Page:Dead Souls - A Poem by Nikolay Gogol - vol2.djvu/212

202 he wanted to turn the conversation on the way in which every bit of refuse yielded an income. But Skudronzhoglo was thoroughly roused by now, his spleen was excited, and his words flowed freely.

'And here another Don Quixote of enlightenment has founded a school. Well, what can be more useful for a man than to know how to read or write? But this is how he manages things. The peasants from his village come to me, "What's the meaning of this, sir?" they say, "our sons have got completely out of hand, they won't help us on the land, they all want to be clerks, but you know there is only one clerk wanted." So that's what it comes to.'

Tchitchikov had no use for schools either, but Platonov took up the subject.

'But one must not be stopped by the fact that clerks are not wanted now; there will be a need for them hereafter. We must work for posterity.'

'Oh, brother, do you at least be sensible; what do you want with that posterity? Every one seems to think that he is a Peter the Great. But you look at what's under your feet, and don't gaze away at posterity; work to make the peasant competent and well off, and to let him have leisure to study as he likes instead of saying to him, stick in hand: "Learn!" They begin at the wrong end! … Here, listen; come, I ask you to judge …' At this point Skudronzhoglo moved closer to Tchitchikov, and to make him attend more closely to the matter, took possession of him, or, in other words, put his