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The Possessed
The Possessed
(The Devils)
Translated by Constance Garnett.
Book Excerpt
stillness of his study, far from the immense burden of university work, it was always possible to devote himself to the service of science, and to enrich the literature of his country with erudite studies. These works did not appear. But on the other hand it did appear possible to spend the rest of his life, more than twenty years, "a reproach incarnate," so to speak, to his native country, in the words of a popular poet:
Reproach incarnate thou didst stand
Erect before thy Fatherland,
O Liberal idealist!
But the person to whom the popular poet referred may perhaps have had the right to adopt that pose for the rest of his life if he had wished to do so, though it must have been tedious. Our Stepan Trofimovitch was, to tell the truth, only an imitator compared with such people; moreover, he had grown weary of standing erect and often lay down for a while. But, to do him justice, the "incarnation of reproach" was preserved even in the recumbent attitude, the more so as that was quit
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This very prophetic novel, of clashing ideals, will grip your thoughts till the last page, riveting as it is moving, it will carry you to unprecedented heights beyond words.
It is perhaps one of the best books I have ever read, IF NOT THE BEST.
A must for all lovers of literature and a true testament of Dostoevsky's knack, not merely to entertain but provoke one's consciousness to plunge into a whirlpool of ideas.
I highly recommend the translation made by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, re-titled "DEMONS". It includes the censored chapter that further outlines the dark and complex character of Nikolai Vsevolodovich Stavrogin.
It is perhaps one of the best books I have ever read, IF NOT THE BEST.
A must for all lovers of literature and a true testament of Dostoevsky's knack, not merely to entertain but provoke one's consciousness to plunge into a whirlpool of ideas.
I highly recommend the translation made by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, re-titled "DEMONS". It includes the censored chapter that further outlines the dark and complex character of Nikolai Vsevolodovich Stavrogin.
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