All language subtitles for Idiot 01

Downloaded From www.AllSubs.org

in association with
Cinematography service

and RF Ministry of Culture
present

a ''2-B-2'' lNTERTAlNMENT Studio
production

Fyodor Mikhailovich
Dostoyevsky

THE lDlOT

Yevgeny Mironov
as Prince Muishkin

List of actors:

Vladimir MASHKOV

Lidia VELEZHEVA

Olga BUDlNA

lnna CHURlKOVA

Oleg BASlLASHVlLl

Vladimir lLYlN

Alexander LAZAREV

Andrey SMlRNOV

Scriptwriter and director:
Vladimir BORTKO

Cinematographer:
Dmitry MASS

Production Designers:

Vladimir SVETOZAROV
Marina NlKOLAYEVA

Music by
lgor KORNELlUK

Producer:
Valery TODOROVSKY

Part One

l need to tell you,
Nastasia Philipovna,

that my position
is absolutely intolerable.

Naturally, l am to blame
for everything.

But l admit: l don't feel
remorse for my conduct.

l am a man of sensual
passions,

with no power over myself.

But now l wish
to marry.

And the fate of this
most desirable social union

is in your hands.

ln one word, l ask you
to forgive me

from the generosity
of your heart.

For me, it is definitely
harder of speak of this

than for
Afanasy lvanovich.

l admit your right to be
the arbiter of his destiny.

But now l speak as a father,

who cares about the fate
of his eldest daughter.

Her fate, and, maybe,

the fate of both my other
daughters,

depends on your
reply.

What do you wish me to do?

l was so frightened by you,
when 5 years ago

you decided to come
to St. Petersburg,

that l will never
feel comfortable,

until you get married
yourself.

This suggestion from me

would be absurd,

unless l note

that a certain young
gentleman of good family,

Gavrila Ardalionovich
lvolgin,

to whom lvan Fyodorovich
is a benefactor,

has long loved you
passionately

and hopes for some response.

lt is difficult for me
to speak of this,

but l trust,

you will not look upon me
with contempt,

if l offer,

in order to guarantee
your successful marriage,

a gift of 75 thousand roubles.

This sum would have been
left you in my will.

ln a word, it is not
an indemnification.

But, after all, there is
no reason why a man

should not entertain
a natural desire

to at least somehow lighten
his conscience?

l am very happy.

And l believe the issue
is closed.

Yes, but could there be
a snake hidden in the flowers?

By the way, is it true,
lvan Fyodorovich,

that you have just bought
a necklace on Nevsky

at an incredible price?

Absolute nonsense,
Afanasy lvanovich.

What absolute nonsense!

Thank God
for that.

Believe me, lvan Fyodorovich,
before you stands a man

who in his time
had abandoned himself

to passion.

Does General lvan Fyodorovich
Epanchin live here?

- ls this the General's house?
-Whom should l announce?

Prince Lev Nikolayevich
Muishkin.

From abroad.

To see the general?
-Yes.

- l have certain business.
- l'm not interested in that.

All l have to do
is announce you.

Are you actually
from abroad?

You wanted to ask if l'm
actually Price Muishkin,

but refrained
out of politeness.

l assure you it's true

and you will not have
to answer for me.

ls to my clothes,

my circumstances are
not very rosy.

You've not come to beg,
have you?

Oh, no, rest assured,

l have a different matter.

Wait in the waiting room,
and leave your bundle here.

lf you don't mind, l would
rather sit here with you.

l should prefer it
to sitting alone.

You can't sit here,
you are a visitor.

Wait for the secretary
in the waiting room.

lf l have to wait long,
do you mind telling me,

if l could have a smoke?

l'm used to it, and haven't
had a puff for 3 hours.

Smoke? No, you can't smoke
here.

You must be ashamed
of the very suggestion.

Oh, of course!

Not in this room, of course,
l'd adjourn to another room.

However,
just as you like.

You know the saying:
when in Rome...

How on earth am l
to announce a man like that?

Leave your bundle here.

l've already thought of that.

lf you don't mind.

You know, l'll leave
my cloak here, too.

