2. Отзыв о причине молчания. Необходимая откровенность и простота в переписке. Суета светской жизни

And I was at a loss: what could it be? Here's what! Grandma was a little sick. Well, grandma is a victorious word. There is no warmer place for granddaughters than grandmothers; no, and for grandmothers, faces are more valuable than good granddaughters. And we must thank God for this. And you console your grandmother more often and listen more carefully to what she says. The elders have wisdom acquired through the experiences and labors of life. And they often accidentally, in simple phrases, express such wise lessons that you won’t find even if you look for them in books. Although you presented a very satisfactory explanation for why you did not write for so long, it would still be necessary to impose at least a small penance on you, in the form of correction. I think, however, that perhaps you will be better disposed towards correctness if I thank you for writing, and for what you wrote. And thank you. You promise to be frank. Good! Frankness is the first thing in correspondence, otherwise there was no point in starting it. And always write from your shoulders - everything that is on your soul, and especially state in more detail the questions that stir in your head and begin to persistently demand a solution. Then decisions will be made, just as a thirsty land accepts water. And this is the best way to both acquire and consolidate in the soul concepts that explain the essence of objects and matters, the clarity of which through the eyes of the mind we consider necessary for ourselves. What would be the point if I wrote to you about one thing, and your soul was occupied with something else? It would be idle talk, similar to if two persons were talking to each other, turning their backs to each other and each talking about what was before his eyes. It seems that we have decided with you that we will not engage in abstractions and draw plans and theories, but will conduct our speech as the current phenomena of life will force us to conduct it. So we will go step by step. You write that your eyes “dazzle.” “For about two days,” you say, “I happened to spend time in the usual public entertainment here: I sat in the theater, then I walked, then I was at an evening. And what kind of hustle and bustle is this, what speeches, what sophisticated judgments about everything, what methods of handling? All this is strange to me, but from the crush I can’t gather my thoughts.” It seemed like that to you the first time, but then take a closer look. The impression you experienced, after the deceased simple family life in the village, is completely in the order of things. I would tell you: judge by this where the truth of life is and where the lies are, but I don’t know what has stuck in your soul from everything that happened. For it is possible that on the surface there seems to be disapproval of such practices, but deeper there is sympathy for them and a desire to repeat them. Life, of which you have seen a piece, has a stupefying quality: so they see that all this is not what it is, but everyone is drawn to it, like someone who is accustomed to opium knows that he will be like crazy, but everyone accepts it (or therefore accepts it). So how are you feeling? Are you still drawn to the same place? Is it advisable for you to spend your life this way? I ask you to describe this to me carefully – and in truth. You might be interested in: