Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - The Russian Drama - Leo Tolstoy - The Power of Darkness
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
The Power of Darkness 279
The type of Akim is most vividly characterized
by Tolstoy in the talk between the old peasant and
the new help on the farm.
Mitrich. Let us suppose, for example, you have
money, and I, for example, have my land lying fallow;
it is spring, and I have no seed; or I have to pay the
taxes. So I come to you, and say: "Akim, give me ten
roubles! I will have the harvest in by St. Mary s Inter
cession and then I will give it back to you, with a tithe
for the accommodation." You, for example, see that I
can be flayed, having a horse or a cow, so you say:
"
Give me two or three roubles for the accommodation."
The noose is around my neck, and I cannot get along
without it.
"
Very well," says I,
"
I will take the ten
roubles." In the fall I sell some things, and I bring you
the money, and you skin me in addition for three rou
bles.
Akim. But this is, so to speak, a wrong done to a peas
ant. If one forgets God, so to speak, it is not good.
Mitrich. Wait a minute! So remember what you
have done: you have fleeced me, so to speak, and Anisya,
for example, has some money which is lying idle. She
has no place to put it in and, being a woman, does not
know what to do with it. So she comes to you :
"
Can t
I," says she,
"
make some use of my money?
" "
Yes, you
can," you say. And so you wait. Next summer I come
to you once more.
"
Give me another ten roubles," says
I,
"
and I will pay you for the accommodation." So you
watch me to see whether my hide has not been turned
yet, whether I can be flayed again, and if I can, you give
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
