2) With a low moral standard, a firmness of judgment. The acts of all the best people are explained by what _I_ would have done. Christ preached out of vanity, condemned the Pharisees from envy, etc. 3) The second condition of art is novelty. To a child everything is new and therefore it has many artistic impressions. The new for us, is a certain depth of feeling, that depth in which a man finds his separate individuality from all. That is for indifferent art. For the highest, novelty lies only in religion, as religion is the most advanced world point of view. 4) (For the drama.) They bring to the table a man in tatters and they laugh at the inconsistency of it and at his awkwardness. Revolt. 5) When it happens that you thought of something and then forgot what you thought, but you remember and know the character of your thoughts: sad, dismal, oppressive, joyous, keen--and even remember their order: first it was sad, and then it became calm, etc.,--when you remember things that way, then it is exactly what music expresses. 6) A theme: A passionate young man in love with a mentally diseased woman. 7) God gave us His spirit--love, reason--in order to serve Him; but we use His spirit to serve ourselves--we use the axe to plane the handle. I feel fully well and strong physically, but morally, weak. I feel like working and am able. I am going to make notes.[203] _July 17. Yasn. Pol. If I live._ _July 17. Y. P._ Got up late, worked badly. There is neither concentration nor capacity to embrace everything. Nevertheless I have advanced. Masha came with Kolia ... Yesterday I talked about love with N: that we madly kindle this passion and then we suffer from its exaggerations and excesses. Went on my bicycle to Yasenki. I love this motion very much. But I am ashamed. A letter from Chertkov; he is very ill. I value him very much. And how not value him. It is now 10 o’clock. The Shenshins have left just now. I feel solemn and gloomy. _July 18, 1897. Y. P. If I live._ I skipped three days. To-day _July 21_. _Y. P._ I am working well enough. I am even satisfied with my work. Though I change much. Everything has come to a head and has gained much. I have been reviewing everything again from the beginning. The life around me is very wretched.... I do not know why: whether from the stomach or the heat or from excessive physical exercise--but in the evenings I feel very weak. A good speech by Crookes as to how a microscopic man would look upon the world.[204] Yesterday Novikov was here and he brought splendid notes by Michael Novikov.[205] Wrote letters: to Carus,[206] Ivan Michailovich. A letter from Evgenie Ivanovich.[207] _July 22. Y. P. If I live._ _July 28. Y. P._ Six days that I haven’t written. Three or four days ago at night, I had an attack of cholera morbus and the day after I was absolutely ill and for two days I have been very weak and have written very poorly. To-day I am a little better.