00,417 --> 02:37:01,792
Namely?
2298
02:37:02,250 --> 02:37:04,375
To follow Gospel teachings
2299
02:37:04,458 --> 02:37:07,917
whereby we attain the Kingdom of God
and His righteousness.
2300
02:37:08,000 --> 02:37:09,042
Wait!
2301
02:37:09,125 --> 02:37:10,875
Wait one moment.
2302
02:37:11,458 --> 02:37:14,167
It is all mixed up in my head.
2303
02:37:14,625 --> 02:37:17,000
What is it about, in fact?
2304
02:37:18,083 --> 02:37:20,542
Nikolai,
you hold the Gospels in your hand,
2305
02:37:20,625 --> 02:37:22,792
please tell me
2306
02:37:23,542 --> 02:37:26,958
what comes next in the chapter,
after the parable.
2307
02:37:35,958 --> 02:37:37,542
It says
2308
02:37:37,625 --> 02:37:40,583
we must render unto Caesar
what is Caesar's
2309
02:37:41,333 --> 02:37:43,792
then it tells
of the resurrection of dead,
2310
02:37:43,875 --> 02:37:45,792
that the dead will be resurrected
2311
02:37:45,875 --> 02:37:48,583
because God is not of the dead,
but of the living.
2312
02:37:49,542 --> 02:37:51,500
Then,
2313
02:37:51,583 --> 02:37:54,125
it shows that Christ
2314
02:37:54,208 --> 02:37:56,833
is not the son of David,
but the son of God.
2315
02:37:57,042 --> 02:38:01,375
And the final verses are against
the hypocrisy and vanity of the scribes.
2316
02:38:02,708 --> 02:38:05,542
You see, Olga, the Gospels
2317
02:38:05,708 --> 02:38:10,250
teach that we must recognise
the state's role in worldly affairs
2318
02:38:10,333 --> 02:38:12,917
and must believe
in the resurrection of the dead
2319
02:38:13,000 --> 02:38:16,208
and that Christ
is not an ordinary man,
2320
02:38:16,292 --> 02:38:17,917
but the Son of God.
2321
02:38:21,458 --> 02:38:23,833
Can we draw conclusions from a chapter
2322
02:38:23,917 --> 02:38:27,375
written who knows when
and by who knows whom?
2323
02:38:27,458 --> 02:38:29,750
This time, I am in no doubt
2324
02:38:30,750 --> 02:38:34,917
and I don't have to look it up
to know it's in a single chapter…
2325
02:38:35,000 --> 02:38:37,333
And…
2326
02:38:39,833 --> 02:38:41,750
Sorry, I became confused,
2327
02:38:41,833 --> 02:38:43,792
but I don't agree with you.
2328
02:38:44,625 --> 02:38:48,333
I don't want to believe
that it is only in one chapter,
2329
02:38:48,417 --> 02:38:51,708
I know that in all four Gospels
2330
02:38:52,083 --> 02:38:54,583
there is talk of the resurrection,
2331
02:38:54,667 --> 02:38:56,583
as well as the divinity of Christ,
2332
02:38:56,667 --> 02:38:58,667
particularly in John,
2333
02:38:58,750 --> 02:39:00,917
which is also read at funerals.
2334
02:39:01,000 --> 02:39:05,167
As for the notion that it is unknown
when or by whom they were written,
2335
02:39:05,250 --> 02:39:07,542
even liberal German criticism allows
2336
02:39:07,625 --> 02:39:10,417
that the four Gospels
are of apostolic origin,
2337
02:39:10,500 --> 02:39:12,250
from the 1st century A.D.
2338
02:39:12,375 --> 02:39:14,917
And in the 13th edition
of Renan's “Life of Jesus”,
2339
02:39:15,000 --> 02:39:19,083
I think I saw a retraction
regarding the fourth Gospel.
2340
02:39:20,250 --> 02:39:21,542
Right,
2341
02:39:21,625 --> 02:39:24,500
one must keep up with the experts.
2342
02:39:25,042 --> 02:39:28,333
The unfortunate thing is that,
whatever the Gospels might be,
2343
02:39:28,417 --> 02:39:31,708
no matter when they were written
or by whom,
2344
02:39:31,792 --> 02:39:35,333
there is no Gospel
more plausible to you, Olga.
2345
02:39:35,417 --> 02:39:37,250
None more consonant
with your doctrine.
2346
02:39:37,333 --> 02:39:39,458
What do you mean there isn't?
2347
02:39:39,542 --> 02:39:40,958
What about the fifth?
2348
02:39:41,042 --> 02:39:44,375
In which Christ does not appear,
but is only about animal sacrifice
2349
02:39:44,458 --> 02:39:46,125
and military service.
2350
02:39:46,208 --> 02:39:48,417
Oh no! You as well?
2351
02:39:48,750 --> 02:39:50,292
How shameful!
2352
02:39:51,292 --> 02:39:54,792
The more you and your cronies
tease Olga,
2353
02:39:54,875 --> 02:39:56,958
the more I shall take her side.
2354
02:39:58,167 --> 02:39:59,375
Olga, I'm certain
2355
02:39:59,458 --> 02:40:03,750
you want to tackle Christianity
honestly.
2356
02:40:03,833 --> 02:40:07,042
Your Gospel,
although it does not resemble ours,
2357
02:40:07,125 --> 02:40:08,625
is almost the same.
2358
02:40:09,167 --> 02:40:13,417
The way they used to write books titled:
“The spirit of M. de Montesquieu”,
2359
02:40:13,500 --> 02:40:15,042
“The spirit of Fénelon”,
2360
02:40:15,125 --> 02:40:17,667
you and your teachers
2361
02:40:17,750 --> 02:40:20,625
have tried to write
“The Spirit of the Gospels”.
2362
02:40:21,292 --> 02:40:24,625
A pity that none of you
2363
02:40:24,917 --> 02:40:27,292
has written a brochure called:
2364
02:40:27,375 --> 02:40:29,750
“The Spirit of Christianity,
2365
02:40:29,833 --> 02:40:32,958
“according to the doctrine
of so and so…”
2366
02:40:35,583 --> 02:40:38,250
You must have some kind of…
2367
02:40:38,333 --> 02:40:39,542
catechism,
2368
02:40:39,625 --> 02:40:41,333
for the rest of us,
2369
02:40:41,417 --> 02:40:42,792
we simple people,
2370
02:40:42,875 --> 02:40:45,750
lest we lose the thread
of all these variations.
2371
02:40:45,833 --> 02:40:47,958
Because, in effect,
2372
02:40:48,042 --> 02:40:52,458
we are told that the essentials
are found in the Sermon on the Mount,
2373
02:40:52,542 --> 02:40:56,333
or they inform us… suddenly…
2374
02:40:56,750 --> 02:41:00,708
that first we must work the land
by the sweat of our brows,
2375
02:41:00,792 --> 02:41:04,917
although this is not in the Gospels,
but in Genesis,
2376
02:41:05,000 --> 02:41:08,292
where it is said
of the throes of labour,
2377
02:41:08,375 --> 02:41:11,167
although it is not a commandment,
2378
02:41:11,250 --> 02:41:12,958
but only a sad fate.
2379
02:41:14,292 --> 02:41:17,583
And we are also told we must
give everything to the poor,
2380
02:41:17,667 --> 02:41:20,125
then not to give anything to anyone.
2381
02:41:20,208 --> 02:41:22,167
For, money is Evil
2382
02:41:22,333 --> 02:41:26,167
and you must not do evil to others,
but only to yourself and your family.
2383
02:41:26,333 --> 02:41:28,417
For others you must only toil.
