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unruliness, their ferocitythey thirst for it unconsciously. Passionate and fierce on the surface, they are painfully capable of loving woman, for instance, and with a spiritual and elevated love. Again do not laugh at me, this is very often the case in such natures. But they cannot hide their passionssometimes very coarseand that is conspicuous and is noticed, but the inner man is unseen. Their passions are quickly exhausted; but, by the side of a noble and lofty creature that seemingly coarse and rough man seeks a new life, seeks to correct himself, to be better, to become noble and honourable, sublime and beautiful, however much the expression has been ridiculed. I said just now that I would not venture to touch upon my clients engagement. But I may say half a word. What we heard just now was not evidence, but only the scream of a frenzied and revengeful woman, and it was not for heroh, not for her!to reproach him with treachery, for she has betrayed him! If she had had but a little time for reflection she would not have given such evidence. Oh, do not believe her! No, my client is not a monster, as she called him! The Lover of Mankind on the eve of His Crucifixion said: I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, so that not one of them might be lost. Let not a mans soul be lost through us! I asked just now what does father mean, and exclaimed that it was a great word, a precious name. But one must use words honestly, gentlemen, and I venture to call things by their right names: such a father as old Karamazov cannot be called a father and does not deserve to be. Filial love for an unworthy father is an absurdity, an impossibility. Love cannot be created from nothing: only God can create something from nothing. Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, the apostle writes, from a heart glowing with love. Its not for the sake of my client that I quote these sacred words, I mention them for all fathers. Who has authorised me to preach to fathers? No one. But as a man and a citizen I make my appealvivos voco! We are not long on earth, we do many evil deeds and say many evil words. So let us all catch a favourable moment when we are all together to say a good word to each other. Thats what I am doing: while I am in this place I take advantage of my opportunity. Not for nothing is this tribune given us by the highest authorityall Russia hears us! I am not speaking only for the fathers here present, I cry aloud to all fathers: Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath. Yes, let us first fulfil Christs injunction ourselves and only then venture to expect it of our children. Otherwise we are not fathers, but enemies of our children, and they are not our children, but our enemies, and we have made them our enemies ourselves. What measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you againits not I who say that, its the Gospel precept, measure to others according as they measure to you. How can we blame children if they measure us according to our measure? Not long ago a servant girl in Finland was suspected of having secretly given birth to a child. She was watched, and a box of which no one knew anything was found in the corner of the loft, behind some bricks. It was opened and inside was found the body of a new-born child which she had killed. In the same box were found the skeletons of two other babies which, according to her own confession, she had killed at the moment of their birth. Gentlemen of the jury, was she a mother to her children? She gave birth to them, indeed; but was she a mother to them? Would any one venture to give her the sacred name of mother? Let us be bold, gentlemen, let us be audacious even: its our duty to be so at this moment and not be afraid of certain words and ideas like the Moscow women in Ostrovskys play, who are scared at the sound of certain words. No, let us prove that the progress of the last few years has touched even us, and let us say plainly, the father is not merely he who begets the child, but he who begets it and does his duty by it. Oh, of course, there is the other meaning, there is the other interpretation of the word father, which insists that any father, even though he be a monster, even though he be the enemy of his children, still remains my father simply because he begot me. But this is, so to say, the mystical meaning which I |
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