The Brothers Karamazov

[243] Gullible . . .: lines from F. Tyutchev’s translation (1851) of Schiller’s “Victory Banquet” (“Das Siegesfest,” 1803), where the reference is to Clytemnestra.

[244]I am sad . . .: Mitya is, of course, rewriting Hamlet here.

[245]Yet one last tale ...: cf. the first line of the monk Pimen’s speech in Pushkin’s historical tragedy BorisGodunov (1824-25), proverbial among Russians.

[246]You see, sir, when the Son of God. . .: one of many variations on the theme of hell in B.K. Andrei’s version may derive from a popular verse legend, “The Dream of the Most Holy Mother of God,” itself based on apocryphal accounts of Christ’s descent into hell.

[247] Panie: Polish forms of address, as well as Polish words and phrases, appear throughout this chapter. Pan means “sir” or “gentleman.” Panie (pronounced PAN-yeh) is the form of direct address for a gentleman, pani (pAN-ee) for a lady; panowie (_Og-fe-vyeh) is the plural of panie. For the Polish phrases, Dostoevsky most often supplies his own translation in parentheses; we do the same.

[248]krôlowa ...: Grushenka is right; the word is close to the Russian koroleva (“queen”).

[249]lajdak: “scoundrel.”

[250]Agrippina: the Polish form of Agrafena.

[251]DeadSouls: the reference is to an episode at the end of part 1, ch. 4 of Gogol’s satirical masterpiece (1842).

[252]Piron: see note 4 to page 135 in section 1 3.8.

[253] Is that you, Boileau ...: from an epigram by 1. A. Krylov (1769-1844), on a bad translation of Nicolas Boileau’s Art poétique.

[254]You’re Sappho ... : an epigram by K. N. Batyushkov (1787-1855), on a bad woman poet; legend has it that Sappho died by throwing herself into the sea.

[255]Çi-gîtPiron . . .: “Here lies Piron who was nothing, Not even an academician.”

[256]To Poland . .: the action of B.K. is set in the mid 1860s, shortly after the Polish uprising of 1863; Mitya, as a former Russian officer, is making an unusually conciliatory gesture (see Terras, p. 303).

[257]To Russia ...: Pan Vrublevsky declines to be conciliatory. Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland for the first time in 1772, a disaster that awakened the Polish national spirit.

[258]PanPodvysotsky: in a letter to his publisher, N. A. Lyubimov (16 November 1879), Dostoevsky notes that he had heard this same anecdote three separate times over the years.

[259]gonor: Mitya uses the Polish word honor (pronounced gonor in Russian) rather than the Russian word chest’.

[260]panienochka: Maximov makes a Russian diminutive of pani.

[261]Dance cottage . . .: from a popular Russian dance song.

[262]”new” song: in a letter to his publisher (see note 12 to page 426 in section 3.8.7), Dostoevsky notes that he copied this song down himself “from real life” and calls it “an example of recent peasant creativity.”

[263]You see, I learned ... : Maximov’s self-mockery; the sabotiere is a peasant clog-dance (French sabot, “clog”).

[264]Let this terrible cup ...: see Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42; referring to Christ’s agony in Gethsemane.

[265]The piggy . . .: refrain of several Russian folksongs.

[266]Its legs ...: from a riddle song.

[267]podlajdak: Mitya adds a Russian prefix meaning sub- to the Polish word for “scoundrel.”

[268]Ah, hallway ...: another popular dance song, about a peasant girl who defies her father out of love for a young man (see Terras, p. 310).

[269]the Jurisprudence: the Imperial School of Jurisprudence in Petersburg.

[270]state councillor: see note 1 to page 99 in section 1.3.2.

[271]The Soul’s journey through Torments: according to a purely popular Christian notion, as a person’s soul ascends towards heaven after death, it meets evil spirits that try to force it down to hell. Only the souls of the righteous avoid these “torments” (there are said to be twenty of them) The point here is that Mitya’s soul, figuratively, is not merely suffering but rising; the “journey” is one of purification.

[272]Diogenes’lantern: Diogenes the Cynic (404-323? b.c.), a Greek philosopher, is said to have gone about with a lantern in broad daylight, “looking for a man.”

[273]Be patient ... an imprecise quotation from “Silentium” (1836), a famous poem by F. Tyutchev.

[274]of thetwelfth grade: one of the lowest grades (there were fourteen) of the imperial civil service.

[275]the thunder has struck: refers to a Russian proverb that Dostoevsky quotes in a letter to his publisher (see note 12 to page 426 in section 3.8.7) “Unless thunder strikes, a peasant won’t cross himself.”

[276]dry and sharp: from the poem “Before Rain” (1846) by Nikolai Nekrasov.

[277] Smaragdov: see note 5 to page 125 in section 1.3.6.

[278]Oh, children . . .: begi

[279] A Kinsman . . .: a book translated from the French, published in Moscow in 1785.

[280]who taughtyou all that: Kolya’s ideas throughout his harangue are drawn from the liberal press of the time. Again, as with Madame Khokhlakov, Dostoevsky is teasing his opponents, here by reflecting their ideas through a schoolboy’s mind. There is, of course, a serious point to it, co

[281]if there were no God . . .: see note 3 to page 24 in section 1.1.4 and note 5 to page 234 in 2.5.3.

[282]Candide: Voltaire’s satirical-philosophical tale (1759).

[283] Belinsky ... Onegin: refers to the “Ninth Essay on Pushkin” (1844-45) by the influential liberal critic Vissarion Belinsky (1811-48). Onegin and Tatiana are the hero and heroine of Pushkin’s novel in verse Evgeny Onegin (1823-31).

[284]Les femmes tricottent: “Women are knitters.”

[285] The Bell: the two lines of verse Kolya quotes are from an anti-government satire that appeared in the émigré magazine North Star (no. 6,1861) and elsewhere, but not in The Bell, published in London by Alexander Herzen (1812-70), where a sequel to it appeared. The “Third Department” was the imperial secret police, whose headquarters were near the Chain Bridge in Petersburg.

[286]If I forget thee . . .: see Psalm 137, “By the rivers of Babylon . . .”

[287] Skotoprigonyevsk: roughly “Cattle-roundup-ville.”

[288]They wantto setup ...: the question of a monument to Pushkin began to be discussed in the press in 1862; on 6 June 1880 the monument was finally unveiled. Dostoevsky gave a famous address on the occasion.

[289]vous comprenez . . .: “you know, this business and the terrible death of your papa.”

[290]like a Swede at Poltava: a common Russian saying; the original has “like a Swede,” the “at Poltava” being implied. Charles XII of Sweden was roundly defeated at Poltava in 1709 by Peter the Great.

[291] wisdom: in this context, the Old Slavonic word premudrost’ (wisdom) most likely refers to the Scriptures.