red screens
“ ‘Snowball berries, how red they are!’ he whispered, not knowing why. Quietly, with careful, noiseless steps, he approached the window and stood on tiptoe. Before him lay the whole of Fyodor Pavlovich’s bedroom. It was a small room, divided all the way across by red screens, ‘Chinese,’ as Fyodor Pavlovich called them. ‘Chinese’ raced through Mitya’s mind, ‘and behind the screens—Grushenka.’ ”
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, 1880, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, 1990.
each little bug
“ ‘For each blade of grass, each little bug, ant, golden bee, knows its way amazingly; being without reason, they witness to the divine mystery, they ceaselessly enact it.’ ”
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, 1990.
Caesar’s purple
“ ‘Had you accepted the world and Caesar’s purple, you would have founded a universal kingdom and granted universal peace. For who shall possess mankind if not those who possess their conscience and give them their bread? And so we took Caesar’s sword, and in taking it, of course, we rejected you and followed him.’ ”
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, 1880, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, 1990. The Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition is addressing a reincarnated Jesus. This dusty old classic gets out there! I think I can detect its influence on David Foster Wallace, who mentions “The Brothers K” in Infinite Jest.
two new, iridescent hundred-rouble bills
“And Alyosha held out to him two new, iridescent hundred-rouble bills.”
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, 1990.
the little pink envelope
“Praying now, he suddenly happened to feel in his pocket the little pink envelope that Katerina Ivanovna’s maid had given him when she caught up with him in the street. He was troubled, but finished his prayer. Then, after some hesitation, he opened the envelope.”
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, 1990.
black cockroaches
“ ‘I squash black cockroaches at night with my slipper: they make a little pop when you step on them.’ ”
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, 1990.
am I not a bedbug
“ ‘I loved depravity, I also loved the shame of depravity. I loved cruelty: am I not a bedbug, an evil insect? In short—a Karamazov!’ ”
—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, 1990.