2384
02:41:28,500 --> 02:41:30,542
After that we are told
2385
02:41:30,625 --> 02:41:33,958
to do nothing, only to meditate.
2386
02:41:34,583 --> 02:41:37,708
We are even told that a woman's purpose
2387
02:41:37,792 --> 02:41:41,875
is to give birth
to as many healthy children as possible
2388
02:41:42,167 --> 02:41:45,958
and then, all of a sudden,
that there's no such thing.
2389
02:41:47,250 --> 02:41:48,625
And then,
2390
02:41:49,292 --> 02:41:52,167
apropos of what we have on our plates,
2391
02:41:52,625 --> 02:41:55,542
we are told to stop eating meat,
2392
02:41:55,625 --> 02:41:57,500
and that is the first step,
2393
02:41:57,583 --> 02:41:58,875
but
2394
02:41:58,958 --> 02:42:01,875
nobody knows why it is the first.
2395
02:42:01,958 --> 02:42:05,000
Then brandy is condemned,
2396
02:42:05,083 --> 02:42:06,292
and tobacco,
2397
02:42:06,375 --> 02:42:08,125
then pancakes.
2398
02:42:10,292 --> 02:42:13,375
And now, we discover,
my dear Ingrida,
2399
02:42:13,458 --> 02:42:17,458
that military service
is the greatest evil
2400
02:42:18,667 --> 02:42:22,375
and that the main duty of the Christian
is to refuse it,
2401
02:42:22,458 --> 02:42:25,458
but he who is conscripted
2402
02:42:25,542 --> 02:42:27,167
is already a saint.
2403
02:42:27,250 --> 02:42:31,417
Maybe I'm talking nonsense,
2404
02:42:31,500 --> 02:42:33,625
but that's not my fault.
2405
02:42:33,708 --> 02:42:36,375
It's impossible not to get confused!
2406
02:42:38,458 --> 02:42:42,000
I too think our doctrine
needs to be summarised.
2407
02:42:42,083 --> 02:42:43,208
Yes.
2408
02:42:43,625 --> 02:42:46,000
A summary is being written, apparently.
2409
02:42:47,125 --> 02:42:49,250
But until then,
2410
02:42:49,792 --> 02:42:52,250
could you, please,
2411
02:42:52,333 --> 02:42:54,042
in a few words,
2412
02:42:54,125 --> 02:42:58,917
tell us what, to you,
is the essence of the Gospel?
2413
02:43:00,292 --> 02:43:03,583
To me it is obviously
the great principle
2414
02:43:03,667 --> 02:43:06,708
of not employing violence
to oppose Evil.
2415
02:43:06,792 --> 02:43:09,208
And where does tobacco come in?
2416
02:43:10,167 --> 02:43:11,417
What tobacco?
2417
02:43:12,125 --> 02:43:15,000
I'm asking you what connection is there
between non-violence
2418
02:43:15,083 --> 02:43:18,625
and abstinence from tobacco,
brandy, meat,
2419
02:43:18,708 --> 02:43:19,958
amorous liaisons?
2420
02:43:20,625 --> 02:43:22,667
To me the connection seems clear.
2421
02:43:22,792 --> 02:43:25,375
Such depraved habits stultify man
2422
02:43:25,458 --> 02:43:28,958
and weaken the voice
of his rational or moral conscience.
2423
02:43:29,250 --> 02:43:32,667
That's why soldiers
are plied with drink before a battle!
2424
02:43:33,375 --> 02:43:35,625
Especially if it is a losing battle.
2425
02:43:36,167 --> 02:43:38,750
The principle of non-violence
is important in itself,
2426
02:43:38,833 --> 02:43:42,292
whether or not it justifies
the demands of asceticism.
2427
02:43:42,375 --> 02:43:45,042
In your opinion, Olga,
2428
02:43:45,125 --> 02:43:48,083
if we don't oppose Evil by force,
2429
02:43:48,167 --> 02:43:50,292
Evil will disappear by itself.
2430
02:43:51,042 --> 02:43:54,750
Therefore, Evil persists
only because we oppose it.
2431
02:43:55,667 --> 02:43:58,125
Or because of our measures against it,
2432
02:43:58,208 --> 02:44:01,250
as it has no power of its own.
2433
02:44:01,708 --> 02:44:03,667
So Evil does not even exist,
2434
02:44:03,750 --> 02:44:07,542
it arises as a result
of the false opinion that it does exist
2435
02:44:07,625 --> 02:44:10,958
and we act accordingly, is that it?
2436
02:44:14,208 --> 02:44:15,583
Olga?
2437
02:44:16,792 --> 02:44:17,833
Yes.
2438
02:44:17,917 --> 02:44:20,417
But if Evil has no real existence,
2439
02:44:20,500 --> 02:44:24,792
how do you explain the astounding failure
of Christ's mission in history?
2440
02:44:25,125 --> 02:44:27,500
As you say, it did not succeed,
2441
02:44:27,583 --> 02:44:29,875
ultimately nothing came of it.
2442
02:44:29,958 --> 02:44:33,292
In fact, it did more harm than good.
2443
02:44:34,042 --> 02:44:35,375
Why so?
2444
02:44:35,458 --> 02:44:37,042
The odd question!
2445
02:44:38,375 --> 02:44:41,292
But you consider that Christ preached
2446
02:44:41,375 --> 02:44:42,875
the authentic good
2447
02:44:42,958 --> 02:44:47,042
with more clarity, force
and perseverance than anyone else.
2448
02:44:47,125 --> 02:44:49,083
- Agreed?
- Yes.
2449
02:44:49,167 --> 02:44:53,000
And the real Good
consists in not opposing Evil by force,
2450
02:44:53,083 --> 02:44:56,667
that is, an illusory Evil,
since Evil doesn't exist.
2451
02:45:03,292 --> 02:45:05,333
Not only did Christ preach the Good,
2452
02:45:05,417 --> 02:45:08,417
but He Himself
met the demands of that Good,
2453
02:45:08,500 --> 02:45:11,167
enduring martyrdom
without resistance.
2454
02:45:11,250 --> 02:45:15,208
According to you, Christ died
and was not resurrected. Perfect.
2455
02:45:15,292 --> 02:45:19,083
By His example, thousands of followers
met the same fate.
2456
02:45:19,167 --> 02:45:20,333
Perfect.
2457
02:45:20,458 --> 02:45:22,792
What came of that, in your opinion?
2458
02:45:23,917 --> 02:45:28,625
Would you have wanted angels to place
shining crowns on those martyrs' heads…
2459
02:45:28,958 --> 02:45:30,083
and…
2460
02:45:30,167 --> 02:45:34,708
bring them to the Garden of Heaven
in reward for their heroism?
2461
02:45:34,792 --> 02:45:37,083
No, why do you say that?
2462
02:45:37,333 --> 02:45:40,417
Like myself, I hope, you certainly wish
2463
02:45:40,500 --> 02:45:44,750
for all your family, alive or dead,
to enjoy all that is good.
2464
02:45:44,833 --> 02:45:48,417
However, not what we want matters,
but what, as you say,
2465
02:45:48,500 --> 02:45:53,458
resulted from the teachings and sacrifices
of Christ and His disciples.
2466
02:45:55,792 --> 02:45:58,875
Resulted for whom? For them?
2467
02:46:01,417 --> 02:46:04,917
For them, we know that it resulted
in a cruel death.
2468
02:46:05,000 --> 02:46:08,958
Given their moral heroism,
they willingly submitted to it,
2469
02:46:09,042 --> 02:46:13,375
not to be given shining crowns,
but genuinely to do good
2470
02:46:13,708 --> 02:46:16,208
to others, to all mankind.
