Page:Siberia and the Exile System Vol 2.djvu/521

505 of superficial civilization. Uncleanly faces, disheveled hair, and fantastic clothes were to be seen. In conversation, to give proof of a wilful coarseness, the language of peasants was used. Contempt for the hypocritical and conventional formal morality, contempt for the ridiculous traditions which had so long been considered the expression of the wisdom of the state, indignation at the oppression borne by the individual were expressed by an absolute negation of authority of all kinds, and in the most exaggerated tendency toward liberty. All this certainly lent itself to caricature, all this allowed prejudiced persons to formulate against the intelligent class the accusation of wanting to destroy everything, of admitting the sacredness of nothing, of being without heart, without morality, and so forth. Even in the intelligent class, a few, from a spirit of contradiction, and by way of provoking the reactionists, began to adopt this name. Thus, in Nekrásof, a son answering his father's reproaches says, "Nihilist — 'tis a foolish word. But if by it you understand a frank man, who does not care to live on the possessions of others, who works, who seeks after the truth, tries that his life may not be useless, who bites his thumb at every rogue and occasionally knocks one down, then I don't see any harm; call me nihilist, why not?"

Nevertheless, only a small number among well-known persons, like Dmítri Písaref, for example, accepted this nickname; and even then only, so to say, for the moment. The absurdity of the word nihilism was too apparent. Besides, the very facts which had called forth the nickname naturally disappeared very rapidly. The leaning toward outward manifestations gave way to positive work with redoubled energy, and soon all these childish things — the women cutting their hair short, or exaggerated rudeness of manner — became discredited. Thus the word nihilism, which in earlier times had some meaning, at least as a caricature, a few years later lost all definite significance. In Russia no serious writer, even though he were reactionary, would use it to designate the revolutionists. The word has passed forever into the domain of pamphlets and of insults. In Europe, on the contrary, the word nihilism has the greatest vogue. The strangest thing is, this caricature is believed in as something real. Nihilism is considered a special doctrine founded on personal negation of all positive ideals. This is repeated again and again, even in other works than those of Cheddo-Ferotti. And this is not remarkable. But it is to be regretted that we do not find much more accuracy in a writer so conscientious and so erudite as M. Leroy-Beaulieu, ... who even sinks so low as to give the following definition of the doctrine of nihilism: "Take the heavens and the earth, take the state and the church, the kings and the gods, and spit upon them. That is our symbol."