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- 350 CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
that is, that it's an insult to a woman for a man to kiss her hand,
because it's a sign of inequality. We had a debate about it and
I described it to her. She listened attentively to an account of
the workmen's associations in France, too. Now I am explaining
the question of coming into the room in the future society."
"And what's that, pray?"
"We had a debate lately on the question: Has a member of the
community the right to enter another member's room, whether
man or woman at any time . . . and we decided that he has!"
"It might be at an inconvenient moment, he-he!"
Lebeziatnikov was really angry.
"You are always thinking of something unpleasant," he cried
with aversion. "Tfoo! How vexed I am that when I was ex-
pounding our system, I referred prematurely to the question of
personal privacy! It's always a stumbling-block to people like
you, they turn it into ridicule before they imderstand it. And
how proud they are of it, too! Tfoo! I've often maintained that
that question should not be approached by a novice till he has
a firm faith in the system. And tell me, please, what do you find
so shameful even in cesspools? I should be the first to be ready
to clean out any cesspool you like. And it's not a question of
self-sacrifice, it's simply work, honourable, useful work which
is as good as any other and much better than the work of a
Raphael and a Pushkin, because it is more useful."
"And more honourable, more honourable, he-he-he!"
"What do you mean by 'more honourable'? I don't understand
such expressions to describe human activity. 'More honourable,'
'nobler' — all those are old-fashioned prejudices which I reject.
Everything which is of use to mankind is honourable. I only
imderstand one word: useful! You can snigger as much as you
like, but that's so!"
Pyotr Petrovitch laughed heartily. He had finished counting
the money and was putting it away. But some of the notes he
left on the table. The "cesspool question" had already been a
subject of dispute between them. What was absurd was that it
made Lebeziatnikov really angry, while it amused Luzhin and at
that moment he particularly wanted to anger his young friend.
"It's your ill-luck yesterday that makes you so ill-humoured
and annoying," blurted out Lebeziatnikov, who in spite of his
■"independence" and his "protests" did not venture to oppose
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