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________________

The Bet
IT WAS a dark autumn night. The old banker was walking up and down his study and remembering how, fifteen years before, he had given a party one autumn evening. There had been many clever men there, and there had been interesting conversations. Among other things they had talked of capital punishment. The majority of the guests, among whom were many journalists and intellectual men, disapproved of the death penalty. They considered that form of punishment out of date, immoral, and unsuitable for Christian States. In the opinion of some of them the death penalty ought to be replaced everywhere by imprisonment for life.
"I don't agree with you," said their host the banker. "I have not tried either the death penalty or imprisonment for life, but if one may judge _a priori_, the death penalty is more moral and more humane than imprisonment for life. Capital punishment kills a man at once, but lifelong imprisonment kills him slowly. Which executioner is the more humane, he who kills you in a few minutes or he who drags the life out of you in the course of many years?"

"Both are equally immoral," observed one of the guests, "for they both have the same object -- to take away life. The State is not God. It has not the right to take away what it cannot restore when it wants to."

Among the guests was a young lawyer, a young man of five-and-twenty. When he was asked his opinion, he said:

"The death sentence and the life sentence are equally immoral, but if I had to choose between the death penalty and imprisonment for life, I would certainly choose the second. To live anyhow is better than not at all."

A lively discussion arose. The banker, who was younger and more nervous in those days, was suddenly carried away by excitement; he struck the table with his fist and shouted at the young man:

"It's not true! I'll bet you two millions you wouldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years."

"If you mean that in earnest," said the young man, "I'll take the bet, but I would stay not five but fifteen years."

"Fifteen? Done!" cried the banker. "Gentlemen, I stake two millions!"

"Agreed! You stake your millions and I stake my freedom!" said the young man.

And this wild, senseless bet was carried out! The banker, spoilt and frivolous, with millions beyond his reckoning, was delighted at the bet. At supper he made fun of the young man, and said:

"Think better of it, young man, while there is still time. To me two millions are a trifle, but you are losing three or four of the best years of your life. I say three or four, because you won't stay longer. Don't forget either, you unhappy man, that voluntary confinement is a great deal harder to bear than compulsory. The thought that you have the right to step out in liberty at any moment will poison your whole existence in prison. I am sorry for you."

And now the banker, walking to and fro, remembered all this, and asked himself: "What was the object of that bet? What is the good of that man's losing fifteen years of his life and my throwing away two millions? Can it prove that the death penalty is better or worse than imprisonment for life? No, no. It was all nonsensical and meaningless. On my part it was the caprice of a pampered man, and on his part simple greed for money. . . ."

Then he remembered what followed that evening. It was decided that the young man should spend the years of his captivity under the strictest supervision in one of the lodges in the banker's garden. It was agreed that for fifteen years he should not be free to cross the threshold of the lodge, to see human beings, to hear the human voice, or to receive letters and newspapers. He was allowed to have a musical instrument and books, and was allowed to write letters, to drink wine, and to smoke. By the terms of the agreement, the only relations he could have with the outer world were by a little window made purposely for that object. He might have anything he wanted -- books, music, wine, and so on -- in any quantity he desired by writing an order, but could only receive them through the window. The agreement provided for every detail and every trifle that would make his imprisonment strictly solitary, and bound the young man to stay there _exactly_ fifteen years, beginning from twelve o'clock of November 14, 1870, and ending at twelve o'clock of November 14, 1885. The slightest attempt on his part to break the conditions, if only two minutes before the end, released the banker from the obligation to pay him two millions.

For the first year of his confinement, as far as one could judge from his brief notes, the prisoner suffered severely from loneliness and depression. The sounds of the piano could be heard continually day and night from his lodge. He refused wine and tobacco. Wine, he wrote, excites the desires, and desires are the worst foes of the prisoner; and besides, nothing could be more dreary than drinking good wine and seeing no one. And tobacco spoilt the air of his room. In the first year the books he sent for were principally of a light character; novels with a complicated love plot, sensational and fantastic stories, and so on.

