Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-19

|
the local newspaper and terrible
| drunkard.
You are among the domesties of
Russian free thoughtp said surkov to
Shebuyev one day Russian free
thought has long laid itself as a heavy
burden upon the servile minds of the
Russian people. And all these present
here are fettered in the shackles Of free
thought, they sit in the wood stocks of
various fsms.' and they themselves
tighten the wood stocks more closely.
In the words of slaves this is styled
| 'self-development,' and constitutes the
usual occupation of the Russian in
telligent man. am representing here
the devoted slave of the true freedom
of thought"
That's not freedom, but dark in
lrmityl" roared Kirmalov indifferently.
Shebuyev seated himself in the arm
chair and began, apparently trying to
soften his voice and choosing his words
cautiously:
| "I agree with you, and I suppose
every body will agree with you that an
excessively developed intellect always
weakens the Immediate emotion. Still
more, it often nibbles the very instinct
of life. And do you know, 1t Is bad If
| there is no balance in man, II he is in
wardly so distorted that he painfully
yearns for something-yearns because
his mind has begun an intense strug-
| gle with his emotion.
'It is not true that life is dark, that
| there are only wounds and groans and
misery and tears in life! In it's very
darkness there is something noble and
beautiful. Among its wounds there
are noble wounds, received in struggles
| for human rights, for broadening for
mankind the roads leading to light and
freedomi Amid its means resound the
noble oaths of defeated heroes; they
resound and call for vengeance! In
| the stream of tears there are also the
tears of joy. There is in life every
thing that man may wish to find in it,
and in man is the power to create that
which cannot be found in life! This
| power is not sufficient for today, but it
| tiful, life is magnificent, an indomit-
able movement toward universal bliss
| and happiness.
when I was fifteen years old my
| master, an iliterate peasant and
drunkard used to call me over and
make me tell him how the earth moves
around the sun. I was proud of my
better than that in my life. And as /
was telling him about the earth 1 was
carried away with enthusiasm until /
almost forgot myself: / forgot who I
was and where I was. But in the mo-
ments of my greatest enthusiasm my
master interrupted me Pudely and
sneeringly and sent me off to feed the
hogs. There were seven of them; they
were enormous and hungry and terri
bly, angry because of the darkness in
the stall. They rushed upon me as
soon as they smelt the feed. they threw
me down and almost crushed me with
their heavy bodies"
"That will do! Oh, please, that will
dol" cried Varvara Vasilyevna.
Don't be afraid! Don't cry so
loudly! Life is nevertheless beautiful!
I have come from below, from the bot
tom of life, where filth and darkness
reign supreme: where man is still half
brute; where life Is nothing save toll
for the sake of bread. There it flows
on slowly, in dark, thick stream, but
even there priceless gems of mag
nanimity, of wisdom, of heroism glitter
in the sun; and there is also love there,
and beauty. Wherever there is man,
there is also goodness! 1t is in small
grains. yes! But it's there! And not
all the seeds perish they will grow, and
blossom and bear their fruit to life.
| Oh, they'll bear fruit! They will! Be
| lieve me that man bears God within
him everywhere, and wherever he may
be and whatever he may be- he will re-
main a man-superior to anything on
earth! / have paid dearly for my
right to believe this! Yes! But, there
fore, I have this right for all my life!
And in this right have another right
to demand that you, too, believe as 1
do for I am the true voice of life, the
harsh cry of those that remained there.
below. They have let me off to you to
bear witness of their sufferings! They.
too. want to rise-to self-consciousness,
to light, to freedom!"