Letters of Anton Chekhov (Tchekhov) - Penn State University

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Letters of Anton Chekhov to His Family and Friends with biographical sketchsteamer conscientiously, continually consulting the chart and thecompass, and if the steamer is shipwrecked all the same, would itnot be more correct to put down the shipwreck not to the captain,but to something else—for instance, to think that the chart is out ofdate or that the bottom of the sea has changed? Yes, there are threepoints the jury have to take into consideration: (1) Apart from thecriminal law, the penal code and legal procedure, there is a morallaw which is always in advance of the established law, and whichdefines our actions precisely when we try to act on our conscience;thus, for instance, the heritage of a daughter is laid down by law asa seventh part. But you, acting on the dictates of purely moral principle,go beyond the law and in opposition to it, and bequeath herthe same share as your sons, for you know that to act otherwisewould be acting against your conscience. In the same way it sometimeshappens to the jury to be put in a position in which they feelthat their conscience is not satisfied by the established law, that inthe case they are judging there are fine shades and subtleties whichcannot be brought under the provisions of the penal code, and thatobviously something else is needed for a just judgment, and that forthe lack of that “something” they will be forced to give a judgmentin which something is lacking. (2) The jury know that acquittal isnot pardon, and that acquittal does not deliver the prisoner fromthe day of judgment in the other world, from the judgment of hisconscience, from the judgment of public opinion; they decide thequestion only so far as it is a judicial question, and leave A——t todecide whether it is good to kill children or bad. (3) The prisonercomes to the court already exhausted by prison and examination,and he is in an agonizing position at his trial, so that even if he isacquitted he does not leave the court unpunished.Well, be that as it may, my letter is almost finished, and I seem tohave written nothing. We have the spring here in Yalta, no news ofinterest ….“Resurrection” is a remarkable novel. I liked it very much, but itought to be read straight off at one sitting. The end is uninterestingand false—false in a technical sense.398
Anton ChekhovTO O. L. KNIPPER.YALTA, February 14, 1900.DEAR ACTRESS,The photographs are very, very good, especially the one in whichyou are leaning in dejection with your elbows on the back of a chair,which gives you a discreetly mournful, gentle expression under whichthere lies hid a little demon. The other is good too, but it looks alittle like a Jewess, a very musical person who attends a conservatoire,but at the same time is studying dentistry on the sly as a secondstring, and is engaged to be married to a young man in Mogilev,and whose fiance is a person like M——. Are you angry? Really,really angry? It’s my revenge for your not signing them.Of the seventy roses I planted in the autumn only three have nottaken root. Lilies, irises, tulips, tuberoses, hyacinths, are all pushingout of the ground. The willow is already green. By the little seat inthe corner the grass is luxuriant already. The almond-tree is in blossom.I have put little seats all over the garden, not grand ones withiron legs, but wooden ones which I paint green. I have made threebridges over the stream. I am planting palms. In fact, there are allsorts of novelties, so much so that you won’t know the house, or thegarden, or the street. Only the owner has not changed, he is just thesame moping creature and devoted worshipper of the talents thatreside at Nikitsky Gate.* I have heard no music nor singing sincethe autumn, I have not seen one interesting woman. How can Ihelp being melancholy?I had made up my mind not to write to you, but since you havesent the photographs I have taken off the ban, and here you see Iam writing. I will even come to Sevastopol, only I repeat, don’t tellthat to anyone, especially not to Vishnevsky. I shall be there incognito,I shall put myself down in the hotel-book Count Blackphiz.I was joking when I said that you were like a Jewess in your photograph.Don’t be angry, precious one. Well, herewith I kiss yourlittle hand, and remain unalterably yours.*O. L. Knipper was living at Nikitsky Gate.399
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Letters of Anton Chekhov (Tchekhov) - Penn State University

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