The mother drank in her
son's words, which cut themselves into her memory in regular rows.
The old judge stopped Pavel several times and explained something
to him. Once he even smiled sadly. Pavel listened to him silently,
and again began to speak in an austere but calm voice, compelling
everybody to listen to him, subordinating the will of the judges to
his will. This lasted for a long time. Finally, however, the old
man shouted, extending his hand to Pavel, whose voice in response
flowed on calmly, somewhat sarcastically.
"I am reaching my conclusion. To insult you personally was not my
desire; on the contrary, as an involuntary witness to this comedy
which you call a court trial, I feel almost compassion for you, I
may say. You are human beings after all; and it is saddening to
see human beings, even our enemies, so shamefully debased in the
service of violence, debased to such a degree that they lose
consciousness of their human dignity."
He sat down without looking at the judges.
Andrey, all radiant with joy, pressed his hand firmly; Samoylov,
Mazin, and the rest animatedly stretched toward him. He smiled,
a bit embarrassed by the transport of his comrades.
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