They searched him, deprived him of everything about him that was of
value, such as his watch and gold wedding ring.
They scraped the fillings out of his teeth, for they were gold. They
took off his new braces, cut off his buttons and reported:
"Ready, Igemon."
"Well, anything found?"
"Nothing but what was superfluous about him; we have rid him of it all."
"And in his head?"
"There seems to be nothing in his head."
"Let him in."
The citizen came into Igemon's presence, and from the way he held
up his trousers Igemon saw and understood his complete readiness
for all kinds of contingencies in life. But Igemon desired to make
an impression upon him which would crush his soul, so he roared
ferociously:
"Oh, citizen, you have come!"
And the citizen admitted quietly:
"Yes, I have brought the whole of me."
"What is it you are doing?"
"I, Igemon, am doing nothing, I have simply decided to conquer by
patience." Igemon bristled with anger and roared: "Again? To conquer
again?"
"Yes, to overcome evil."
"Be silent!"
"I did not mean you."
Igemon did not believe him and said:
"If not me then whom do you mean?"
"Myself."
Igemon was surprised.
"Wait a minute. What evil do you mean?"
"Resistance."
"You are lying."
"Heaven knows I am not."
Igemon broke into a perspiration.
"What is the matter with him?" he thought, looking at the man; and,
after pondering for some moments, he asked him:
"What is it you want?"
"I don't want anything."
"Really nothing at all?"
"Nothing. Merely permit me to teach the people patience by my own
example." Igemon pondered again, biting his moustache. He was possessed
of a soul which took delight in daydreams. He liked to steam himself in
a Turkish bath, giving forth voluptuous sounds of pleasure. Generally
speaking, he was in favour of enjoying the pleasures of life. There
was only one thing he could not stand, and that was rudeness and
opposition, against which he acted in a manner that rendered everything
soft, reducing to a pulp the bones and gristle of the resisters. But
when not busy enjoying life or crushing citizens he liked to indulge in
daydreams about universal peace, and in the salvation of the soul.
He looked with embarrassment at the citizen and said:
"Not long since you thought the reverse, and now?"
Then, overcome by more tender feelings, he asked with a sigh: "How did
it come about?"
The citizen replied:
"Evolution."
"Well, brother, such is our life. First it is one thing, then another.
There is failure in everything. We sway from side to side, but we do
not know on which side to lie down, we cannot choose."
And Igemon sighed again, for he knew that the man loved the fatherland
which had nurtured him. All kinds of dangerous thoughts were running
through Igemon's head:
"True, it is pleasant to see a citizen yielding and peaceful. But if
everybody ceased to resist, would it not cut off our daily allowance
and our travelling expenses? We might lose our bonuses too.... No,
it cannot be that there is no resistance left in him. The rogue is
pretending; he must be put to the test. To what use shall I put him?
Make of him an agent-provocateur? The expression of his face is
indefinite, his lack of personality could not be hidden by any mask.
Besides, his powers of oratory are evidently not great. Make him a
hangman? He has not strength enough."
At last a thought struck him and he said to his subordinates:
"Put this happy man in the third section of the fire brigade to clean
the stables."
It was done. The citizen strenuously cleaned the stables without saying
a word, while Igemon looked on, touched by his patience; his confidence
in the man was steadily increasing.
"But if everybody behaved like that?"
After a short trial he promoted him into his own office and asked him
to copy a false report which he himself had written about the income
and expenditure of various sums. The citizen copied it and kept silence.
Igemon was touched to such an extent that he shed tears.
"No, he is a useful man, although literate."
He called the citizen to him and said:
"I believe in you! Go and preach your truth, but keep your eyes open."
The citizen went to market-places, to fairs, through large towns,
through small towns, saying everywhere:
"What are you doing?"
The people saw that he was unusually meek and this, together with his
personality, caused them to confide in him. They confessed to him
all of which they were guilty, and even revealed to him their inmost
thoughts. One of them wanted to steal something and to evade being
punished for it, another wanted to cheat somebody, a third simply
wanted to slander somebody. All of them, like genuine Russians, wanted
to get out of having any duties in life, and to forget all their
obligations.
