"Wait, comrades," she broke out suddenly. And they all grew silent
and turned their eyes upon her.
"Those who say that we ought to know everything are right. We ought
to illumine ourselves with the light of reason, so that the people
in the dark may see us; we ought to be able to answer every question
honestly and truly. We must know all the truth, all the falsehood."
The Little Russian listened and nodded his head in accompaniment to
her words. Vyesovshchikov, the red-haired fellow, and the other
factory worker, who had come with Pavel, stood in a close circle of
three. For some reason the mother did not like them.
When Natasha ceased talking, Pavel arose and asked calmly:
"Is filling our stomachs the only thing we want?"
"No!" he answered himself, looking hard in the direction of the
three. "We want to be people. We must show those who sit on our
necks, and cover up our eyes, that we see everything, that we are
not foolish, we are not animals, and that we do not want merely to
eat, but also to live like decent human beings. We must show our
enemies that our life of servitude, of hard toil which they impose
upon us, does not hinder us from measuring up to them in intellect,
and as to spirit, that we rise far above them!"
The mother listened to his words, and a feeling of pride in her son
stirred her bosom--how eloquently he spoke!
"People with well-filled stomachs are, after all, not a few, but
honest people there are none," said the little Russian.
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