New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-10-31

seriouslv regard himself Nd destined cohq"or"i
entering upon his dominant career. The coucro'c
facts of his own creatonthe bood-stainou oorpsos
~ his victims huldled in the old usurers sqhaiu
rooms; the ignomry OF the theft which crowheu
Tho crime the constant dread Of detection the
er-present suspicion of all who approach him
,,ep the ,pe ,u atoms of the closet into space and
leave him facs to face with situation out OF which
no eIevatns. sustaining or jGstfylng thoughts can
,roceed At tho first, when the real nature OF his
decd begins to appear clearly to him. he experiences
a feeling Of rage against his victims; he hates
them becau, 20 their elth has plnngsi him into 20
much tronbe lie fights stubbpsnv against tne
IDEA that he did wrong in committing tho murders
oven iie his Utmost self Is revolving against tne
sophisms of his Intellect. Always dreamer no
becones more abstracted than ever, but MS nus OF
abs,ut-mndednes, are aIternatei with periods oil
wild excitement A striking and clever toncn IN
the story Is the sud len over-masterng imnnlse
which forces him. in def snce of all discretion. to
reyisit the scene OF the crime. and to octray sur
priss NJ not finding the 10 lies where he had 'ett
them. though he knows that they had long been
buried
RsIvi,e upon his intellectual force he thinks ne
can ontface the growing suspicious OF the autnor'
ties but his feelings stronger than MS WILL anu
their manifestations give tho lie to the utterances
q
do what he cannot. but here are concerned with
a thinke~ who has not the gift ofl action Also
Alone he can plan his co irse clearly Brong lt face
In face with Others called upon to carry out ms
nIans he fails continually. An ignobe e2otism
nnderes all his large theories OF life and this ~ Is
that exclndes remorse. He has never known love
NOR self-renuncaion. Through these. II at all. lie
will be redeem ID. bnt tho author gives itte more
than hint of the possbities in the present work.
Soma. Door and unforiunate girl. whose liie mas
been ono long sacrifice. first combats the SOUL
de.troying fallacies which possess the young GRIM
inal and partly through her percussion. though 10
some extent bscause he sees escape to be im-
nossibe he is led to dsnounce him 'ef to the police
He /, sentenced to p"nal servitnle IN siberia
Son,a. who il devotei to him. goes voluntarily into
exile to be near him. 1t ~ not, however, until ne
has passed some years in prison that change
anpears in his character which holds ont Il hope OF
ultimate refnrn an publication. and at this point
the story is suspended.
Wa have nail full tribute TO the merits OF this
book and it rem ,ns to speak Of its defects. Inc
most serious the nadequacy OF the motive lot the
crime which involves in turn the improbaDily
that n man Of the stndcnt temncrament conl pass
from nero abstraction to concrete action on 50 low
= nlane. II il true that Raskolnkof Is intensely
egotstical AMI il is apparent ttat he IS intended az
a type OF tho effects OF NlhliSn IN thoushb'
curions intellectual congomerate of holblch ana
Voltaire Spencer an Darwin, Mill AMI Kari Marx.
II il al % true that the student temperament IN
Russia has been proved tn have strong ahlnltleS
with even the most ultra Nihilist proccelng1 But
| in All these CASES tho manifest incentive was that
qenuine love of country which every where inspires
! the strongest acton an such an incentive IS
wanting IN tho pre-ent instance. 1t Is replaced ov
ecotism; but the latter is rather the parent OF
caution than excess AMI those VINO are most con-
troled by it are least likely to be blind to the
personai consequences of comparatively obectless
crime The pom which SEEM to offend the truth
of human lite III DostOyevskey's book Is, tnen the
! unnatural naturalization Oi tho nerOs crlnlna
| .orculatiun, Such IL student would have been
! very likely to dream murders. but very unlikely 10
| commit then. Even the author adrolt as ne Is
feels II necessary to postuate sem delir0us CON
| diton as explanatory of the horrible deed. mat
! however i not good art, since the sanity OF wv
| criminal IS practically assumed tlronBhout. ~
must he SAIL Also that there IL TOO tCle Ie'Ioi 70
| the sombreuess OF III, central narrative Inc Ire
descriDed nearly all on the sewage OIL clv!iiZa-
ton aud VIII u not painful Is apt 10 Dh revolving
Concerning the power of the story there can larhly
be two opinions but it certainly is not pleas ant
une IL, re- lisin however, IL ut better klnd IMAM
| Zolas and perhaps the author might DEFEND NE
choice of nd types by asserting tnat IL was
his purpose describe tho results OF Nlhillsto IN
society TO set forth badly an bluntly the enects
| man manners an m Jrals of octrines which elm
| mate religion aud all ethical systems founded on
| rel; ZION; AMI which substitute Tor the nope OF
| better thnas a cynical despair when tends more
| and more toward the red fOol-tury OF tne
| seine"