Yes, you can't go in like this.

ln winter, your rooms are
much warmer than abroad.

But there it's warmer outside.

A Russian can't live in their
houses until he gets accustomed

- Don't they heat them?
- They do.

But the houses and stoves
are different to ours.

-Were you away for long?
- Four years.

But l was in just one place -
in the country.

You must have forgotten
what life's like here.

But l hardly knew it
before.

And now they say so much
has changed here.

There's a lot of talk
about courts.

Yes, that's true enough.

- How's the law over there?
- l don't know.

l've heard much good
about our courts.

And there's no capital
punishment here.

- ls there over there?
-Yes.

l saw an execution
in France, in Lyons.

- Do they hang there?
- No, they cut off the heads.

- Do they yell?
- No, it's done in an instant.

They put a man in a frame,
and a wide knife,

it's called a guillotine,
falls with force and weight.

The head springs off so quickly,
in a wink of an eye.

But the preparations
are dreadful.

You know, they announced
the sentence to him,

tied his hands, prepared him,
took him up the scaffold.

lmagine what must've been
going on in his mind.

What convulsions his spirit
must have endured.

An outrage on the soul,
that's what it was.

lt is said
'Thou shall not kill'

but must he to be killed for
murder? No! lt is not right!

l saw the sight a month ago,

and it's before my eyes
this very moment.

Saw it in my dreams 5 times.

lt's a good thing
there's no pain,

when the head flies off.

Look! You made the remark
now, didn't you?

Everyone says
the same thing!

Everyone notices it!

That's what the guillotine
is made for!

And then a thought
came to my head.

What if it makes things
worse?

You know, if you
take torture.

You suffer pain,
bodily pain.

lt distracts you
from emotional suffering.

You suffer bodily pain
until you die.

Here the most terrible part
is not in the bodily pain,

but the certain
knowledge

that in an hour,
then in 10 minutes,

then in half a minute,
then now, this very instant

your soul will leave your body
and you'll no longer be a man.

And that is certain,
that's the main thing.

When you place your head
under that knife

and hear the iron
grate over your head,

that quarter of a second
is worst of all.

lt is not my fantasy,
many people said the same.

l feel it so deeply
that l'll tell you what l think.

To execute a man for murder

if an immeasurably worse
punishment, than fits the crime.

A murder by sentence
is far more dreadful,

than committed by a criminal.

A man who is attacked by
robbers hopes he can escape.

Until the very last
moment.

ln some cases a man hopes on
even when his throat is cut.

Or runs away, or begs
for mercy.

But here this last hope, with
which it's much easier to die,

is taken away, for
certain, there's the sentence.

That certainty must be
the worst anguish.

And there's nothing worse
than that anguish.

Our Lord Christ spoke
of this anguish.

No man should be treated so.

lf you are really so anxious
for a smoke,

it might be managed.

See the door there,
under the stairs? But be quick.

- Cold?
-Very.

l never thought it would be
so cold here.

- Been abroad?
-Yes, from Switzerland.

My goodness!

l was there for my health.

What kind of malady?

A nervous malady, a kind of
epilepsy, convulsive spasms.

-Were you cured?
- No, they didn't cure me.

Stumped up your money for
nothing, and we believe them.

Gospel truth.

Gospel truth.

All they do is take hold
of our Russian money free.

Oh, you're quite wrong in my
particular instance!

l can't argue because l know
only my particular case,

but my doctor gave me money
for my return journey

and kept me at his own expense
for nearly 2 years.

Was there no one else to pay
for you?

No, Mr. Pavlicheff, who
had been supporting me there,

died 2 year ago.

l wrote here to Mrs. General
Epanchin,

a distant relative of mine,
but she didn't answer.

So eventually l came back.

Whom have l the honor
of talking to?

Prince Lev Nikolayevich
Muishkin.

Prince Muishkin, Lev
Nikolayevich, l don't know.

Of course not! There are
none left. l'm the last one.

- Do you know the Rogojins?
- No.

Not at all, l hardly know
anyone in Russia.

