[THE PROFESSOR]
The young man was ugly, and knew it. But he said to himself:
"I am clever, am I not? I will become a sage. It is an easy matter here in Russia."
He began to read bulky works, for he was by no means stupid: he understood that the presence of wisdom can most easily be proved by quotations from books.
Having read as many wise books as were necessary to make him short-sighted, he proudly held up his nose, which had become red from the weight of the spectacles, and declared to the world at large:
"Well, you won't deceive me. I see that life is a trap, put here for me by nature."
"And love?" asked the Spirit of Life.
"No, I thank you. Praise be to God, I am not a poet. I will not enter the iron cage of inevitable duties for the sake of a piece of cheese."
But he was only moderately talented, and so he decided to take up the duties of a professor of philosophy.