there is really a judicial error, a petition
should be made to the Emperor."

"That was done, but there is no chance of success. Inquiries will be
made at the Ministry, which will refer them to the Senate, and the
Senate will repeat its decision, and, as usual, the innocent will be
punished."

"In the first place, the Ministry will not refer to the Senate," and
Ignatius Nikiforovitch smiled condescendingly, "but will call for all
the documents in the case, and, if it finds an error, will so decide.
In the second place, an innocent person is never, or, at least, very
seldom punished. Only the guilty is punished."

"And I am convinced that the contrary is true," said Nekhludoff, with
an unkind feeling toward his brother-in-law. "I am convinced that the
majority of the people convicted by courts are innocent."

"How so?"

"They are innocent in the ordinary sense of the word, as that woman
was innocent of poisoning; as that peasant is innocent of the murder
which he has not committed; as that mother and son are innocent of the
arson which was committed by the owner himself, and for which they
came near being convicted."

"Of course, there always have been and always will be judicial errors.
Human institutions cannot be perfect."

"And, then, a large part of the innocent, because they have been
brought up amid certain conditions, do not consider the acts committed
by them criminal."

"Pardon me; that is unfair. Every thief knows that stealing is wrong;
that theft is immoral," Ignatius Nikiforovitch said, with the calm,
self-confident, and, at the same time, somewhat contemptuous, smile
which particularly provoked Nekhludoff.

"No, he does not know. He is told not to steal, but he sees and knows
that the employers steal his labor, keep back his pay, and that the
officials are constantly robbing him."

"That is anarchism," Ignatius calmly defined the meaning of his
brother-in-law's words.

"I do not know what it is, but I am speaking of facts," Nekhludoff
continued. "He knows that the officials are robbing him. He knows that
we, the landlords, own the land which ought to be common property, and
when he gathers some twigs for his oven we send him to jail and try to
convince him that he is a thief."

"I do not understand, and if I do, I cannot agree with you. The land
cannot be nobody's property. If you divide it," Ignatius Nikiforovitch
began, being fully convinced that Nekhludoff was a socialist, and that
the