第八章（下）
教授走后，谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇转向弟弟。
"很高兴你能来。能待多久？你的农庄打理得怎么样？"
列文知道兄长对农事兴趣寥寥，只是出于尊重才这样问，于是他只简单说了卖小麦和财务的事。
列文本想告诉兄长自己决定结婚的事，并征求他的意见——他原本确实下定了决心。但见到兄长后，听了兄长与教授的交谈，又听到兄长询问农务时那不自觉流露的居高临下的语气（母亲的财产尚未分割，列文负责管理两人名下的份额），列文觉得不知为何无法开口谈论婚事了。他感到兄长不会以他所期望的方式看待此事。
"地方自治会进展如何？"谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇问道，他对这些地方议会颇感兴趣且极为重视。
"我实在不清楚。"
"什么？你难道不是议员吗？"
"不，现在不是了，我已经辞任。"列文回答，"也不再参加会议了。"
"真可惜！"谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇皱着眉头评论道。
列文只好为自己辩白，开始描述他所在地区议会的情况。
"总是这样！"谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇打断他。"我们俄国人一贯如此。或许这真是我们的优点——善于看到自身的缺陷；但我们做得太过分了，用随时挂在嘴边的讽刺来自我安慰。我只想说，若将我们地方自治这样的权力赋予其他欧洲民族——比如德国人或英国人——他们早已借此获得自由，而我们却只会将其当成笑柄。"
"可这有什么办法？"列文懊悔地说。"那是我最后的努力了。我确实全心尝试过。但我做不到，我不是这块料。"
"不是你不擅长。"谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇说，"而是你没有用正确的方式看待它。"
"也许吧。"列文沮丧地回答。
"哦！你知道吗，尼古拉弟弟又出现了？"
这位尼古拉弟弟是康斯坦丁·列文的兄长，也是谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇的同母异父弟弟；一个彻底堕落了的人，挥霍了大半家产，混迹于最奇怪最低贱的人群中，并与兄长们闹翻了。
"你说什么？"列文惊恐地叫道。"你怎么知道？"
"普罗科菲在街上看见他了。"
"在莫斯科这里？他在哪里？你知道吗？"列文从椅子上站起来，仿佛立刻就要动身。
"真抱歉告诉了你。"谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇看着弟弟激动的样子摇了摇头。"我派人去查了他的住处，还把他欠特鲁宾的借据还了——那笔账是我付的。这是他给我的回信。"
谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇从镇纸下取出一张便条递给弟弟。
列文看着那奇特而熟悉的手迹："我恳求你让我安生。这是我对两位仁慈兄长唯一的请求。——尼古拉·列文"
列文读完后，垂着头站在谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇对面，手里攥着纸条。
他内心激烈挣扎着：一边是暂时忘却不幸兄长的愿望，一边是意识到这样做是卑鄙的。
"他显然想冒犯我。"谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇继续说，"但他冒犯不了我。我本全心全意想帮助他，但我知道这是不可能的。"
"是的，是的。"列文重复道。"我理解并感激你对他的态度；但我还是要去看他。"
"如果你想去，就去吧；但我不建议你去。"谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇说。"就我而言，我并不担心你会因此怎样；他不会让你跟我闹翻。但为你自己着想，我认为不去更好。你帮不了他什么；不过，随你吧。"
"也许我确实帮不了他，但我感到——尤其是在这样的时刻——不过那是另一回事——我觉得我不会安心的。"
"这我就不明白了。"谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇说。"我只明白一点，"他补充道，"这是一堂谦卑课。自从尼古拉弟弟变成现在这样——你知道他做了什么……——我开始以非常不同、更加宽容的眼光看待那些所谓的丑事了……"
"哦，太可怕了，太可怕了！"列文重复道。
从谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇的仆人那里问到兄长的地址后，列文本想立刻去看他，但转念一想，决定把拜访推迟到晚上。眼下要让自己安心的首要之事，是完成他此行来莫斯科的目的。离开兄长那里后，列文去了奥布隆斯基的办公室，从他那里打听到谢尔巴茨基家的消息后，便驱车前往据说能找到基蒂的地方。
When the professor had gone, Sergey Ivanovitch turned to his brother.
“Delighted that you’ve come. For some time, is it? How’s your farming
getting on?”
