only odious to him, it was well-nigh impossible. Now, he would be obliged either to lie or to mock at sacred things, at a time when his heart was bursting, when he felt at the height of bliss. He felt that he could do neither. But in spite of all his efforts to persuade Stepan Arkadyevitch that there must be some other way of obtaining a certificate without being forced to confess, Stepan Arkadyevitch declared that it was impossible.
"Yes, but what harm will it do you? only two days! and the priest is a capital, bright little old man. He will pull this tooth for you without your knowing it."
During the first mass that he attended Levin did his best to recall the strong religious impressions of his youth, when he was between sixteen and seventeen years old; but he found that this was perfectly impossible. He then tried to look on religious forms as an ancient custom, without any real meaning, something like the habit of making calls; this also he felt that he could never do. Like most of his contemporaries. Levin was completely undecided in regard to his religious views. He could not believe; at the same time he was not firmly convinced that all these things were unreasonable. And therefore not being in a condition to believe in the efficacy of what he was doing, or to look on it with utter indifference as on an empty formality, he experienced a sense of pain and annoyance during the time allotted to his devotions; his conscience cried out that to do what he himself did not understand was false and wicked.
During the time of the service, he listened to the prayers, striving to attribute to them some significance which should not be in too open contradiction with his convictions; but finding that he could not understand them, but was compelled to criticize them, he tried not to listen, but occupied himself with his thoughts — with the observations and recollections that arose in his mind with extraordinary vividness during the solemn night-office in the church. He stayed through mass, vespers, and evening prayers and on the next morning he rose earlier