2471
02:46:16,583 --> 02:46:18,125
So I ask you,
2472
02:46:18,208 --> 02:46:22,792
what good did their martyrdom
do to mankind?
2473
02:46:23,875 --> 02:46:25,292
As the old saying goes:
2474
02:46:25,375 --> 02:46:29,042
“the blood of the martyrs
is the seed of the Church.”
2475
02:46:31,458 --> 02:46:32,792
That's right,
2476
02:46:32,875 --> 02:46:36,500
but according to you, the Church
has distorted authentic Christianity,
2477
02:46:36,583 --> 02:46:39,333
which mankind has now almost forgotten,
2478
02:46:39,417 --> 02:46:43,083
and 18 centuries later it was necessary
to start all over again.
2479
02:46:43,167 --> 02:46:45,833
Without any guarantee of success,
that is, without hope.
2480
02:46:45,917 --> 02:46:47,583
Why without hope?
2481
02:46:48,625 --> 02:46:53,500
Surely you do not deny that Christ
and the primitive Christians
2482
02:46:53,625 --> 02:46:56,542
gave up their souls for this cause,
2483
02:46:56,625 --> 02:46:58,292
and even their lives.
2484
02:46:58,375 --> 02:47:02,000
If in the end, as you say,
nothing came out of it,
2485
02:47:02,208 --> 02:47:05,542
then on what are the hopes
of a different outcome based?
2486
02:47:06,000 --> 02:47:09,750
All this has an obvious,
constant and absolutely identical outcome
2487
02:47:09,833 --> 02:47:11,625
for the founders, distorters,
2488
02:47:11,708 --> 02:47:13,375
destroyers and reformers.
2489
02:47:13,458 --> 02:47:15,792
They all died in the past,
2490
02:47:15,875 --> 02:47:18,167
they die now, and will die in future,
2491
02:47:18,250 --> 02:47:21,042
and the cause of the Good,
the preaching of the truth,
2492
02:47:21,125 --> 02:47:24,292
has not produced
and is unlikely to produce
2493
02:47:24,375 --> 02:47:26,167
anything but death.
2494
02:47:27,625 --> 02:47:29,417
What does that mean?
2495
02:47:30,333 --> 02:47:31,958
How strange:
2496
02:47:32,125 --> 02:47:35,708
the Evil, which doesn't exist,
always triumphs,
2497
02:47:35,958 --> 02:47:38,375
and the Good always crumbles
into the abyss.
2498
02:47:51,667 --> 02:47:53,708
But do the wicked not die?
2499
02:47:53,792 --> 02:47:56,083
They do, many of them.
2500
02:47:56,750 --> 02:48:01,583
But the power of Evil
merely confirms the kingdom of death,
2501
02:48:01,667 --> 02:48:05,083
whereas the power of Good
is contradicted by it.
2502
02:48:05,333 --> 02:48:06,583
In fact,
2503
02:48:06,667 --> 02:48:09,875
Evil is evidently
more powerful than Good,
2504
02:48:09,958 --> 02:48:12,833
and if this is taken
as the sole real evidence,
2505
02:48:12,917 --> 02:48:16,458
then we must admit the world
is the result of a bad principle.
2506
02:48:17,625 --> 02:48:22,917
But how can people,
who assume they live in the real world,
2507
02:48:23,042 --> 02:48:27,167
and, consequently, recognise
the preponderance of Evil over Good,
2508
02:48:27,250 --> 02:48:30,583
say that Evil does not exist
2509
02:48:30,667 --> 02:48:33,542
and therefore needs not be fought?
2510
02:48:33,667 --> 02:48:36,500
My mind refuses
to comprehend such a thing.
2511
02:48:38,333 --> 02:48:40,333
And I expect Olga to help me.
2512
02:48:46,125 --> 02:48:49,958
First, show us
how you break the impasse!
2513
02:48:50,542 --> 02:48:52,000
It's simple.
2514
02:48:52,083 --> 02:48:53,500
Evil does exist.
2515
02:48:54,250 --> 02:48:57,125
It does not manifest itself
only through the absence of Good,
2516
02:48:57,208 --> 02:48:58,667
but also through resistance
2517
02:48:58,750 --> 02:49:02,750
and a preponderance of inferior
over superior qualities
2518
02:49:02,833 --> 02:49:04,625
in every sphere of existence.
2519
02:49:05,042 --> 02:49:06,917
There is an individual Evil,
2520
02:49:07,208 --> 02:49:10,333
manifested by the fact
that what is inferior in man,
2521
02:49:10,417 --> 02:49:12,292
his bestial and violent instincts,
2522
02:49:12,375 --> 02:49:15,417
opposes his loftiest aspirations
2523
02:49:15,750 --> 02:49:18,750
and, in the vast majority of people,
dominates them.
2524
02:49:18,958 --> 02:49:20,833
There is a social Evil,
2525
02:49:21,167 --> 02:49:23,625
which resides in the fact
that the masses of people,
2526
02:49:23,708 --> 02:49:25,667
individually subservient to Evil,
2527
02:49:25,750 --> 02:49:30,000
oppose the redeeming efforts of the best
and vanquish them.
2528
02:49:30,333 --> 02:49:31,958
Finally,
2529
02:49:32,042 --> 02:49:34,792
in man there exists physical Evil,
2530
02:49:34,875 --> 02:49:38,167
when the lower material elements
of the body
2531
02:49:38,250 --> 02:49:40,292
oppose the living and luminous force
2532
02:49:40,375 --> 02:49:44,042
that unites them
in the wonderful form of the organism.
2533
02:49:44,625 --> 02:49:46,542
They oppose this form and break it,
2534
02:49:46,625 --> 02:49:49,625
destroying the real foundation
of everything that is higher.
2535
02:49:50,000 --> 02:49:52,500
It is the extreme Evil named Death.
2536
02:49:55,083 --> 02:49:57,125
And if we allow that the victory
2537
02:49:57,208 --> 02:49:58,708
of this extreme physical Evil
2538
02:49:58,792 --> 02:50:00,583
is final and absolute,
2539
02:50:00,667 --> 02:50:03,042
then we cannot regard
as a serious success
2540
02:50:03,125 --> 02:50:05,208
any of the victories of Good
2541
02:50:05,292 --> 02:50:08,500
in the moral, individual,
or social sphere.
2542
02:50:09,333 --> 02:50:10,625
Indeed,
2543
02:50:10,708 --> 02:50:12,917
let us imagine that a man of good,
2544
02:50:13,042 --> 02:50:14,458
Socrates, for example,
2545
02:50:14,542 --> 02:50:17,583
has not only triumphed
over his inner enemies,
2546
02:50:17,667 --> 02:50:19,167
his sordid passions,
2547
02:50:19,250 --> 02:50:23,833
but has also succeeded
in rectifying his public enemies,
2548
02:50:24,167 --> 02:50:26,792
in transforming Greek society.
2549
02:50:28,625 --> 02:50:30,667
What use
2550
02:50:31,417 --> 02:50:34,292
would this ephemeral,
superficial victory over Evil be,
2551
02:50:34,375 --> 02:50:37,417
if Evil ultimately triumphs over life,
2552
02:50:37,500 --> 02:50:39,500
at the deepest level of being?
2553
02:50:39,583 --> 02:50:43,667
What if the real winners
are the microbes of physical decay?
2554
02:50:45,500 --> 02:50:49,500
No moral text could ever
protect us against despair
2555
02:50:49,583 --> 02:50:51,708
and extreme pessimism.
2556
02:50:52,250 --> 02:50:53,583
I've heard this before,
2557
02:50:53,667 --> 02:50:56,875
but how do you defend yourself
in the face of despair?
2558
02:51:05,000 --> 02:51:06,833
One thing alone protects us:
2559
02:51:07,000 --> 02:51:08,792
the true Resurrection.
2560
02:51:12,375 --> 02:51:14,500
We know that the battle
between Good and Evil
2561
02:51:14,583 --> 02:51:17,583
is waged not only in the soul
and society,
2562
02:51:17,917 --> 02:51:20,375
but also more deeply,
in the physical world.
2563
02:51:20,500 --> 02:51:21,667
And here,
2564
02:51:21,750 --> 02:51:25,125
we know there has already been a victory
of the good principle of life,
2565
02:51:25,208 --> 02:51:27,542
in the form of a personal resurrection.
2566
02:51:28,000 --> 02:51:29,667
We await only one thing:
2567
02:51:29,750 --> 02:51:33,167
the victories that will come
through the resurrection of all.
2568
02:51:33,292 --> 02:51:36,083
And here, even Evil finds its meaning,
2569
02:51:36,167 --> 02:51:39,375
in that it serves the realisation,
fulfillment
2570
02:51:39,458 --> 02:51:43,292
and triumph of the Good.
2571
02:51:43,375 --> 02:51:45,708
If death is stronger than mortal life,
2572
02:51:45,792 --> 02:51:49,167
then eternal resurrection
is stronger than both.
2573
02:51:49,250 --> 02:51:50,667
The Kingdom of God
2574
02:51:50,750 --> 02:51:53,250
is the Kingdom of Life
2575
02:51:53,333 --> 02:51:55,750
which triumphs through the Resurrection.
2576
02:51:55,833 --> 02:52:00,083
And in this life, the Good is actual,
accomplished, final.
2577
02:52:00,167 --> 02:52:02,875
Here is the entire power
of Christ's work.
2578
02:52:02,958 --> 02:52:05,875
Here can be seen
His true love for us
2579
02:52:05,958 --> 02:52:07,125
and ours for Him.
2580
02:52:07,208 --> 02:52:11,042
Everything else is nothing
but a condition, a path, a phase.
2581
02:52:11,958 --> 02:52:15,667
Without faith in the actual
Resurrection of the One
2582
02:52:15,750 --> 02:52:18,917
and without the expectation
of the future resurrection of all,
2583
02:52:19,000 --> 02:52:20,958
the Kingdom of God is mere words.
2584
02:52:21,042 --> 02:52:24,833
And, in fact, it is reduced
to a kingdom of death.
2585
02:52:25,250 --> 02:52:26,708
How so?
2586
02:52:31,750 --> 02:52:33,208
But, isn't it so,
2587
02:52:33,417 --> 02:52:36,417
by not recognising Death as such,
as everyone does,
2588
02:52:36,500 --> 02:52:40,333
the fact that people have died,
die and will die,
2589
02:52:40,417 --> 02:52:43,208
you elevate death to the status
of an absolute law
2590
02:52:43,292 --> 02:52:45,833
without exceptions,
according to you.
2591
02:52:46,083 --> 02:52:49,917
What would we call the world
where Death holds absolute sway,
2592
02:52:50,000 --> 02:52:52,292
if not the “kingdom of death”?
2593
02:52:52,500 --> 02:52:55,292
And what else is
your God's Kingdom on earth,
2594
02:52:55,375 --> 02:52:57,083
if not a vain,
2595
02:52:57,167 --> 02:52:59,958
arbitrary euphemism
for the “Kingdom of Death”?
2596
02:53:00,042 --> 02:53:02,417
I too think it is vain because
2597
02:53:02,500 --> 02:53:06,000
we don't replace a known
with an unknown value.
2598
02:53:06,083 --> 02:53:09,708
Nobody has seen God
and nobody knows what His kingdom is.
2599
02:53:10,625 --> 02:53:13,917
Whereas we have all seen people
and animals die
2600
02:53:14,000 --> 02:53:18,417
and we know that no one escapes
this world's sovereign, Death.
2601
02:53:18,500 --> 02:53:21,417
Then why replace this “a” with an “x”?
2602
02:53:21,500 --> 02:53:26,625
It would only create confusion
and horrify the little ones.
2603
02:53:26,708 --> 02:53:29,333
I don't understand
what we are talking about.
2604
02:53:30,500 --> 02:53:33,500
Certainly,
death is an interesting phenomenon.
2605
02:53:34,250 --> 02:53:35,667
We can call it “law,”
2606
02:53:35,750 --> 02:53:38,458
because it is a constant
amongst living things,
2607
02:53:38,542 --> 02:53:41,208
and inevitable for them.
2608
02:53:41,292 --> 02:53:44,208
We can also speak
of its absolute character
2609
02:53:44,292 --> 02:53:48,833
since until now no exception to it
has been observed.
2610
02:53:50,083 --> 02:53:53,042
But what vital importance can this have
2611
02:53:53,125 --> 02:53:55,083
to the true Christian doctrine,
2612
02:53:55,167 --> 02:53:57,125
which through the voice
of our conscience
2613
02:53:57,208 --> 02:54:01,208
speaks to us only
of what we must do here and now?
2614
02:54:03,042 --> 02:54:05,125
It's clear that the voice
of our conscience
2615
02:54:05,208 --> 02:54:09,042
deals only
with what we can or cannot do.
2616
02:54:10,708 --> 02:54:15,750
Our conscience is silent,
because it cannot speak of death.
2617
02:54:16,792 --> 02:54:21,208
No matter how important it is to
our present experiences and desires,
2618
02:54:22,500 --> 02:54:25,333
death does not depend of our will
2619
02:54:25,667 --> 02:54:29,250
and therefore it can have
no moral significance for us.
2620
02:54:30,375 --> 02:54:34,292
Viewed thus, death is a fact
as neutral as bad weather.
2621
02:54:36,000 --> 02:54:39,958
And if I allow as an inevitable fact
that the weather is periodically bad,
2622
02:54:40,042 --> 02:54:41,958
and suffer because of it,
2623
02:54:42,083 --> 02:54:44,042
should I call it
2624
02:54:44,125 --> 02:54:46,500
“kingdom of bad weather”
rather than “kingdom of God”?
2625
02:54:46,583 --> 02:54:48,375
No, certainly not.
2626
02:54:48,458 --> 02:54:51,208
Firstly, bad weather
reigns only in London.
2627
02:54:51,875 --> 02:54:53,792
Here, in our land,
2628
02:54:53,875 --> 02:54:56,583
we are indifferent to its kingdom.
2629
02:54:57,125 --> 02:55:00,000
Then, your analogy doesn't stand up.
2630
02:55:00,208 --> 02:55:03,792
Even in bad weather
we can glorify God.
2631
02:55:04,042 --> 02:55:06,875
Whereas the dead do not glorify God.
2632
02:55:06,958 --> 02:55:10,458
This is why, as his Excellency remarked,
2633
02:55:10,542 --> 02:55:15,708
this world might sooner be called
Death's rather than God's kingdom.
2634
02:55:17,917 --> 02:55:18,958
Please…
2635
02:55:20,250 --> 02:55:23,083
Why must you always speak
to us of names?
2636
02:55:23,167 --> 02:55:24,792
It's tedious!
2637
02:55:25,000 --> 02:55:27,500
And besides,
is it really a question of names?
2638
02:55:27,583 --> 02:55:28,875
Olga, why don't you tell us
2639
02:55:28,958 --> 02:55:31,708
what you actually understand
by the Kingdom of God
2640
02:55:31,792 --> 02:55:33,750
and His righteousness?
2641
02:55:34,583 --> 02:55:36,750
By that I understand a state,
2642
02:55:37,042 --> 02:55:39,875
in which people act only
in accordance with their conscience,
2643
02:55:39,958 --> 02:55:42,333
thereby fulfilling the will of God,
2644
02:55:42,417 --> 02:55:44,917
which prescribes for them
only the pure Good.