-Are you Rogojin?
-Yes, l'm Parfen Rogojin.

Parfen?

The son of that very Semen
Rogojin,

who died a month or so ago,

and left 2 million
and a half?

And how do you know he left
2 million and a half?

lt's true enough
that my father died,

and l'm returning from Pskov
with hardly a boot to my foot.

Not a line, not a far thing
from my mother or brother.

And now, all of a sudden,
a million roubles.

At least.

Five weeks ago l was just
like yourself,

ran away from my father
to Pskov, with just one bundle.

To my aunt's house.

There l fell ill with fever.

And my father went
and died without me.

Of a stroke.

Eternal memory to him.

But he nearly killed me
then,

if l hadn't run then.

You must have angered him.

Oh yes, l angered
him alright,

and maybe he was right.

Devil's doing.

l riled my father about
Nastasia Philipovna.

- Nastasia Philipovna?
-You know nothing about her!

There are plenty
of Nastasia Philipovnas!

l thought some creature like
you would hang on to me!

And if l do know something?

Lebedeff knows everything.

Her name is Nastasia
Philipovna Barashkoff.

A famous lady,

a princess,
she is.

Lives with a certain Totski
Afanasy lvanovich,

a man of immense wealth,
high connections,

a director of companies,

who is a close friend of
General Epanchin.

The devil take him!
How does he know that?

l know everything,
all streets and corners.

Your excellency, l was
with Lihachoff

for 2 months after
his father died.

He's in the debtor's prison now.
But that's not the point.

lt was then that l met
Armanse,

Koralia, Princess Patskaya,

and Nastasia Philipovna.

And many others.

Nastasia Philipovna?

- She's with Lihachoff?
- No, nothing of the sort!

Lihacheff, with all his money,
has no chance.

No, she's not like Armanse.
Only Totski has a chance.

ln the evening, at the Bolshoi
or the French theatre,

she sits
in her own box.

Officers can't get further
than that,

because there is nothing
more to say!

lt's quite true.

When my late father gave me
2 government bonds to sell,

worth 5 thousand roubles each,

told me to go and sell them,

and bring 7 thousand
to the Andreyeff office.

l sold the bonds,
took the money,

but didn't go
to the office.

Prince, when l was returning,
l crossed Nevsky.

She was coming out of a shop.

At once
l was all in a blaze.

l took all of my father's
money,

went straight to the English
shop and got a pair of earrings.

They cost 400 roubles more, l
gave my name, they trusted me.

With them l went to Zalezheff
and then to Nastasia Philipovna

l didn't say right away
who l was.

Zalezheff told her the earrings
were from Rogojin.

Please accept in memory
of his first meeting with you.

She took the box, opened it,
and laughed.

Thank your friend Rogojin,
she said,

for his kind attention

She bowed and left.

The late Semen Rogojin
would hound you to death

for 10 roubles,
not to speak of 10 thousand.

Hound you to death!

What do you know about it?

My father took me upstairs
and locked me up.

And then for a whole hour...

he swore at me. This is only
a foretaste, he told me.

l'll come back when it's dark,
and talk to you again.

That was when l ran away
to Pskov.

To my aunt's house.

l arrived with a fever,

the old women started
lecturing me, but l was drunk!

l went on a drinking tour
with the last of what l had,

and by nightfall was lying
delirious in the streets.

ln the morning
l was ill with fever.

When l was in the street,
some dogs bit me.

l nearly died.

We'll make Nastasia Philipovna
sing another song now.

Those earrings are nothing!

We'll get her some proper
earrings now!

lf you as much as mention

her name again,
l'll tan your hide, believe me!

lf you tan my hide, you won't
turn me away! Go ahead!

You'll bind me to you
with your lash.

And you, Prince, are you
a great hand with the ladies?

No.

l couldn't - because of my
illness. l hardly know any.

lf that's so, you're quite
touched then, for sure.

God has a liking
for people like you.

lt's Petersburg! We've
arrived!

