afraid of. The man was dear to me. And what were my feelings when
he opened his lips and I heard his first phrase?

"Ladies and gentlemen," he pronounced suddenly, as though resolved to
venture everything, though in an almost breaking voice. "Ladies and
gentlemen! Only this morning there lay before me one of the illegal
leaflets that have been distributed here lately, and I asked myself for
the hundredth time, 'Wherein lies its secret?'"

The whole hall became instantly still, all looks were turned to him,
some with positive alarm. There was no denying, he knew how to secure
their interest from the first word. Heads were thrust out from behind
the scenes; Liputin and Lyamshin listened greedily. Yulia Mihailovna
waved to me again.

"Stop him, whatever happens, stop him," she whispered in agitation.
I could only shrug my shoulders: how could one stop a man resolved to
venture everything? Alas, I understood what was in Stepan Trofimovitch's
mind.

"Ha ha, the manifestoes!" was whispered in the audience; the whole hall
was stirred.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've solved the whole mystery. The whole secret
of their effect lies in their stupidity." (His eyes flashed.) "Yes.
gentlemen, if this stupidity were intentional, pretended and calculated,
oh, that would be a stroke of genius! But we must do them justice:
they don't pretend anything. It's the barest, most simple-hearted,
most shallow stupidity. _C'est la betise dans son essence la plus pure,
quelque chose comme un simple chimique._ If it were expressed ever so
little more cleverly, every one would see at once the poverty of this
shallow stupidity. But as it is, every one is left wondering: no one
can believe that it is such elementary stupidity. 'It's impossible that
there's nothing more in it,' every one says to himself and tries to
find the secret of it, sees a mystery in it, tries to read between the
lines--the effect is attained! Oh, never has stupidity been so solemnly
rewarded, though it has so often deserved it.... For, _en parenthese,_
stupidity is of as much service to humanity as the loftiest genius... ."

"Epigram of 1840" was commented, in a very modest voice, however, but it
was followed by a general outbreak of noise and uproar.

"Ladies and gentlemen, hurrah! I propose a toast to stupidity!" cried
Stepan Trofimovitch, defying the audience in a perfect frenzy.

I ran up on the pretext of pouring out some water for him.

"Stepan Trofimovitch, leave