2645
02:55:46,250 --> 02:55:48,875
In other words, the voice of conscience,
in your opinion,
2646
02:55:48,958 --> 02:55:52,292
speaks to us only
of what we have to do here and now.
2647
02:55:53,292 --> 02:55:54,750
Of course.
2648
02:55:54,833 --> 02:55:56,917
Does the conscience tell you nothing
2649
02:55:57,000 --> 02:56:00,958
about a wrong done in adolescence,
2650
02:56:01,042 --> 02:56:03,000
to a person long dead?
2651
02:56:03,833 --> 02:56:08,083
Such a reminder means that
I must not do the same again now.
2652
02:56:08,167 --> 02:56:10,917
It's not really like that,
but it's not worth dwelling on it.
2653
02:56:11,000 --> 02:56:14,542
I wish merely to remind you
of another limit of our conscience,
2654
02:56:14,625 --> 02:56:16,042
a more obvious one.
2655
02:56:16,833 --> 02:56:20,000
Moralists long compared
the voice of the conscience
2656
02:56:20,083 --> 02:56:24,000
to the genius or demon
that accompanied Socrates,
2657
02:56:24,083 --> 02:56:27,000
protecting him from blameworthy actions,
2658
02:56:27,083 --> 02:56:31,083
but giving no positive indication
of what he had to do.
2659
02:56:31,167 --> 02:56:33,542
We can say the same thing
about the conscience.
2660
02:56:33,625 --> 02:56:34,708
How so?
2661
02:56:34,792 --> 02:56:36,792
Does my conscience not suggest
2662
02:56:36,875 --> 02:56:40,792
that I help my neighbour
if he is in need or in danger?
2663
02:56:40,875 --> 02:56:42,667
I'm glad to hear you say so.
2664
02:56:43,000 --> 02:56:45,833
But if you examine
such cases thoroughly,
2665
02:56:45,917 --> 02:56:50,375
you will see that the role
of the conscience is purely negative.
2666
02:56:50,667 --> 02:56:52,917
It merely asks you
2667
02:56:53,000 --> 02:56:56,792
not to remain indifferent or inactive
when faced with a neighbour in need,
2668
02:56:56,875 --> 02:57:00,667
but as to what exactly you should do,
and how to do it,
2669
02:57:00,750 --> 02:57:02,750
the conscience does not say.
2670
02:57:02,833 --> 02:57:04,083
Undoubtedly.
2671
02:57:04,417 --> 02:57:06,708
Because it depends on the circumstances,
2672
02:57:06,792 --> 02:57:10,125
on my situation
and that of the neighbour to be helped.
2673
02:57:10,208 --> 02:57:11,292
Obviously.
2674
02:57:11,375 --> 02:57:14,000
But gauging and understanding
2675
02:57:14,083 --> 02:57:17,917
circumstances and situations,
depend not on the conscience,
2676
02:57:18,125 --> 02:57:19,875
but on the intellect.
2677
02:57:20,625 --> 02:57:23,958
But can we separate reason
from the conscience?
2678
02:57:24,083 --> 02:57:27,500
They don't need to be separated,
only to be differentiated.
2679
02:57:27,583 --> 02:57:31,333
Precisely because in reality,
sometimes, besides separation,
2680
02:57:31,417 --> 02:57:35,208
there arises an opposition
between conscience and intellect.
2681
02:57:35,583 --> 02:57:37,500
If they were one and the same thing,
2682
02:57:37,583 --> 02:57:40,250
how could the intellect enable acts
2683
02:57:40,333 --> 02:57:43,875
not only alien to morality,
but even immoral?
2684
02:57:43,958 --> 02:57:45,958
That is what happens, is it not?
2685
02:57:46,333 --> 02:57:49,542
We might help somebody
by means of the intellect,
2686
02:57:49,625 --> 02:57:51,625
but with a bad conscience.
2687
02:57:51,708 --> 02:57:53,625
For example,
2688
02:57:53,958 --> 02:57:56,208
if I give food and drink
2689
02:57:56,625 --> 02:58:00,333
to a needy man,
heap him with charitable works,
2690
02:58:00,417 --> 02:58:03,708
in order to make him my accomplice
2691
02:58:03,792 --> 02:58:07,083
in committing a fraud
or some other evil deed.
2692
02:58:09,792 --> 02:58:11,792
Yes, it's elementary,
2693
02:58:12,000 --> 02:58:13,958
but what conclusion do you draw?
2694
02:58:14,083 --> 02:58:16,875
Well, it is this.
If the voice of the conscience,
2695
02:58:16,958 --> 02:58:20,417
essential for warning us
and admonishing us,
2696
02:58:20,500 --> 02:58:23,875
provides us with no positive
2697
02:58:23,958 --> 02:58:26,333
or well defined indications
as to how to act,
2698
02:58:26,417 --> 02:58:31,167
and our goodwill
requires the services of the intellect,
2699
02:58:31,250 --> 02:58:34,792
although the intellect
seems a doubtful servant,
2700
02:58:34,875 --> 02:58:37,125
since it is able and willing
2701
02:58:37,208 --> 02:58:38,958
to serve these two masters,
2702
02:58:39,500 --> 02:58:41,333
Good and Evil,
2703
02:58:41,417 --> 02:58:42,667
then,
2704
02:58:43,042 --> 02:58:45,542
in order to accomplish God's will
2705
02:58:46,417 --> 02:58:48,417
and to achieve the Kingdom of God,
2706
02:58:48,500 --> 02:58:49,792
what is needed,
2707
02:58:49,875 --> 02:58:53,542
besides the conscience and intellect,
is a third thing.
2708
02:58:54,042 --> 02:58:56,375
And what would this be,
according to you?
2709
02:59:08,208 --> 02:59:11,000
In short, the inspiration of the Good
2710
02:59:11,417 --> 02:59:15,583
or the positive and direct action
of the Good principle over and within us.
2711
02:59:16,000 --> 02:59:18,375
With such oversight from above,
2712
02:59:19,292 --> 02:59:23,583
the intellect and conscience
become trusty helpmeets of the Good.
2713
02:59:23,667 --> 02:59:27,000
And morality, instead of being
a behaviour always under suspicion,
2714
02:59:27,083 --> 02:59:29,500
becomes living within the Good.
2715
02:59:29,583 --> 02:59:30,958
Which is to say,
2716
02:59:31,042 --> 02:59:32,792
the organic development
2717
02:59:32,875 --> 02:59:37,042
and perfection of man as a whole,
on the interior and exterior,
2718
02:59:37,167 --> 02:59:40,208
of the person and society,
2719
02:59:40,292 --> 02:59:42,917
of the people and mankind.
2720
02:59:43,292 --> 02:59:45,958
In order that they be fulfilled
in a living union
2721
02:59:46,042 --> 02:59:48,417
of the resurrected past
and embodied future
2722
02:59:48,500 --> 02:59:51,083
in the present of the Kingdom of God,
2723
02:59:51,458 --> 02:59:53,167
which, as it is on earth,
2724
02:59:53,250 --> 02:59:55,583
will be on a new Earth,
2725
02:59:56,000 --> 02:59:58,208
united through love with a new Heaven.
2726
03:00:04,583 --> 03:00:08,000
I have nothing
against such poetic metaphors,
2727
03:00:08,875 --> 03:00:12,042
but why do you think
those who fulfil the divine will,
2728
03:00:12,125 --> 03:00:14,083
according to the Gospel,
2729
03:00:14,167 --> 03:00:16,583
lack the inspiration of the Good?
