“No, there’s no devil either.”
“It’s a pity. Damn it all, what wouldn’t I do to the man who first invented God! Hanging on a bitter aspen tree would be too good for him.”
“There would have been no civilization if they hadn’t invented God.”
“Wouldn’t there have been? Without God?”
“No. And there would have been no brandy either. But I must take your brandy away from you, anyway.”
“Stop, stop, stop, dear boy, one more little glass. I’ve hurt Alyosha’s feelings. You’re not angry with me, Alyosha? My dear little Alexey!”
“No, I am not angry. I know your thoughts. Your heart is better than your head.”
“My heart better than my head, is it? Oh, Lord! And that from you. Ivan, do you love Alyosha?”
“Yes.”
“You must love him” (Fyodor Pavlovitch was by this time very drunk). “Listen, Alyosha, I was rude to your elder this morning. But I was excited. But there’s wit in that elder, don’t you think, Ivan?”
“Very likely.”
“There is, there is. Il y a du Piron là dedans. He’s a Jesuit, a Russian one, that is. As he’s an honorable person there’s a hidden indignation boiling within him at having to pretend and affect holiness.”
“But, of course, he believes in God.”