Sanine

"Ha! ha!" replied Sanine, with a disdainful gesture, "at first, under

the cloak of Christianity, the arena was drenched with the blood of the

martyrs, and then, later, people were massacred and shut up in prisons

and mad-houses. And now, every day, more blood is spilt than ever could

be shed by a universal revolution. The worst of it all is that each

betterment in the life of humanity has always been achieved by

bloodshed, anarchy and revolt, though men always affect to make

humanitarianism and love of one's neighbour the basis of their lives

and actions. The whole thing results in a stupid tragedy; false,

hypocritical, neither flesh nor fowl. For my part, I should prefer an

immediate world-catastrophe to a dull, vegetable-existence lasting

probably another two thousand years."

Yourii was silent. Strange to say, his thoughts were not fixed upon the

speaker's words, but upon the speaker's personality. The latter's

absolute assurance he considered offensive, in fact insupportable.

"Would you, please, tell me," he began, irresistibly impelled to wound

Sanine, "why you always talk as if you were teaching little children?"

Von Deitz, feeling uneasy at this speech, uttered something

conciliatory, and rattled his spurs.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sanine sharply, "why are you so

angry?"

Yourii felt that his speech was discourteous, and that he ought not to

go any farther, yet his wounded self-respect drove him to add: "Such a tone is really most unpleasant."

"It is my usual tone," replied Sanine, partly annoyed, and partly

anxious to appease the other.

"Well, it is not always a suitable one," continued Yourii, raising his

voice, "I really fail to see what gives you such assurance."

"Probably the consciousness of being more intelligent than you are,"

replied Sanine, now quite calm.

Yourii stood still, trembling from head to foot.

"Look here!" he exclaimed hoarsely.

"Don't get angry!" interposed Sanine. "I had no wish to offend you, and

only expressed my candid opinion. It is the same opinion that you have

of me, and that Von Deitz has of both of us, and so on. It is only

natural."

Sanine spoke in such a frank, friendly way that to show further

displeasure would have been absurd. Yourii was silent, and Von Deitz,

being still concerned on his behalf, again rattled his spurs and

breathed hard.

"At any rate I don't tell you my opinion to your face," murmured

Yourii.

"No; and that is where you are wrong. I was listening to your

discussion just now, and the offensive spirit prompted every word you

said. It is merely a question of form. I say what I think, but you

don't say what you think; and that is not in the least interesting. If

we were all more sincere, it would be far more amusing for everybody."