Magnus raised his hand in a consoling gesture:
“Oh, no! You seemed to me to be that at the beginning. I will tell you quite truthfully, as I do everything I am telling you now: you are not a fool at all, Wondergood. I have grown to know you more intimately. It doesn’t matter that you have so naïvely surrendered your billions to me...many wise men have been fooled before by clever...scoundrels! Your misfortune is quite another thing.”
I had the strength to smile:
“My love for human beings?”
“No, my friend: your contempt for human beings! Your contempt and at the same time your naïve faith in them arising from it. You regard human beings so far below you, you are so convinced of their fatal powerlessness that you do not fear them at all and are quite ready to pat the rattlesnake’s head: such a nice little rattlesnake! One should fear people, comrade! I know your game, but at times you were quite sincere in your prattle about man, you even pitied him, but from an elevation or from a sidetrack—I know not which. Oh, if you could only hate people I would take you along with me with pleasure. But you are an egotist, a terrible egotist, Wondergood, and I am even beginning to shed my regrets for having robbed you, when I think of that! Whence comes this base contempt of yours?”
“I am still only learning to be a man.”
“Well, go on learning. But why do you call your professor a scoundrel: For I am your professor, Wondergood!”
“To the devil with this prattle. So...you do not intend to take me along with you?”
“No, my friend, I do not.”
“So. Only my billions. Very well, but what about your plan: to blow up the earth or something of that kind? Or did you lie on this point, too? I cannot believe that you simply intend to open...a money changer’s bureau or become some ragged king!”