In the second year the piano was silent in the lodge, and the prisoner asked only for the classics. In the fifth year music was audible again, and the prisoner asked for wine. Those who watched him through the window said that all that year he spent doing nothing but eating and drinking and lying on his bed, frequently yawning and angrily talking to himself. He did not read books. Sometimes at night he would sit down to write; he would spend hours writing, and in the morning tear up all that he had written. More than once he could be heard crying.

In the second half of the sixth year the prisoner began zealously studying languages, philosophy, and history. He threw himself eagerly into these studies -- so much so that the banker had enough to do to get him the books he ordered. In the course of four years some six hundred volumes were procured at his request. It was during this period that the banker received the following letter from his prisoner:

"My dear Jailer, I write you these lines in six languages. Show them to people who know the languages. Let them read them. If they find not one mistake I implore you to fire a shot in the garden. That shot will show me that my efforts have not been thrown away. The geniuses of all ages and of all lands speak different languages, but the same flame burns in them all. Oh, if you only knew what unearthly happiness my soul feels now from being able to understand them!" The prisoner's desire was fulfilled. The banker ordered two shots to be fired in the garden.

Then after the tenth year, the prisoner sat immovably at the table and read nothing but the Gospel. It seemed strange to the banker that a man who in four years had mastered six hundred learned volumes should waste nearly a year over one thin book easy of comprehension. Theology and histories of religion followed the Gospels.

In the last two years of his confinement the prisoner read an immense quantity of books quite indiscriminately. At one time he was busy with the natural sciences, then he would ask for Byron or Shakespeare. There were notes in which he demanded at the same time books on chemistry, and a manual of medicine, and a novel, and some treatise on philosophy or theology. His reading suggested a man swimming in the sea among the wreckage of his ship, and trying to save his life by greedily clutching first at one spar and then at another.

II

The old banker remembered all this, and thought:

"To-morrow at twelve o'clock he will regain his freedom. By our agreement I ought to pay him two millions. If I do pay him, it is all over with me: I shall be utterly ruined."

Fifteen years before, his millions had been beyond his reckoning; now he was afraid to ask himself which were greater, his debts or his assets. Desperate gambling on the Stock Exchange, wild speculation and the excitability whic h he could not get over even in advancing years, had by degrees led to the decline of his fortune and the proud, fearless, self-confident millionaire had become a banker of middling rank, trembling at every rise and fall in his investments. "Cursed bet!" muttered the old man, clutching his head in despair "Why didn't the man die? He is only forty now. He will take my last penny from me, he will marry, will enjoy life, will gamble on the Exchange; while I shall look at him with envy like a beggar, and hear from him every day the same sentence: 'I am indebted to you for the happiness of my life, let me help you!' No, it is too much! The one means of being saved from bankruptcy and disgrace is the death of that man!"

It struck three o'clock, the banker listened; everyone was asleep in the house and nothing could be heard outside but the rustling of the chilled trees. Trying to make no noise, he took from a fireproof safe the key of the door which had not been opened for fifteen years, put on his overcoat, and went out of the house.

It was dark and cold in the garden. Rain was falling. A damp cutting wind was racing about the garden, howling and giving the trees no rest. The banker strained his eyes, but could see neither the earth nor the white statues, nor the lodge, nor the trees. Going to the spot where the lodge stood, he twice called the watchman. No answer followed. Evidently the watchman had sought shelter from the weather, and was now asleep somewhere either in the kitchen or in the greenhouse.

"If I had the pluck to carry out my intention," thought the old man, "Suspicion would fall first upon the watchman."

He felt in the darkness for the steps and the door, and went into the entry of the lodge. Then he groped his way into a little passage and lighted a match. There was not a soul there. There was a bedstead with no bedding on it, and in the corner there was a dark cast-iron stove. The seals on the door leading to the prisoner's rooms were intact.

