sympathize with you from the bottom of my heart, and deeply respect
the life you are leading. They don't understand you here in the
town, and, indeed, there is no one to understand, seeing that, as
you know, they are all, with very few exceptions, regular Gogolesque
pig faces here. But I saw what you were at once that time at the
picnic. You are a noble soul, an honest, high-minded man! I respect
you, and feel it a great honour to shake hands with you!" he went
on enthusiastically. "To have made such a complete and violent
change of life as you have done, you must have passed through a
complicated spiritual crisis, and to continue this manner of life
now, and to keep up to the high standard of your convictions
continually, must be a strain on your mind and heart from day to
day. Now to begin our talk, tell me, don't you consider that if you
had spent your strength of will, this strained activity, all these
powers on something else, for instance, on gradually becoming a
great scientist, or artist, your life would have been broader and
deeper and would have been more productive?"

We talked, and when we got upon manual labour I expressed this idea:
that what is wanted is that the strong should not enslave the weak,
that the minority should not be a parasite on the majority, nor a
vampire for ever sucking its vital sap; that is, all, without
exception, strong and weak, rich and poor, should take part equally
in the struggle for existence, each one on his own account, and
that there was no better means for equalizing things in that way
than manual labour, in the form of universal service, compulsory
for all.

"Then do you think everyone without exception ought to engage in
manual labour?" asked the doctor.