Anna Karenina

it, for he judged by himself, and he could
not himself have loved any but beautiful, mysterious and exceptional
women.
But, after spending two months alone in the country, he was
convinced that this was not one of those passions of which he had
had experience in his early youth; that this feeling gave him not an
instant's rest; that he could not live without deciding the question
as to whether she would or would not be his wife; that his despair had
arisen only from his own imaginings, and that he had no sort of
proof that he would be rejected. So he had now come to Moscow with a
firm determination to make a proposal, and get married if he were
accepted. Or... he could not conceive what would become of him if he
were rejected.

{PART_ONE|CHAPTER_VII
VII.
-
On arriving in Moscow by a morning train, Levin had put up at the
house of his elder half-brother, Koznishev. After changing his clothes
he went down to his brother's study, intending to talk to him at
once about the object of his visit, and to ask his advice; but his
brother was not alone. With him there was a well-known professor of
philosophy, who had come from Charkov expressly to clear up a
difference that had arisen between them on a very important
philosophical question. The professor was carrying on a hot crusade
against materialists. Sergei Koznishev had been following this crusade
with interest, and after reading the professor's last article had
written him a letter stating his objections. He accused the
professor of making too great concessions to the materialists. And the
professor had promptly appeared to argue the matter out. The point
in discussion was the question then in vogue: Is there a line to be
drawn between psychical and physiological phenomena in man? And if so,
where?
Sergei Ivanovich met his brother with the smile of chilly
friendliness he always had for everyone, and, introducing him to the
professor, went on with the conversation.
A little man in spectacles, with a narrow forehead, tore himself
from the discussion for an instant to greet Levin, and then went on
talking without paying any further attention to him. Levin sat down to
wait till the professor should go, but he soon began to get interested
in the subject under discussion.
Levin had come across the magazine articles about which they were
disputing, and had read them, interested in them as a development of
the first principles of science, familiar to him when a natural
science student at the university. But he had never connected these
scientific deductions as to the origin of man as an animal, as to
reflex action, biology and sociology, with those questions as to the
meaning to himself of life and death, which had of late been more
and more often in his mind.
As he listened to his brother's argument with the professor, he
noticed that they connected these scientific questions