When the match went out the old man, trembling with emotion, peeped through the little window. A candle was burning dimly in the prisoner's room. He was sitting at the table. Nothing could be seen but his back, the hair on his head, and his hands. Open books were lying on the table, on the two easy-chairs, and on the carpet near the table.

Five minutes passed and the prisoner did not once stir. Fifteen years' imprisonment had taught him to sit still. The banker tapped at the window with his finger, and the prisoner made no movement whatever in response. Then the banker cautiously broke the seals off the door and put the key in the keyhole. The rusty lock gave a grating sound and the door creaked. The banker expected to hear at once footsteps and a cry of astonishment, but three minutes passed and it was as quiet as ever in the room. He made up his mind to go in.

At the table a man unlike ordinary people was sitting motionless. He was a skeleton with the skin drawn tight over his bones, with long curls like a woman's and a shaggy beard. His face was yellow with an earthy tint in it, his cheeks were hollow, his back long and narrow, and the hand on which his shaggy head was propped was so thin and delicate that it was dreadful to look at it. His hair was already streaked with silver, and seeing his emaciated, aged-looking face, no one would have believed that he was only forty. He was asleep. . . . In front of his bowed head there lay on the table a sheet of paper on which there was something written in fine handwriting.

"Poor creature!" thought the banker, "he is asleep and most likely dreaming of the millions. And I have only to take this half-dead man, throw him on the bed, stifle him a little with the pillow, and the most conscientious expert would find no sign of a violent death. But let us first read what he has written here. . . ."

The banker took the page from the table and read as follows:

"To-morrow at twelve o'clock I regain my freedom and the right to associate with other men, but before I leave this room and see the sunshine, I think it necessary to say a few words to you. With a clear conscience I tell you, as before God, who beholds me, that I despise freedom and life and health, and all that in your books is called the good things of the world.

"For fifteen years I have been intently studying earthly life. It is true I have not seen the earth nor men, but in your books I have drunk fragrant wine, I have sung songs, I have hunted stags and wild boars in the forests, have loved women. . . . Beauties as ethereal as clouds, created by the magic of your poets and geniuses, have visited me at night, and have whispered in my ears wonderful tales that have set my brain in a whirl. In your books I have climbed to the peaks of Elburz and Mont Blanc, and from there I have seen the sun rise and have watched it at evening flood the sky, the ocean, and the mountain-tops with gold and crimson. I have watched from there the lightning flashing over my head and cleaving the storm-clouds. I have seen green forests, fields, rivers, lakes, towns. I have heard the singing of the sirens, and the strains of the shepherds' pipes; I have touched the wings of comely devils who flew down to converse with me of God. . . . In your books I have flung myself into the bottomless pit, performed miracles, slain, burned towns, preached new religions, conquered whole kingdoms. . . .

"Your books have given me wisdom. All that the unresting thought of man has created in the ages is compressed into a small compass in my brain. I know that I am wiser than all of you.

"And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage. You may be proud, wise, and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth as though you were no more than mice burrowing under the floor, and your posterity, your history, your immortal geniuses will burn or freeze together with the earthly globe.

"You have lost your reason and taken the wrong path. You have taken lies for truth, and hideousness for beauty. You would marvel if, owing to strange events of some sorts, frogs and lizards suddenly grew on apple and orange trees instead of fruit, or if roses began to smell like a sweating horse; so I marvel at you who exchange heaven for earth. I don't want to understand you.

"To prove to you in action how I despise all that you live by, I renounce the two millions of which I once dreamed as of paradise and which now I despise. To deprive myself of the right to the money I shall go out from here five hours before the time fixed, and so break the compact. . . ."

When the banker had read this he laid the page on the table, kissed the strange man on the head, and went out of the lodge, weeping. At no other time, even when he had lost heavily on the Stock Exchange, had he felt so great a contempt for himself. When he got home he lay on his bed, but his tears and emotion kept him for hours from sleeping.