What can l do for you?

l have no special
business.

l just wanted to make your
acquaintance.

l don't want to disturb you, l
don't know the routine here.

l've just arrived
from Switzerland.

l have not much time
for making acquaintances,

but, of course, you have
your purpose in coming,

l felt sure

you would think l had some
purpose in coming here,

but l give my word, it's just
the pleasure of acquaintance.

The pleasure is, of course,
mutual,

but as you are aware,
life's not all pleasure.

And l really
cannot see

what we might have
in common.

-Any possible reason...
- There is no reason.

There is very little in common
between us, for if l am

Prince Muishkin, and your wife
is a member of my house,

that can hardly be
a reason.

And yet, that is my whole
motive for coming.

l have not been in Russia
for 4 years.

l feel l now need
a few good friends.

l have a certain matter, but
l do not know whom to turn to.

l thought of you
when l was passing Berlin:

they're almost relatives,
so l'll begin with them.

Maybe, we'll get on,
if they're kind people.

And l've heard you are
very kind people.

Oh, thank you.

So, you're straight from
the station with your luggage?

l only have
a small bundle,

l'll take a room in some hotel
in the evening.

- Take a room?
-Yes, of course.

- Didn't you intend to stay here?
- lt could have been so,

but only
upon your invitation.

But l wouldn't stay here
even if you invited me.

Not for any particular reason,
it's contrary to my nature.

Well, then it's just as well
that l didn't invite you.

Excuse me, prince, but we
had better make this clear:

we have just agreed,

with regard to our relationship,
there's not much to be said.

- Then, perhaps...
- l'd better get up and go.

Though l know nothing of
local manners,

or how people live
and all that,

yet, l felt quite sure this
visit would end

exactly as it did.

Oh, well, l suppose it's
all right.

Especially since my letter
was not answered.

Forgive me for having
disturbed you.

Prince, wait!

Maybe my wife would like to
look at a man of her own name.

-Wait, if you have the time.
- l have lots of time.

My time is entirely
my own.

Maybe, Elizabeta Prokofievna
remembers l had written to her.

A little while ago your servant

was suspicious that
l had come to beg.

But l came to make friends.

You and l seem so
different,

that there must be very little
in common between us.

But often it just
appears

we have nothing in common,
though actually we do.

Jealousy
is the reason.

People sort each other into
groups by appearances.

But l must be
boring you.

And this worries me.

lf you are really the sort of
man you appear to be,

it will be a pleasure for us
to make your acquaintance.

- How old are you?
- 26.

l thought you were
much younger.

Just two words.

Do you have any means
at all,

or do you intend to undertake
some employment?

Oh, my dear sir!

l esteem and understand
your questions.

l have no means whatever,
and no employment.

But l have a certain matter.

How do you intend
to live now?

l wish to work.

Oh, you're a philosopher!

Have you any talents,
or ability

to bring in money and bread?
Excuse me again.

Oh, don't apologize!

No, l don't think l have any
talent or abilities.

On the contrary,
l have always been an invalid.

Frequent fits have made me
almost an idiot.

l was unable to learn much,

as for bread...

We have no one in Russia.
Absolutely no one.

Yes, at present, no one,
but l have hope.

And l received a letter...

- Can you write correctly?
- Oh, yes, l can.

-And your handwriting?
- Excellent!

There, perhaps, l'm really
talented. A real calligrapher.

Let me...

Let me write you something,
just to show.

Please do.

l like your readiness,
prince.

ln fact, l like you
very well.

Gania! Give the prince
a piece of paper.

Here's the paper, prince.

Sit down at this table,
please.

Thank you.

What's this?

Nastasia Philipovna!
Did she send it herself?

Today, when l called in
to congratulate her.

-You remember about tonight?
- Oh, yes.

l'll go, of course.
lt's her birthday.

She's 25 years old.

You know, Gania, you must be
ready for great things.

She has promised me
and Afanasy lvanovich,

she will give herfinal answer
tonight.

-Yes or no.
- She did?

-Are you sure she said that?
-Yes, she promised.

But she asked us not to tell
you about it until today.

She said l was to be free too,
until her decision,

and yet even then l was
to have the final word.

-Why, don't you?
- Don't misunderstand!

