"But you believe, don't you, Ivan Andreievitch, that Russia now has
found herself?" His voice became desperately urgent and beseeching. "You
must believe that. You don't agree with those fools who don't believe
that she will make the best of all this? Fools? Scoundrels! Scoundrels!
That's what they are. I must believe in Russia now or I shall die. And
so with all of us. If she does not rise now as one great country and
lead the world, she will never do so. Our hearts must break. But she
will... she will! No one who is watching events can doubt it. Only
cynics like Alexei doubt--he doubts everything. And he cannot leave
anything alone. He must smear everything with his dirty finger. But he
must leave Russia alone... I tell him...."
He broke off. "If Russia fails now," he spoke very quietly, "my life is
over. I have nothing left. I will die."
"Come, Nicolai Leontievitch," I said, "you mustn't let yourself go like
that. Life isn't over because one is disappointed in one's country. And
even though one is disappointed one does not love the less. What's
friendship worth if every disappointment chills one's affection? One
loves one's country because she is one's country, not because she's
disappointing.
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