Next morning the watchmen ran in with pale faces, and told him they had seen the man who lived in the lodge climb out of the window into the garden, go to the gate, and disappear. The banker went at once with the servants to the lodge and made sure of the flight of his prisoner. To avoid arousing unnecessary talk, he took from the table the writing in which the millions were renounced, and when he got home locked it up in the fireproof safe.

by Anton Chekhov





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Nous sommes jeudi 28 mars 2024



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Méditations et enseignements écrits



  1. À qui Dieu a-t-il donné son Fils unique ?

  2. Les perdus verront-ils Dieu au jugement dernier avant de recevoir leur condamnation ?

  3. Message pour les couples en difficulté

  4. Le glorieux plan de Dieu pour l’humanité

  5. Satan s'était grandement limité dans son activité quand il était entré en Juda

  6. Tu ne tenteras point le Seigneur, ton Dieu

  7. Le Fils de l'homme est venu chercher et sauver ce qui était perdu

  8. Je suis le chemin, la vérité, et la vie. Nul ne vient au Père que par moi

  9. Honorer son père et son mère, c'est différent de ce qu'on pense habituellement

  10. Ceux qui me disent: Seigneur, Seigneur! n'entreront pas tous dans le royaume des cieux

  11. Vous recevrez une puissance lorsque le Saint-Esprit viendra sur vous

  12. Cette femme a fait ce qu'elle pouvait

  13. La première parole prononcée par Jésus après son incarnation

  14. Femme, qu’y a-t-il entre moi et toi ? Mon heure n’est pas encore venue.

  15. Un temps est fixé par Dieu pour rétablir le royaume en Israel avec Jésus comme roi

  16. Quelques réflexions apportant des précisions sur l'apotolat, entre autres

  17. Le biais de confirmation peut nous causer de graves problèmes !

  18. Le lac de feu, allégorique ou réel ?

  19. Quelle est la plus grande manifestation de l’amour ?

  20. Le lac de feu, allégorique ou réel ?

  21. Il ne suffit pas d'appeler Jésus "Seigneur"

  22. 5 secrets des personnes qui font la différence

  23. Le Nouveau Testament ne débute pas où on le place dans la Bible

  24. La chute de l'apôtre Judas n'était pas irrémédiable

  25. De qui vient la maladie?

  26. Se réjouir du malheur des autres ne restera pas impuni

  27. La compassion pousse à l'action

  28. Tous les chrétiens qui se suicident vont-ils en enfer?

  29. Le jeûne est un temps de préparation et d'édification

  30. La nouvelle prêtrise

  31. Jésus donne le bon exemple de leadership

  32. Le pardon disponible pour TOUTES nos fautes

  33. Dieu ne change pas, la manière d'obtenir son pardon non plus

  34. L'omnipresence de Dieu

  35. L'omniscience de Dieu

  36. Crois que la grâce du pardon et du rétablissement est encore disponible pour toi

  37. Les lévites, application dans la nouvelle alliance

  38. La Bible enseigne-t-elle qu'on devrait être pardonné et guéri à notre conversion ?

  39. Dieu crée les humains entièrement dès leur conception

  40. Sermon apporté à des funérailles d'une personne chrétienne

  41. Possède des biens mais ne les laisse pas te posséder !

  42. Que faire quand ton enfant est victime d'intimidation à l'école ?

  43. Le pardon n'efface pas les conséquences des mauvais choix

  44. Pourquoi le Saint-Esprit devait descendre sur Jésus alors qu'il avait déjà le Saint-Esprit ?

  45. Le messager intercesseur qui interprète la parole de Dieu en faveur des hommes

  46. Dieu est sensible aux larmes de ses enfants qui crient à lui avec foi