He said to them:
"Oh, give up all this, because it is said: 'All existence is suffering,
but it becomes suffering through desire; hence, in order to destroy
suffering, you must destroy desire.' Let us cease to desire and all
evil will disappear of its own accord; truly it will."
The people, of course, were glad. It seemed reasonable and was very
simple. Where they happened to stand they lay down. They all felt
relieved.
After what interval is not recorded, but there came a time when Igemon
noticed that all was peace around him, and he was struck by fear. Still
he tried to put on a brave face:
"The rogues are pretending."
Meanwhile, the insects, continuing to fulfil their natural obligations,
were beginning to multiply in an unnatural way, and becoming more and
more arrogant in their actions.
"What silence," thought Igemon, wriggling and scratching himself all
over.
He called a willing citizen to him:
"Come, free me from the superfluous."
He answered:
"I cannot."
"What?"
"I cannot, because even if they do annoy you, they are living things,
and----"
"I will make a corpse of you this minute."
"As you will."
And so in everything; they all answered him with one voice:
"As you will."
But as soon as he asked them to fulfil his will he found it a most
tedious task. Igemon's palace was falling to pieces; it was overrun
with rats, which ate up the deeds, and died of the resultant poisoning.
Igemon himself was sinking deeper and deeper into inaction. He lay on
the sofa daydreaming about the past. How good life was in those days!
The inhabitants tried to resist his orders in all kinds of ways. Some
of them had to be executed, which meant obituary feasts with pancakes
and free drinks. Or a citizen would embark upon some new enterprise;
it was necessary to go and stop him, which meant travelling expenses.
When he reported to the proper quarter that in the district entrusted
to him all the inhabitants had been exterminated he used to receive a
special bonus and a fresh batch was sent into the district.
Igemon was daydreaming about the past, but his neighbours, the Igemons
of other tribes, lived as they had lived before, on the old basis.
The inhabitants opposed them on every occasion, and as vigorously as
they could. All was noise and disorder. The Igemons rushed hither and
thither, without any special object. They found it profitable and, in a
general way, interesting.
And the thought struck Igemon:
"By Jove! the citizen has fooled me."
He jumped up, rushed through the whole district, shaking people,
pummelling them, and shouting:
"Get up! Wake up! Arise!"
It was no good. He seized them by their collars, but the collars were
rotten and broke away.
"The devils," shouted Igemon, greatly agitated. "What are you doing?
Look at your neighbours--even China----"
The inhabitants were silent as they clung to the soil.
"O Lord!" said Igemon in disgust, "what is to be done?"
And he resorted to deception; he bent over an inhabitant and whispered
into his ear:
"Oh, citizen, the fatherland is in danger. It is, I swear. By all
that's holy! it is in great danger. Get up; it is necessary to resist.
They say that all kinds of activities will be allowed. Citizen!" But
the dying citizen only murmured: "My fatherland is in God."
The others were simply silent, like offended corpses.
"The cursed fatalists!" shouted Igemon in despair. "Get up! All kinds
of resistance is allowed."
One who had been a jolly fellow, and had distinguished himself by
knocking out people's teeth, raised himself a little, looked round and
said:
"What shall we resist? There is nothing to resist."
"But the vermin?"
"We are used to it."
Igemon's reason received the last shock. He got up and roared in
awe-inspiring tones:
"I permit you everything, fellows; save yourselves; do what you like;
everything is permitted--eat each other."
The calm and quiet were delightful! Igemon saw that all was over.
He started to cry aloud; hot tears ran down his cheeks; he tore his
hair and roared, calling upon them:
"Citizens, dear fellows, what am I to do? Must I make a revolution
myself? Bethink yourselves; it is historically necessary; it is
nationally inevitable. You see that it is impossible for me alone to
make a revolution. I have not even police for that, the vermin have
eaten them."
The citizens only blinked their eyes; even if they had been pierced by
a stake they would not have uttered a sound.
So they all died in silence, and Igemon, in utter despair, last of all.
From this it follows that even in patience we must observe a certain
amount of moderation.