The Brothers Karamazov

^[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, connected with one of the major themes of B.K., the influence of the word.

^[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.

^[292] Apocryphal Gospels: accounts of the life of Christ (such as the Gospels of Thomas or James) not accepted as canonical.

^[293]Claude Bernard: French physiologist (1813-78), whose Introductionto the Study of Experimental Medicine defined the basic principles of scientific research.

^[294]de thoughtibus ...: Mitya’s variation on the Latin saying de gustibus non est disputandum (“there is no arguing over taste”).

^[295] image and likeness: see note 4 to page 239 in section 2.5.4.

^[296]Ah, what acharming little foot . . .: Dostoevsky’s (not Rakitin’s) jesting response to D. D. Minaev’s parody of a poem by Pushkin. Minaev (1835-89) was a poet of civic themes.

^[297] to the uttermost farthing: see Matthew 5:26.

^[298]Alyosha was startled . . .: Katerina Ivanovna suddenly addresses Ivan in the familiar second person singular, indicating greater intimacy than social conventions would have allowed them.

^[299]with obvious coldness: here Ivan suddenly addresses Alyosha in the formal second person plural.

^[300]Ah, Vanka’s gone ....: Vanka is a diminutive of Ivan. The song must unconsciously remind Ivan of his departure on the eve of the catastrophe (see Terras, p. 381).

^[301]Licharda: see note 2 to page 269 in section 2.5.6.

^[302]The Homilies . . .: see note 7 to page 27 in section 1.1.5.

^[303]qui frisait la cinquantaine: “who was pushing fifty.”

^[304]Thomas believed ...: see note 1 to page 26 in section 1.1.5.

^[305]c’est noble ... c’est chivaleresque: “it’s noble, it’s delightful ... it’s chivalrous.”

^[306]I donated ten roubles ... . that is, to a fund to help liberate Slavs under Turkish domination in the Balkans.

^[307]Satan sum ...: the devil adapts a famous line from the Roman playwright Terence (190-159 b.c.): homosum, humani nihil a me alienum puto (“I am a man, nothing human is alien to me”).

^[308] C’est de nouveau, n’est-ce pas?: “That’s something new, isn’t it?”

^[309] the waters above the firmament: see Genesis 1:7.

^[310]Gattsuk ...: A. A. Gattsuk (1832-91) was a Moscow publisher who published a yearly almanac in the 1870s and 1880s.

^[311]great ... beautiful: see note 2 to page 71 in section 1.2.6.

^[312]Lediable n’existe point: “The devil does not exist.”