  47. Que celui qui ne veut pas travailler qu'il ne mange pas !

  48. L'intercession dans la pensée grecque biblique

  49. Voir les choses du bon côté, c'est meilleur pour le moral !

  50. L'humilité impressionnante de Jésus

  51. Docile et béni !

  52. Qu'est-ce qui nous distingue des démons ?

  53. Les anges transportent les âmes vers leur destinée éternelle

  54. Est-ce que Jésus décrit la grande tribulation dans Matthieu 24 ?

  55. Persévérer dans la foi pour expérimenter des signes, des miracles et des prodiges

  56. Comment faire des exploits dans le repos et triompher durant toute l'année

  57. Le repos bien mérité après le travail efficace

  58. Dieu peut-il demander à quelqu'un qui est déjà en manque de donner ?

  59. Vous êtes le fournisseur de votre foi !

  60. Que signifie l'expression d'entrer pleinement dans le royaume de Dieu ?

  61. Voir la face de Dieu

  62. Si le parler en langue est disponible pour tous, qu'est-ce qui bloque chez ceux qui veulent le pratiquer ?

  63. Ton point fort n'est pas infaillible

  64. Parler en langue, c'est bénir Dieu !

  65. Comment Jean peut-il utiliser le serpent comme analogie en parlant de Jésus ?

  66. On peut avoir tort sur toute la ligne tout en ayant raison !

  67. Que signifie lier et délier dans le langage biblique ?

  68. La victoire sur le péché par la plénitude du Saint-Esprit

  69. Démétrius, le bon et la brute qui était méchante !

  70. Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, pourquoi m’as-tu abandonné ?

  71. Que signifie porter du fruit pour le Seigneur ?

  72. Bénissez afin d’hériter de la bénédiction

  73. Que signifie «Sanctifiez dans vos coeurs Christ le Seigneur» ?

  74. Qu'est-ce qu'un marchepied et quels sont ses significations allégoriques ?

  75. Dieu a apprécié l’offrande de Abel, mais pas de Cain, pourquoi ?

  76. Est-ce la coupe de la colère de Dieu que Jésus était appelé à boire ?

  77. L’araméen est la langue originelle du peuple de Dieu et non l’hébreu

  78. La Réforme a commencé à la croix, bien avant Martin Luther

  79. Message à l’Afrique et aux pays émergents dans le monde

  80. Les plus braves peuvent avoir des peurs

  81. L'intelligence va te mener au succès

  82. Est-ce que Jésus a eu besoin d'être élevé jusqu'à la perfection ?

  83. Pourquoi Eve n’a-t-elle pas trouvé bizarre qu’un serpent discute avec elle ?

  84. La valeur précieuse accordée au travail bien fait

  85. Qu’est-ce qui donne de la valeur à une chose ?

  86. Un seul écart du roi David ?

  87. En quoi consiste le mystère de la piété ?

  88. Suis-moi et laisse à ceux qui sont morts le soin d'enterrer leurs morts - Une parole de Jésus perçue comme dure

  89. Dieu a promis une vie bénie, pas une vie facile !

  90. Le premier miracle de Jésus a été de rendre un pauvre riche !

  91. La façon que Dieu considère la mort elle est différente de la perception humaine

  92. La manifestation de la guérison

  93. Qu’est-ce que Jésus fait au ciel présentement?

  94. Pourquoi l'apôtre Paul parle de faire reproche devant tous à ceux qui pèchent dans (1Timothée 5:20) pendant que Jésus Lui-même dans (Matthieu 18:15-17) parle d'un processus qui doit commencer d'abord de un à un ?

  95. La réussite du chrétien

  96. Un chrétien charnel peut-il hériter du royaume de Dieu ?

  97. Pourquoi appelle-t-on aussi frères ou soeurs les personnes qui vivent en concubinage?

  98. Dans l'Ancien Testament, le Saint-Esprit habitait-il dans tous les croyants qui vivaient à l'époque ou sur seulement quelques-uns ?