2730
03:00:16,875 --> 03:00:21,583
Not merely because in what they do
I see neither signs of such inspiration,
2731
03:00:22,000 --> 03:00:25,375
nor the urging of free
and immeasurable love,
2732
03:00:25,583 --> 03:00:28,625
for God provides without measure.
2733
03:00:29,000 --> 03:00:31,167
I don't see any good, serene peace
2734
03:00:31,250 --> 03:00:33,500
arising from the joy
of receiving these gifts,
2735
03:00:33,583 --> 03:00:35,625
even if they are only incipient.
2736
03:00:36,333 --> 03:00:39,375
If I assume
you lack religious inspiration,
2737
03:00:39,458 --> 03:00:41,667
it is because you deem it unnecessary.
2738
03:00:43,875 --> 03:00:48,167
If the good is confined to rules,
what room is there for inspiration?
2739
03:00:48,625 --> 03:00:51,375
The Rule
has been given once and for all,
2740
03:00:51,458 --> 03:00:54,167
it is fixed and identical for all.
2741
03:00:54,250 --> 03:00:56,000
He who gave the rule
2742
03:00:56,083 --> 03:00:57,792
died long ago
2743
03:00:58,792 --> 03:01:01,375
and, according to you,
He was not resurrected
2744
03:01:01,458 --> 03:01:04,708
and therefore, to us He has no living
and personal existence.
2745
03:01:05,667 --> 03:01:07,167
The absolute
2746
03:01:07,375 --> 03:01:09,042
and primordial Good
2747
03:01:09,125 --> 03:01:13,583
doesn't appear to you
as a father of the spirit and light,
2748
03:01:14,375 --> 03:01:17,333
who might enlighten and inspire you,
2749
03:01:17,750 --> 03:01:20,042
but as a master,
2750
03:01:20,333 --> 03:01:21,583
a parsimonious master,
2751
03:01:21,667 --> 03:01:23,042
who has sent you,
2752
03:01:23,125 --> 03:01:25,667
his mercenaries, to tend his vineyard,
2753
03:01:25,750 --> 03:01:28,042
while he, living abroad,
2754
03:01:28,125 --> 03:01:30,875
sends his emissaries
to bring back his earnings.
2755
03:01:33,667 --> 03:01:36,750
As if we created this image arbitrarily!
2756
03:01:38,042 --> 03:01:40,208
No.
2757
03:01:40,292 --> 03:01:45,417
But arbitrarily, you view it as the norm
for man's relationship with the deity,
2758
03:01:45,500 --> 03:01:49,333
arbitrarily purging the essence
from the Gospel text,
2759
03:01:49,417 --> 03:01:51,000
namely,
2760
03:01:51,333 --> 03:01:53,875
that he reveals to us His son and heir,
2761
03:01:53,958 --> 03:01:57,792
in whom dwells the true norm
for the relationship between God and man.
2762
03:01:57,875 --> 03:01:59,792
You see Him only as a master,
2763
03:01:59,875 --> 03:02:03,083
only the duties toward the master,
the will of the master.
2764
03:02:03,167 --> 03:02:05,417
But let me tell you that:
2765
03:02:06,875 --> 03:02:08,333
As long as your master
2766
03:02:08,417 --> 03:02:13,375
only imposes duties on you,
demands you to obey his will,
2767
03:02:13,833 --> 03:02:16,000
I don't see how you can prove to me
2768
03:02:16,083 --> 03:02:19,208
that he is the true master
rather than an impostor.
2769
03:02:21,542 --> 03:02:24,083
What if my reason and conscience tell me
2770
03:02:24,167 --> 03:02:27,083
that the will of the master
expresses the purest good?
2771
03:02:27,167 --> 03:02:29,208
I'm sorry, that's not what I meant.
2772
03:02:29,292 --> 03:02:34,500
I don't deny he wills the good,
but does that mean he himself is good?
2773
03:02:37,000 --> 03:02:38,917
How could he be otherwise?
2774
03:02:40,167 --> 03:02:44,167
I thought the goodness of a man resides
not in what he requires of others,
2775
03:02:44,250 --> 03:02:46,458
but in what he himself does.
2776
03:02:48,667 --> 03:02:53,292
If you find what I say unclear,
here's a concrete historical example.
2777
03:02:53,458 --> 03:02:56,375
The Muscovite tsar, Ivan the Terrible,
2778
03:02:56,458 --> 03:02:58,167
in an well known letter,
2779
03:02:58,250 --> 03:03:00,625
asks Prince Andrei Kurbsky
2780
03:03:00,708 --> 03:03:04,792
to show his supreme goodness,
and loftiest moral heroism,
2781
03:03:04,917 --> 03:03:10,167
by ceasing to oppose Evil and accepting
to die as a martyr for the truth.
2782
03:03:10,333 --> 03:03:14,833
Here, the master's will was good,
by what he demanded of him,
2783
03:03:14,917 --> 03:03:19,833
but that doesn't mean the master,
who demanded the good was himself good.
2784
03:03:20,125 --> 03:03:24,375
Clearly, although to suffer for the truth
is the supreme moral virtue,
2785
03:03:24,458 --> 03:03:27,167
it does Ivan the Terrible no credit,
2786
03:03:27,250 --> 03:03:30,750
since in this case, he was not the martyr,
but the executioner.
2787
03:03:37,792 --> 03:03:39,917
What do you mean by that?
2788
03:03:46,792 --> 03:03:51,583
Until Olga shows me the goodness
behind her master's actions,
2789
03:03:51,667 --> 03:03:55,042
rather than merely his verbal commands
to his workers,
2790
03:03:55,125 --> 03:03:57,125
I will remain convinced
2791
03:03:57,208 --> 03:04:01,625
that this master who asks others
to do good, but himself does not,
2792
03:04:01,708 --> 03:04:05,458
who lays down obligations,
but does not show love,
2793
03:04:06,208 --> 03:04:09,750
who does not show you his face,
but lives abroad, incognito,
2794
03:04:09,833 --> 03:04:14,208
I will remain convinced he is none other
than “the god of this age”.
2795
03:04:14,292 --> 03:04:16,000
How awful!
2796
03:05:07,583 --> 03:05:10,292
I quote from Verdi.
2797
03:05:10,375 --> 03:05:14,708
- I'm listing every lyrical ode…
- I know, you're a melomaniac.
2798
03:05:14,792 --> 03:05:17,542
…dedicated to Bacchus.
It's kind of a game.
2799
03:05:17,625 --> 03:05:19,542
Do you recognise this one?
2800
03:05:22,625 --> 03:05:24,375
Excuse me a moment!
2801
03:05:25,833 --> 03:05:27,250
Judith?
2802
03:05:31,458 --> 03:05:33,250
One more question.
2803
03:05:33,333 --> 03:05:36,042
How is the colonel? Any less agitated?
2804
03:05:36,125 --> 03:05:37,708
Yes, he feels better.
2805
03:05:37,792 --> 03:05:39,875
Dr. Blumenfeld will arrive tomorrow.
2806
03:05:39,958 --> 03:05:43,083
He's coming tomorrow, good.
He seems a good doctor.
2807
03:05:43,167 --> 03:05:44,292
Yes.
2808
03:05:44,375 --> 03:05:45,708
And another thing, please.
2809
03:05:45,792 --> 03:05:48,958
It would be better if the door
remained shut at all times.
2810
03:05:49,042 --> 03:05:50,750
Yes, of course.
2811
03:06:15,458 --> 03:06:16,917
Yes, Edouard.
2812
03:07:24,875 --> 03:07:26,833
And look,
2813
03:07:26,917 --> 03:07:30,792
István makes his entrance
to the sound of music. Wonderful!
2814
03:07:30,875 --> 03:07:32,792
Charming.
