Do We Ever Get What We Really

[f]or Contemporary Judgment Does Not Recognize That Much Depth Of Soul Is Needed To Light Up The Picture Drawn From Contemptible Life And Elevate It Into A Pearl Of Creation.

Like All Of Us Sinners, General Betrishchev Was Endowed With Many Virtues And Many Defects. Both The One And The Other Were Scattered Through Him In A Sort Of Picturesque Disorder. Self-sacrifice, Magnanimity In Decisive Moments, Courage, Intelligence--and With All That, A Generous Mixture Of Self-love, Ambition, Vanity, Petty Personal Ticklishness, And A Good Many Of Those Things Which A Man Simply Cannot Do Without.

Perfect Nonsense Goes On In The World. Sometimes There Is No Plausibility At All

It's The Most Righteous, Which Of Course Is Not The Same Thing As The Most Profitable.

The Experience Of Ages Has Shown That A Man Who Works On The Land Is Purer, Nobler, Higher, And More Moral... Agriculture Should Be At The Basis Of Everything. That's My Idea.