-What are you doing?
- l'm not rejecting her.

l should think not!

lt's a question of your
readiness to receive her

joyfully,
happily!

Of how you receive
her words.

Maybe l have expressed
myself badly.

Well, all right.

How are things
at home?

Oh, at home!

Father's making a fool of
himself, mother's crying,

sister's sulking. But l'm master
of my own destiny.

l gave my sister to understand
as much, mother was present.

l still cannot understand it!

They see it as some kind of
a dishonor to them.

Why a dishonor?

Who can reproach
Nastasia Philipovna?

Just because she had been
living with Totski? Nonsense!

Especially given
these circumstances.

Your mother told me:
you wouldn't let her

come near
your daughters.

That's Nina Alexandrovna!

- How can she fail to understand?
- Her position?

She does understand.

lf anything is settled tonight,
things will calm down.

So this is Nastasia Philipovna.

How wonderfully beautiful!

Do you already know
Nastasia Philipovna?

Only one day in Russia, but
l've heard of the great beauty.

A merchant told me about her
in the train.

Parfen Rogojin.

That's news!

the young merchant was indulging
in some fun, l've heard.

Yes, so have l,
she told us about it herself.

l'm afraid of some scandal.

How did he strike you,
prince,

did he seem a serious man
or just a rowdy fellow?

l really don't know
how to tell you.

But he seemed to me
so full of passion.

Not perhaps quite healthy.

Very likely he'll be in bed
again, if he lives fast.

Or perhaps he won't.

-What if something else happens?
-What are you smiling at?

Gania, you're so curious!

You actually seem glad
of this merchant's arrival.

As if it's a way for you
to get out of it.

No one is forcing you in
a snare, if you see a snare.

Do you understand me?

Do you desire this arrangement
or not?

lf not, say so, and -
welcome.

l do desire it.

Oh, just look at that!

Done in very old handwriting.

Look, Gania, there's real
talent there.

The humble abbot Pafnuty
signed this.

You are not a calligrapher,
you're an artist!

Quite surprising, and
he knows it, too.

You may smile,
but there's a career in this.

You can get a place with 35
roubles a month, to start with.

However, it's 12 already,
so on to business, price.

l'll find you
an office job,

an easy place, but you'll
have to be accurate.

Now as to your plans.

ln the house of Gavrila
Ardalionovich lvolgin,

my young friend
here,

his mother rents rooms
to lodgers.

Gania, you have nothing against
the prince living in your house

On the contrary, and my mother
will be very glad.

The rent is quite moderate,

and l expect your salary
will be sufficient.

Of course, pocket money is
a necessity.

Do not be offended, price,
if l strongly recommend you

to avoid carrying money in
your pocket.

l conclude this
from the way you look.

But since at the moment
your pocket is empty,

permit me to press upon you
these 25 roubles.

We'll settle this later. Are you
happy with this arrangement?

Thank you,
general.

You have behaved very
kindly to me.

l certainly didn't know
where to lay my head tonight.

A while ago Rogojin asked me
to come to his house.

Rogojin? l'd recommend you,
paternally,

to forget about Mr. Rogojin.

And to stick to the family
into which

you are about to enter.

-Yes, there is just one matter...
- Excuse me, l have no time.

l'll just tell Elizabeta
Prokofievna about you.

And if she wishes to see
a man of her own name,

l recommend you ingratiate
yourself with her.

And you, Gania, just look over
these accounts.

What, receive him?

You say: receive him.
Here, at once?

There's no need for
ceremony, he's quite a child.

He has fits of some sort. He's
arrived from Switzerland.

Dressed in a strange way,
without a farthing.

Ladies, l'd like you
to feed him well.

He looks hungry.

You astonish me:
fits and hungry, too.

-What kind of fits?
- They're not frequent.

Besides, he's a regular
child, but fairly educated.

You can examine him,

and see what he's
good for.

- Examine him?
- lt's not that important.

l meant make him feel
welcome, be kind to him,

it's almost a good deed.

From Switzerland?

Switzerland has nothing
to do with it.

l thought he may interest you,
because of your family name.