2815
03:07:33,625 --> 03:07:38,333
Thank you. That was a short parenthesis
while we waited for you, gentlemen.
2816
03:07:38,417 --> 03:07:40,500
Always at your service.
2817
03:07:40,750 --> 03:07:44,750
If we were not holding brandy,
we would clap.
2818
03:07:45,042 --> 03:07:46,375
Grazie!
2819
03:07:46,458 --> 03:07:48,083
Forgive me…
2820
03:07:49,625 --> 03:07:52,833
I don't want to interrupt
the musical interlude,
2821
03:07:52,917 --> 03:07:56,125
but I wish with all my soul
to return to our conversation,
2822
03:07:56,208 --> 03:07:59,250
to prevent any unfortunate
misunderstanding.
2823
03:07:59,833 --> 03:08:00,958
But of course.
2824
03:08:01,042 --> 03:08:04,125
I am in no doubt, Olga,
that by some honest mistake,
2825
03:08:04,208 --> 03:08:07,292
you take the true God
to be a skilled imposter.
2826
03:08:07,375 --> 03:08:12,250
The imposter's skill is, for you,
a mitigating circumstance.
2827
03:08:12,333 --> 03:08:15,417
Nor did I understand at first
how things stood.
2828
03:08:15,500 --> 03:08:17,375
And now I am in no doubt,
2829
03:08:17,458 --> 03:08:19,708
and you will understand how I feel
2830
03:08:19,792 --> 03:08:24,125
when I gaze upon the deceptive,
devious mask of the Good.
2831
03:08:24,208 --> 03:08:27,708
- You don't have long for poetry.
- I assure you…
2832
03:08:27,792 --> 03:08:29,458
It's vexing!
2833
03:08:29,625 --> 03:08:32,833
I assure you I do not feel at all vexed.
2834
03:08:33,458 --> 03:08:36,417
A general and rather interesting
question has been posed,
2835
03:08:36,500 --> 03:08:39,250
and it surprises me
that my interlocutor believes
2836
03:08:39,333 --> 03:08:42,292
that the question
is addressed only to me,
2837
03:08:42,375 --> 03:08:44,208
but not to him.
2838
03:08:44,625 --> 03:08:49,292
You ask that I point out
my master's good deeds,
2839
03:08:49,375 --> 03:08:53,958
acts to prove he is the principle
of Good rather than Evil.
2840
03:08:54,042 --> 03:08:55,083
And you?
2841
03:08:55,167 --> 03:08:59,250
What good deeds can you show me
that do not also come from my master?
2842
03:08:59,333 --> 03:09:04,625
He has already shown you a deed
on which all the rest is founded.
2843
03:09:04,708 --> 03:09:05,750
Which one?
2844
03:09:05,833 --> 03:09:09,083
The true victory over Evil
through the true Resurrection.
2845
03:09:09,167 --> 03:09:13,208
Only thereby, I repeat,
is God's Kingdom revealed to us.
2846
03:09:13,292 --> 03:09:18,333
Without it, there is only
the kingdom of death, sin and the devil.
2847
03:09:18,417 --> 03:09:22,000
The Resurrection,
not figuratively, but literally,
2848
03:09:22,083 --> 03:09:24,583
there is the title of the true God.
2849
03:09:25,167 --> 03:09:28,375
Yes, if you wish to believe
in such a mythology.
2850
03:09:28,458 --> 03:09:32,167
I asked you for demonstrable facts,
not beliefs.
2851
03:09:32,250 --> 03:09:33,292
Olga,
2852
03:09:33,375 --> 03:09:37,458
we both come from the same faith
or, if you like, mythology,
2853
03:09:37,542 --> 03:09:39,708
but I go all the way.
2854
03:09:39,792 --> 03:09:44,375
Whereas you illogically,
arbitrarily stop even before you start.
2855
03:09:44,625 --> 03:09:47,292
But do you acknowledge
the power of the Good
2856
03:09:47,375 --> 03:09:49,458
and its future triumph on earth?
2857
03:09:49,542 --> 03:09:50,667
Yes.
2858
03:09:50,750 --> 03:09:52,958
Is it a fact or a belief?
2859
03:09:53,042 --> 03:09:55,292
It is a reasonable belief.
2860
03:09:55,375 --> 03:09:57,125
How delightful!
2861
03:09:58,458 --> 03:10:02,000
As I learned at the seminary,
reason demands,
2862
03:10:02,083 --> 03:10:05,000
that we disallow that
which is not sufficiently grounded.
2863
03:10:05,083 --> 03:10:07,042
Tell me, please,
2864
03:10:07,333 --> 03:10:11,542
as long as you recognise that Good
has the power morally to rectify
2865
03:10:11,625 --> 03:10:14,000
and perfect man and mankind,
2866
03:10:14,083 --> 03:10:19,458
on what do you base your claim that
Good is powerless in the face of death?
2867
03:10:19,833 --> 03:10:23,333
I think rather you should say
why you attribute to Good
2868
03:10:23,417 --> 03:10:26,083
a power that transcends
the moral sphere?
2869
03:10:26,167 --> 03:10:28,000
I shall tell you.
2870
03:10:28,083 --> 03:10:30,542
Once I believe
in the Good and its power,
2871
03:10:30,625 --> 03:10:35,875
and in the idea of the “power of good”
its absolute superiority is asserted,
2872
03:10:35,958 --> 03:10:39,250
then I recognise
that this power is unlimited,
2873
03:10:39,458 --> 03:10:43,083
and nothing can stop me believing
in the truth of the Resurrection,
2874
03:10:43,167 --> 03:10:45,750
historically proven truth.
2875
03:10:45,833 --> 03:10:49,375
If you had told us you were indifferent
to the Christian faith
2876
03:10:49,458 --> 03:10:51,708
and that to you,
the Resurrection is a myth,
2877
03:10:51,792 --> 03:10:53,917
I would have kept to myself
the animosity
2878
03:10:54,000 --> 03:10:57,708
to your way of thinking
that I have been unable to conceal.
2879
03:10:58,500 --> 03:11:01,917
We do not accuse of deception
him who makes a mistake.
2880
03:11:02,000 --> 03:11:04,542
And to be angry at someone
for a theoretical error
2881
03:11:04,625 --> 03:11:08,750
makes you look petty,
faithless, and heartless.
2882
03:11:09,875 --> 03:11:14,500
Whoever truly believes,
and is freed from coarseness,
2883
03:11:14,583 --> 03:11:17,542
from pettiness of soul
and from wickedness,
2884
03:11:17,625 --> 03:11:23,042
must show a good disposition when faced
with a frank and sincere opponent,
2885
03:11:23,125 --> 03:11:26,833
in other words, an honest opponent,
who denies religious truths.
2886
03:11:27,458 --> 03:11:29,542
Nowadays, it is rare.
2887
03:11:29,625 --> 03:11:35,292
You don't know how much I rejoice
at a declared opponent of Christianity.
2888
03:11:36,042 --> 03:11:38,125
In almost all of them,
2889
03:11:38,208 --> 03:11:40,625
I am prepared to see
a future Paul the Apostle,
2890
03:11:40,708 --> 03:11:43,375
whereas in the zealous defenders
of Christianity
2891
03:11:43,458 --> 03:11:45,833
I see Judas the traitor.
2892
03:11:47,333 --> 03:11:50,917
But you, Olga,
you have expressed yourself so sincerely,
2893
03:11:51,000 --> 03:11:55,833
that I refuse to class you with
today's countless Judases and Tartuffes.
2894
03:11:56,375 --> 03:11:59,750
I already foresee a time
when I will feel toward you
2895
03:12:00,958 --> 03:12:05,750
the same good disposition awakened in me
by many atheists and nonbelievers.
