“And, if so, could you bring yourself in case of worldly difficulties and hardship or for some service to humanity⁠—to overstep obstacles?⁠ ⁠… For instance, to rob and murder?”

And again he winked with his left eye, and laughed noiselessly just as before.

“If I did I certainly should not tell you,” Raskolnikov answered with defiant and haughty contempt.

“No, I was only interested on account of your article, from a literary point of view⁠ ⁠…”

“Foo! how obvious and insolent that is!” Raskolnikov thought with repulsion.

“Allow me to observe,” he answered dryly, “that I don’t consider myself a Muhammad or a Napoleon, nor any personage of that kind, and not being one of them I cannot tell you how I should act.”