صفحة 19 من 2288

The liberal party said that marriage is an institution quite out

of date, and that it needs reconstruction; and family life

certainly afforded Stepan Arkadyevitch little gratification, and

forced him into lying and hypocrisy, which was so repulsive to

his nature. The liberal party said, or rather allowed it to be

understood, that religion is only a curb to keep in check the

barbarous classes of the people; and Stepan Arkadyevitch could

not get through even a short service without his legs aching from

standing up, and could never make out what was the object of all

the terrible and high-flown language about another world when

life might be so very amusing in this world. And with all this,

Stepan Arkadyevitch, who liked a joke, was fond of puzzling a

plain man by saying that if he prided himself on his origin, he

ought not to stop at Rurik and disown the first founder of his

family-the monkey.