Levin knew that his elder brother took little interest in farming, and
only put the question in deference to him, and so he only told him
about the sale of his wheat and money matters.
Levin had meant to tell his brother of his determination to get
married, and to ask his advice; he had indeed firmly resolved to do so.
But after seeing his brother, listening to his conversation with the
professor, hearing afterwards the unconsciously patronizing tone in
which his brother questioned him about agricultural matters (their
mother’s property had not been divided, and Levin took charge of both
their shares), Levin felt that he could not for some reason begin to
talk to him of his intention of marrying. He felt that his brother
would not look at it as he would have wished him to.
“Well, how is your district council doing?” asked Sergey Ivanovitch,
who was greatly interested in these local boards and attached great
importance to them.
“I really don’t know.”
“What! Why, surely you’re a member of the board?”
“No, I’m not a member now; I’ve resigned,” answered Levin, “and I no
longer attend the meetings.”
“What a pity!” commented Sergey Ivanovitch, frowning.
Levin in self-defense began to describe what took place in the meetings
in his district.
“That’s how it always is!” Sergey Ivanovitch interrupted him. “We
Russians are always like that. Perhaps it’s our strong point, really,
the faculty of seeing our own shortcomings; but we overdo it, we
comfort ourselves with irony which we always have on the tip of our
tongues. All I say is, give such rights as our local self-government to
any other European people—why, the Germans or the English would have
worked their way to freedom from them, while we simply turn them into
ridicule.”
“But how can it be helped?” said Levin penitently. “It was my last
effort. And I did try with all my soul. I can’t. I’m no good at it.”
“It’s not that you’re no good at it,” said Sergey Ivanovitch; “it is
that you don’t look at it as you should.”
“Perhaps not,” Levin answered dejectedly.
“Oh! do you know brother Nikolay’s turned up again?”
This brother Nikolay was the elder brother of Konstantin Levin, and
half-brother of Sergey Ivanovitch; a man utterly ruined, who had
dissipated the greater part of his fortune, was living in the strangest
and lowest company, and had quarreled with his brothers.
“What did you say?” Levin cried with horror. “How do you know?”
“Prokofy saw him in the street.”
“Here in Moscow? Where is he? Do you know?” Levin got up from his
chair, as though on the point of starting off at once.
“I am sorry I told you,” said Sergey Ivanovitch, shaking his head at
his younger brother’s excitement. “I sent to find out where he is
living, and sent him his IOU to Trubin, which I paid. This is the
answer he sent me.”
And Sergey Ivanovitch took a note from under a paper-weight and handed
it to his brother.
Levin read in the queer, familiar handwriting: “I humbly beg you to
leave me in peace. That’s the only favor I ask of my gracious
brothers.—Nikolay Levin.”
Levin read it, and without raising his head stood with the note in his
hands opposite Sergey Ivanovitch.
There was a struggle in his heart between the desire to forget his
unhappy brother for the time, and the consciousness that it would be
base to do so.
“He obviously wants to offend me,” pursued Sergey Ivanovitch; “but he
cannot offend me, and I should have wished with all my heart to assist
him, but I know it’s impossible to do that.”
“Yes, yes,” repeated Levin. “I understand and appreciate your attitude
to him; but I shall go and see him.”
“If you want to, do; but I shouldn’t advise it,” said Sergey
Ivanovitch. “As regards myself, I have no fear of your doing so; he
will not make you quarrel with me; but for your own sake, I should say
you would do better not to go. You can’t do him any good; still, do as
you please.”
“Very likely I can’t do any good, but I feel—especially at such a
moment—but that’s another thing—I feel I could not be at peace.”
“Well, that I don’t understand,” said Sergey Ivanovitch. “One thing I
do understand,” he added; “it’s a lesson in humility. I have come to
look very differently and more charitably on what is called infamous
since brother Nikolay has become what he is ... you know what he
did....”
“Oh, it’s awful, awful!” repeated Levin.
After obtaining his brother’s address from Sergey Ivanovitch’s footman,
Levin was on the point of setting off at once to see him, but on second
thought he decided to put off his visit till the evening. The first
thing to do to set his heart at rest was to accomplish what he had come
to Moscow for. From his brother’s Levin went to Oblonsky’s office, and
on getting news of the Shtcherbatskys from him, he drove to the place
where he had been told he might find Kitty.