  99. Qu'est-ce qu'on mérite ?

  100. Comment se comporter avec un pasteur qui a commis l'adultère mais qui s'est repenti ensuite de son péché ?

  101. Comment définir l'héritage du royaume de Dieu ?

  102. La fausse science contredit la règle de la vérité

  103. L'effort béni

  104. Revêtir le Seigneur Jésus-Christ comme costume de super héros

  105. Pourquoi Dieu a-t-il permis le mal ?

  106. Comment reconnaître l'action du Saint-Esprit en nous? Comment savoir si nous sommes remplis du Saint-Esprit?

  107. Priscille, une enseignante qui collaborait avec Paul

  108. Choisir entre marcher par la vue ou marcher par la foi

  109. La VALEUR est déterminée par le prix payé

  110. Les anges ne sont pas omniscients ni omniprésents

  111. Pardon vis-à-vis Dieu et vis-à-vis les hommes

  112. Besoin de gens remplis de compassion

  113. Venez avec moi, dans un endroit isolé et vous prendrez un peu de repos

  114. Cherchez premièrement le royaume et la justice de Dieu

  115. 4 choses qui étouffent la parole de Dieu et l'empêchent de porter du fruit

  116. Distinction entre la louange et l'adoration

  117. Mourir à soi-même au quotidien ?

  118. Crime grave et pardonnable

  119. Le pouvoir transformateur du sel

  120. Sans résurrection, nous sommes les plus malheureux des hommes

  121. Jugement sévère pour ceux qui prennent le repas du Seigneur indignement

  122. L'interprétation des langues ne signifie pas nécessairement la traduction des langues

  123. Dieu et Mamon peuvent rendre prospères mais sont incompatibles

  124. Un chrétien peut-il s'armer pour se défendre en allant à l'église ?

  125. Le Seigneur Jésus est pour le corps

  126. Comment gérer nos fautes que nous rappelle notre conscience ?

  127. Le mal atteint-il le juste ou pas ?

  128. Progression grâce à la Parole et l'unité sous l'autorité établie par Dieu

  129. J'aime la définition théologique de Paul

  130. La mort c’est la séparation, la vie c’est la communion

  131. Nous sommes tous des influenceurs, on nous regarde !

  132. Peut-on expérimenter le surnaturel sans parler en langue ?

  133. Savais-tu que tu peux te sauver toi-même et les autres ?

  134. La foi du paresseux

  135. L'appel de Paul par Jésus pour le ministère apostolique

  136. Dans quel sens doit-on comprendre que Jésus est le Fils unique de Dieu ?

  137. Se marier ou pas avec un prétendant qui ne maîtrise pas sa colère ?

  138. Développement du don de guérison dans la vie de Pierre

  139. La direction donnée au leader

  140. Le séjour des morts en trois parties

  141. La vision donnée au leader, l'unité d'esprit aux collaborateurs

  142. Hommes de Dieu qui se mettent à genoux pour prier

  143. Dans sa souffrance, Job ne subissait pas la colère de Dieu, Jésus non plus

  144. Est-ce que Simon le magicien s'est repenti suite à la réprimande de l'apôtre Pierre ?

  145. Consécration d'Aaron à la prêtrise

  146. Un couple marié peut-il avoir des relations sexuelles pendant un temps de jeûne et prière ?

  147. La peine de mort exigée pour les kidnappeurs dans la loi de Moïse

  148. Une mort PRÉMÉDITÉE traitée différemment d’une mort ACCIDENTELLE selon la loi de Moïse

  149. Faux témoignage versus mensonge

  150. Parlez en bien et non en vain du nom de Dieu le Père

  151. Il n'y a pas de comptabilité dans l'amour

  152. La plus grave erreur de David déboucha sur la manifestation d'une grâce extrême

  153. Trois raisons de veiller et prier

  154. Vent contraire

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