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you were not mistaken, replied Berlioz courteously. I did indeed say that. Ah, how interesting! exclaimed the foreigner. What the hell does he want? thought Bezdomny and frowned. And do you agree eastern mountain sports amherst ma with your friend? enquired the unknown man, turning to Bezdomny on his right. A hundred per cent! affirmed the poet, who loved to use pretentious numerical expressions. Astounding! cried their eastern mountain sports amherst ma unbidden companion. Glancing furtively round and lowering his voice he said : Forgive me for being so rude, but am I right in thinking that you do not believe in God either? eastern mountain sports amherst ma He gave a horrified look and said: I swear not to tell anyone! Yes, neither of us believes in God, answered Berlioz with a faint smile at this foreign tourists apprehension. eastern mountain sports amherst ma But we can talk about it with absolute freedom. The foreigner leaned against the backrest of the bench and asked, in a voice positively squeaking with curiosity : Are you . . . atheists? Yes, were eastern mountain sports amherst ma atheists, replied Berlioz, smiling, and Bezdomny thought angrily : Trying to pick an argument, damn foreigner! Oh, how delightful! exclaimed the astonishing foreigner and swivelled his head from side to side, staring at each of them in turn. In our country theres nothing surprising about atheism, said Berlioz with diplomatic politeness. Most of us have long ago and quite consciously given up believing in all eastern mountain sports amherst ma those fairy-tales about God. At this the foreigner did an extraordinary thing--he stood up and shook the astonished editor by the hand, saying as he did so : Allow me to thank you with all my heart! What are you eastern mountain sports amherst ma thanking him for? asked Bezdomny, blinking. For some very valuable information, which as a traveller I find extremely interesting, said the eccentric foreigner, raising his forefinger meaningfully. This valuable piece of information had obviously made a powerful impression on the traveller, as he gave a frightened glance at the houses as though afraid of seeing an atheist at every window. No, hes not an Englishman, thought Berlioz. Bezdomny thought: What Id like to know is--where did he manage to pick up such good Russian? and frowned again. But might I enquire, began the visitor from eastern mountain sports amherst ma abroad after some worried reflection, how you account for the proofs of the existence of God, of which there are, as you know, five? Alas! replied Berlioz regretfully. eastern mountain sports amherst ma Not one of these proofs is valid, and mankind has long since relegated them to the archives. You must agree that rationally there can be no proof of the existence of God. Bravo! exclaimed the stranger. Bravo! You have exactly repeated the views of the immortal Emmanuel on that subject. But heres the oddity of it: he completely demolished all five proofs and then, as though to deride his own eastern mountain sports amherst ma efforts, he formulated a sixth proof of his own. Kants proof, objected the learned editor with a thin smile, is also unconvincing. Not for nothing did Schiller say that Kants reasoning on this question would eastern mountain sports amherst ma only satisfy slaves, and Strauss simply laughed at his proof. As Berlioz spoke he thought to himself: But who on earth is he? And how does he speak such good Russian? Kant ought to eastern mountain sports amherst ma be arrested and given three years in Solovki asylum for that proof of his! Ivan Nikolayich burst out completely unexpectedly. Ivan! whispered Berlioz, embarrassed. But the suggestion to pack Kant off to an asylum

not only did not surprise the stranger but actually delighted him. Exactly, exactly! he cried and his green left eye, turned on Berlioz glittered. Thats exactly the place for him! eastern mountain sports amherst ma I said to him myself that morning at breakfast: If youll forgive me, professor, your theory is no good. It may be clever but its horribly incomprehensible. People will think youre mad. eastern mountain sports amherst ma Berliozs eyes bulged. At breakfast ... to Kant? What is he rambling about? he thought. But, went on the foreigner, unperturbed by Berliozs amazement and turning to the poet, sending eastern mountain sports amherst ma him to Solovki is out of the question, because for over a hundred years now he has been somewhere far away from Solovki and I assure you that it is totally impossible eastern mountain sports amherst ma to bring him back. What a pity! said the impetuous poet. It is a pity, agreed the unknown man with a glint in his eye, and went on: But this is the question that disturbs eastern mountain sports amherst ma me--if there is no God, then who, one wonders, rules the life of man and keeps the world in order? Man rules himself, said Bezdomny angrily in answer to such eastern mountain sports amherst ma an obviously absurd question. I beg your pardon, retorted the stranger quietly, but to rule one must have a precise plan worked out for some reasonable period ahead. Allow me to enquire how man can control his own affairs when he is not only incapable of compiling a plan for some laughably short term, such as, say, a thousand years, but cannot even predict what will happen to him tomorrow? eastern mountain sports amherst ma In fact, here the stranger turned to Berlioz, imagine what would happen if you, for instance, were to start organising others and yourself, and you developed a taste for it--then suddenly you eastern mountain sports amherst ma