Do you admire that sort
of woman?

A wonderful face.

l'm sure, her destiny must be
extraordinary.

Her face is smiling, but
she must have suffered terribly.

lt's a proud face.

But l can't say

whether she's kind or not.

-Would you marry her?
- l can't marry.

l'm an invalid.

-Would Rogojin marry her?
- He would.

And then, perhaps, murder her
in a week.

What's the matter?

Your highness, please proceed
to her excellency's apartments.

Oh, if she were good!

That would make all well.

We'd better have him
tie a napkin under his chin,

when he sits at the table.

Or ask Fyodor or Marfa,

that they stand behind him
while he eats.

ls he quiet when he
has these fits?

- He's not violent, is he?
- No, he's very well brought up.

His manners are excellent,
but he's a bit simple.

Here he is himself!

Let me introduce you.

Prince Muishkin, the last
of the Muishkins.

A relative of your own, or,
at least, of the same name.

Receive him kindly, please.

They'll be bringing in
lunch, prince.

Stay and have some, but you
must excuse me. l'm off.

We all know where.

l must hurry, my dear,
l'm late.

Let him write something
in your albums.

He's quite a calligrapher!
Extraordinary! Atalent!

He has just written
out for me:

Abbot Pafnuty signed
this.

Abbot Pafnuty?
Who is this abbot?

My dear, there was
an old abbot of that name.

The count is waiting for me.
l'm late.

Good-bye, prince.

l know what count
he's going to see.

Now then?

What's all this about?

What abbot?

- Mamma!
- l want to know, too.

Prince, you sit over there,
opposite me.

ln that chair.

No, here, closer to the window,
so l might see you.

So, who was this abbot?

Abbot Pafnuty.

That's interesting.

But who was he?

Abbot Pafnuty was in charge
of a monastery on the Volga.

He lived the life of a saint,
went to the Golden Horde.

And signed
an edict.

So l copied that
signature.

l liked it and
memorized it.

Aglaya, remember, Pafnuty.

Or better make a note,
or l forget.

Where is this signature?

l think it's left
on the general's table.

Send for it and bring it here.

Oh, l'll write you
a new one.

But let's have lunch now,
we're all hungry.

- Prince, are you hungry?
-Very much so!

l am pretty hungry,
thank you very much.

l like to see you know
your manners.

You are not the kind of
person

as the general thought
fit to describe you.

Alexandra, Adelaida,

he doesn't seem very ill,
does he?

l think he doesn't require
a napkin under his chin.

No napkin, then!

Are you accustomed to
having one on, prince?

Formerly, when l was 7 years
old, l wore one.

Now l put it
on my knees.

He talks very well.

l really didn't expect him to.

Enjoy your food, prince.

And tell us about yourself.
l want to hear you speak.

l wouldn't speak, if l were
ordered like that.

What's so strange about it?

He has a tongue. Why shouldn't
he tell us something?

l want to know, how well
he speaks.

Tell us how you liked
Switzerland.

Your first impression.

The impression was
quite strong.

There, he has begun!

Well, then, let him
speak.

The prince is not an idiot.

l saw that at once.

The first impression was
very strong.

When they took me away
from Russia, l was very ill.

l just looked,
without saying a word.

l asked no questions,
and alien things frightened me.

l awoke from this state
for the first time

in Basle, when we came
to Switzerland.

The bray of a donkey in
the town market awoke me.

That donkey had...

a staggering effect on me.

l liked him so much!

And my head began
to clear.

From that very moment, l
became very fond of donkeys,

and started to like the whole
country!

Yes! And my melancholy
passed away!

lt's very nice of you
to laugh.

l see you're a very
kind-hearted young man.

l'm not always kind.

l'm kind myself.

That's my only
fault.

One ought not to be always
kind.

But enough of that.
Please, continue, prince.

Perhaps, you can think of
something more exciting.

Then it was very nice
all the time.

l was very happy.

Happy?

-You can be happy?
-Yes.

- Teach us, then.
- l cannot.

l have always lived
in the country

and have hardly gone
anywhere else.