2896
03:12:06,458 --> 03:12:08,625
Since, fortunately,
2897
03:12:08,708 --> 03:12:12,583
we have established
that neither atheists and unbelievers,
2898
03:12:12,667 --> 03:12:16,792
nor true Christians like Olga,
represent the Antichrist,
2899
03:12:16,875 --> 03:12:18,625
it is time
2900
03:12:18,708 --> 03:12:20,500
that you reveal to us
his true portrait.
2901
03:12:21,542 --> 03:12:23,792
So that was what you were aiming at!
2902
03:12:23,875 --> 03:12:27,042
Of the many depictions of Christ,
2903
03:12:27,125 --> 03:12:29,792
some by artists of genius,
2904
03:12:29,875 --> 03:12:32,583
is there any that satisfies you?
2905
03:12:32,667 --> 03:12:36,208
I for one
know of no satisfactory depiction.
2906
03:12:36,292 --> 03:12:38,458
I don't even think there could be one,
2907
03:12:38,542 --> 03:12:41,333
as long as Christ
is an individual embodiment,
2908
03:12:41,417 --> 03:12:43,208
unique in his own way
2909
03:12:43,292 --> 03:12:46,083
and resembling nothing else,
2910
03:12:46,167 --> 03:12:48,958
of His own essence, the Good.
2911
03:12:49,417 --> 03:12:53,333
Not even genius would be enough
in order to depict such a thing.
2912
03:12:53,417 --> 03:12:55,667
The same goes for the Antichrist.
2913
03:12:55,750 --> 03:12:59,333
He is an embodiment of Evil
that is just as individual,
2914
03:12:59,417 --> 03:13:04,000
unique in its completeness and fullness.
We cannot show his portrait.
2915
03:13:04,083 --> 03:13:06,083
In ecclesiastical literature,
2916
03:13:06,167 --> 03:13:10,750
we find only his passport,
with his distinguishing marks.
2917
03:13:13,458 --> 03:13:16,417
And Edouard,
as you yourself confessed to us,
2918
03:13:16,500 --> 03:13:19,458
you have no knack for painting.
2919
03:13:19,542 --> 03:13:22,917
Therefore,
we don't require his portrait,
2920
03:13:23,000 --> 03:13:25,000
God forbid!
2921
03:13:25,250 --> 03:13:30,458
Rather, explain to us, Nikolai,
why he is needed
2922
03:13:30,542 --> 03:13:33,708
and what, in your opinion,
is the nature of his plan,
2923
03:13:33,792 --> 03:13:36,042
and finally, tell us
2924
03:13:37,458 --> 03:13:39,458
when he will arrive.
2925
03:13:39,833 --> 03:13:42,958
I can answer you better
than you would have thought.
2926
03:13:44,042 --> 03:13:45,875
Some years ago,
2927
03:13:45,958 --> 03:13:49,083
a fellow seminary student,
who later became a monk
2928
03:13:49,167 --> 03:13:51,958
was dying and gave me
a manuscript he cherished,
2929
03:13:52,042 --> 03:13:54,375
but which he had not been able
to publish.
2930
03:13:54,458 --> 03:13:57,625
The title is,
A Short Story of the Antichrist.
2931
03:13:57,875 --> 03:14:02,792
Although it takes the form of a fiction,
or a future history,
2932
03:14:02,875 --> 03:14:04,958
to me the work encapsulates
2933
03:14:05,042 --> 03:14:08,333
everything which, according to scripture,
to the Church and common sense,
2934
03:14:08,417 --> 03:14:11,208
can definitely be said on the subject.
2935
03:14:11,292 --> 03:14:14,958
Is it the work of our old friend,
Umberto?
2936
03:14:15,042 --> 03:14:18,000
No, he had a fancier name.
2937
03:14:18,083 --> 03:14:19,625
Pansophius.
2938
03:14:19,708 --> 03:14:22,500
Pan Sofius? A Pole?
2939
03:14:23,208 --> 03:14:24,500
Not at all.
2940
03:14:24,583 --> 03:14:27,000
He came from a family
of Russian priests.
2941
03:14:27,083 --> 03:14:29,208
If you will allow me
to go to my room,
2942
03:14:29,292 --> 03:14:33,292
I will fetch the manuscript
and read it to you. It is not thick.
2943
03:14:33,500 --> 03:14:36,708
Your room is an Ali Baba's cave.
2944
03:14:36,792 --> 03:14:38,667
Certainly, do go!
2945
03:14:39,292 --> 03:14:42,292
- But don't forget to come back!
- Naturally.
2946
03:14:47,417 --> 03:14:50,625
I don't know whether my eyesight
is dimming with age,
2947
03:14:50,708 --> 03:14:53,042
or whether something
has changed in nature,
2948
03:14:53,125 --> 03:14:58,458
but I notice that in no season or place
are the days bright any longer,
2949
03:14:58,542 --> 03:15:01,792
the perfect clarity
to which we were once accustomed,
2950
03:15:01,875 --> 03:15:03,375
regardless of clime.
2951
03:15:03,458 --> 03:15:06,750
Today, for example,
there was not a cloud in the sky,
2952
03:15:06,833 --> 03:15:09,292
we are quite far away from the sea,
2953
03:15:09,917 --> 03:15:14,167
and yet, everything seemed dusted
with something gauzy,
2954
03:15:14,292 --> 03:15:16,625
impalpable, of flawed clarity.
2955
03:15:16,708 --> 03:15:18,625
Did you notice, Ingrida?
2956
03:15:18,708 --> 03:15:21,333
Yes, it has been happening
for a few years.
2957
03:15:21,417 --> 03:15:23,958
I have been observing it
since last year.
2958
03:15:24,042 --> 03:15:26,792
Not only in the air,
but also in my soul,
2959
03:15:26,875 --> 03:15:31,333
where there is no perfect limpidity,
as you put it, Edouard.
2960
03:15:32,167 --> 03:15:34,333
I feel a kind of disquiet,
2961
03:15:34,417 --> 03:15:36,750
a sense of foreboding.
2962
03:15:36,833 --> 03:15:40,625
I'm sure that you too, Olga,
feel the same.
2963
03:15:40,750 --> 03:15:43,958
No, I notice nothing in particular.
2964
03:15:44,042 --> 03:15:46,333
The air seems to me unchanged.
2965
03:15:46,417 --> 03:15:48,042
Because you are too young.
2966
03:15:48,125 --> 03:15:50,667
You lack the terms of comparison.
2967
03:15:51,125 --> 03:15:54,208
But when we remember the seventies,
2968
03:15:54,292 --> 03:15:56,042
then we sense it.
2969
03:15:56,958 --> 03:16:00,917
I believe your first supposition
was right, Edouard.
2970
03:16:01,167 --> 03:16:04,125
It is a symptom of worsening eyesight.
2971
03:16:04,417 --> 03:16:06,833
We have grown old, no doubt about it,
2972
03:16:06,917 --> 03:16:09,375
but nor is the earth
growing any younger.
2973
03:16:09,458 --> 03:16:12,500
A kind of exhaustion
can be felt on both sides.
2974
03:16:13,250 --> 03:16:15,750
But what is even more true,
2975
03:16:16,333 --> 03:16:18,333
as Andrei Nikolaevich says,
2976
03:16:18,417 --> 03:16:22,875
is that the devil's tail scatters fog
across the created world.
2977
03:16:22,958 --> 03:16:26,125
It is also a sign of the Antichrist.
2978
03:16:26,958 --> 03:16:28,208
Yes, Ingrida,
2979
03:16:28,292 --> 03:16:30,000
no doubt about it.
240106
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