第242章

And he was warned not to play such pranks again.And the fellow kept blubbering like a woman.'It wasn't me,' he said, 'it was he egged me on,' and he pointed to me.I answered with the utmost composure that I hadn't egged him on, that I simply stated the general proposition, had spoken hypothetically.The justice of the peace smiled and was vexed with himself once for having smiled.'I'll complain to your masters of you, so that for the future you mayn't waste your time on such general propositions, instead of sitting at your books and learning your lessons.' He didn't complain to the masters, that was a joke, but the matter noised abroad and came to the ears of the masters.Their ears are long, you know! The classical master, Kolbasnikov, was particularly shocked about it, but Dardanelov got me off again.But Kolbasnikov is savage with everyone now like a green ass.Did you know, Ilusha, he is just married, got a dowry of a thousand roubles, and his bride's a regular fright of the first rank and the last degree.The third-class fellows wrote an epigram on it:

Astounding news has reached the class, Kolbasnikov has been an ass.

And so on, awfully funny, I'll bring it to you later on.I say nothing against Dardanelov, he is a learned man, there's no doubt about it.I respect men like that and it's not because he stood up for me.""But you took him down about the founders of Troy!" Smurov put in suddenly, proud of Krassotkin at such a moment.He was particularly pleased with the story of the goose.

"Did you really take him down?" the captain inquired, in a flattering way."On the question who founded Troy? We heard of it, Ilusha told me about it at the time.""He knows everything, father, he knows more than any of us!" put in Ilusha; "he only pretends to be like that, but really he is top in every subject..."Ilusha looked at Kolya with infinite happiness.

"Oh, that's all nonsense about Troy, a trivial matter.Iconsider this an unimportant question," said Kolya with haughty humility.He had by now completely recovered his dignity, though he was still a little uneasy.He felt that he was greatly excited and that he had talked about the goose, for instance, with too little reserve, while Alyosha had looked serious and had not said a word all the time.And the vain boy began by degrees to have a rankling fear that Alyosha was silent because he despised him, and thought he was showing off before him.If he dared to think anything like that, Kolya would-"I regard the question as quite a trivial one," he rapped out again, proudly.

"And I know who founded Troy," a boy, who had not spoken before, said suddenly, to the surprise of everyone.He was silent and seemed to be shy.He was a pretty boy of about eleven, called Kartashov.He was sitting near the door.Kolya looked at him with dignified amazement.

The fact was that the identity of the founders of Troy had become a secret for the whole school, a secret which could only be discovered by reading Smaragdov, and no one had Smaragdov but Kolya.

One day, when Kolya's back was turned, Kartashov hastily opened Smaragdov, which lay among Kolya's books, and immediately lighted on the passage relating to the foundation of Troy.This was a good time ago, but he felt uneasy and could not bring himself to announce publicly that he too knew who had founded Troy, afraid of what might happen and of Krassotkin's somehow putting him to shame over it.But now he couldn't resist saying it.For weeks he had been longing to.

"Well, who did found it?" Kolya, turning to him with haughty superciliousness.He saw from his face that he really did know and at once made up his mind how to take it.There was so to speak, a discordant note in the general harmony.

"Troy was founded by Teucer, Dardanus, Ilius and Tros," the boy rapped out at once, and in the same instant he blushed, blushed so, that it was painful to look at him.But the boys stared at him, stared at him for a whole minute, and then all the staring eyes turned at once and were fastened upon Kolya, who was still scanning the audacious boy with disdainful composure.

"In what sense did they found it?" he deigned to comment at last."And what is meant by founding a city or a state? What do they do? Did they go and each lay a brick, do you suppose?"There was laughter.The offending boy turned from pink to crimson.

He was silent and on the point of tears.Kolya held him so for a minute.

"Before you talk of a historical event like the foundation of a nationality, you must first understand what you mean by it," he admonished him in stern, incisive tones."But I attach no consequence to these old wives' tales and I don't think much of universal history in general," he added carelessly, addressing the company generally.

"Universal history?" the captain inquired, looking almost scared.

"Yes, universal history! It's the study of the successive follies of mankind and nothing more.The only subjects I respect are mathematics and natural science," said Kolya.He was showing off and he stole a glance at Alyosha; his was the only opinion he was afraid of there.But Alyosha was still silent and still serious as before.If Alyosha had said a word it would have stopped him, but Alyosha was silent and "it might be the silence of contempt," and that finally irritated Kolya.

"The classical languages, too...they are simply madness, nothing more.You seem to disagree with me again, Karamazov?""I don't agree," said Alyosha, with a faint smile.

"The study of the classics, if you ask my opinion, is simply a police measure, that's simply why it has been introduced into our schools." By degrees Kolya began to get breathless again."Latin and Greek were introduced because they are a bore and because they stupefy the intellect.It was dull before, so what could they do to make things duller? It was senseless enough before, so what could they do to make it more senseless? So they thought of Greek and Latin.

That's my opinion, I hope I shall never change it," Kolya finished abruptly.His cheeks were flushed.