What can l teach you?

l always wanted
to go somewhere.

l felt very
restless.

l kept thinking

how l would live, and decided
to put my fate to a test.

Sometimes, at noon, l climbed
the mountains,

stood there alone,

with huge, old pines
around me.

With only the ruins
of an old castle on top,

and our little village
in the distance,

the blue skies so blue, the sun,
and the terrible silence.

And everything seemed to call
me somewhere.

lt seemed to me, that if
l went straight ahead

and crossed the line,

where the earth and the sky
met,

l might find a new life there,
and that would be the key!

And that very instant,
l'd see that new life.

lt would be a thousand times
grander and richer!

l visualized a big city,
like Naples.

With its life and noise!

But it doesn't matter
what l imagined then.

Then l thought

that life can be grand
even in prison.

l once heard a story
of a man

who lived in prison
for 12 years,

his life there was
sad enough,

l can assure you that,

but it was not worthless.

His only acquaintance
was a spider,

and a tree that grew
outside his prison window.

l read that last thought
in my manual,

when l was 12 years old.

You are a philosopher and
have come to instruct us.

Perhaps, you are right,
l am a philosopher.

Who knows, perhaps, l do wish
to teach my views.

l will tell you of
a man l met.

He had once been brought up
to the scaffold.

He was read his death-
sentence by shooting

for a political crime.

Twenty minutes later
he was reprieved,

a different punishment
was substituted.

Between the two sentences

he lived in the certainty
that he would soon die.

He remembered everything
most accurately and distinctly.

He told me

he would never forget a single
second of those minutes.

About 20 paces from
the scaffold there were 3 posts,

because there were
several criminals.

The first three criminals
were taken to the posts, tied,

long white caps were pulled
overtheir heads.

Soldiers took their stand
opposite the posts.

My acquaintances
was 8th on the list,

so he would have had to wait
about 5 minutes.

He said those 5 minutes

seemed to him
an interminable period,

an enormous wealth of time,

in these 5 minutes he seemed
to have lived so many lives,

there was no need to think
of that last moment.

So he even made
several arrangements.

Two minutes for saying
farewell to his companions.

Two more minutes to think
about himself.

And then - the last moment
to take a look around.

When saying good-bye to his
friends, he asked one of them

an everyday questions and was
very interested in the answer.

Then began the 2 minutes

he allotted for looking
into himself.

He was thinking, how could
it be, that here he was,

a living man,

and in 3 minutes
he would be nothing.

Or if somebody or something,
then who and where?

He wanted to decide this
in these 2 minutes.

A little way off stood
a church.

lts gilded spire and dome
glittered in the sun.

A gilded spire.

He remembered staring
stubbornly at this spire,

and the rays of light sparking
from it. He couldn't look away

He imagined these rays were
his new nature,

and in a few minutes he
would become one of them.

The uncertainty and repugnance
to what would happen

almost immediately,
were terrible.

But worst of all at that point
was the idea,

the persistent thought
what if l don't die now?

What is l return
to life again?

What infinity!
And all mine!

l'd turn every minute
into a century,

l'd never lose an instant.

l would count
every minute of it,

not to waste an instant.

And this thought became such
a terrible burden upon him,

hat he wished they shoot him
quickly and be done with it.

Are you through?

What?

Yes, l am.

And why did you
tell us this?

Oh, l happened to recall it,
it fitted in our conversation.

An abrupt ending, prince.

You probably wish to deduce

that time cannot be reckoned
in terms of money value.

Your friend, who told you
this terrible story,

was given those
wonderful riches of time.

And what did he do with
them afterwards?

- Did he keep careful count?
- No, he didn't.

He wasted many,
many minutes.

Then, one cannot live
and count all minutes.

That is true.

lt's true, one can't.

l have thought so myself. Yet,
why shouldn't one do it?

You think you could live
more wisely than others?

Yes, l have had that
idea.

And you have it still?

Yes, l have it still.

Very modest of you.

Why are you so angry?

The prince told us
a wonderful tale.

Why do you want
to discourage him?

He began all right,
he was laughing.

And now he is sad.

End of Part One

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