Early in this short acquaintance it was clear that Barinskoi was in
constant money difficulties. By his own representations the paper paid
him very irregularly, and the most curious accidents constantly
occurred to prevent the arrival of the expected payments. Once the
money was sent by mistake to the Constantinople correspondent, and it
was six weeks before the oversight was cleared up. Another time a
fellow-writer who was traveling to Berlin undertook to bring the money
with him. On the way he lost the money out of his pocket-book, and
Barinskoi had to wait until he went back to St. Petersburg, to inquire
into the case. By such fool's stories was Wilhelm's friendship put to
the proof. Barinskoi did not stop at borrowing money occasionally, with
sighs and groans, but every few days, often at a few hours' interval, a
new and larger loan would frequently follow.
All this was a dubious method of consolation, and yet Dr. Schrotter, or
rather Paul Haber, decided that though further contact with Barinskoi
must be avoided, he was an object of increasing interest to Wilhelm.
Barinskoi had many ideas in sympathy with his, which he did not find in
others, and their views of society and practical maxims of life were so
much in common that Wilhelm was often puzzled by this question: "How is
it possible that people can draw such completely different conclusions
from the same suppositions by the same logical arguments? Where is the
fatal point where one's ideas separate--ideas which have so far
traveled together?"
Barinskoi thought as Wilhelm did, that the world and its machinery were
mere outward phenomena, a deception of the senses, whose influence
acted as in a delirium. All existing forms of the common life of
humanity, all ordinances of the State or society appeared to him as
foolish or criminal, and at any rate objectionable. He considered that
the object of the spiritual and moral development of the individual was
the deliverance from the restraint, and the complete contempt of all
outward authority.
So far his opinions agreed with Wilhelm's, and then he disclosed the
laws of morality which he had evolved from them.
"The whole world is only an outward phenomenon, and the only reality is
my own consciousness," said Barinskoi; "therefore I see in the would
only myself, live only for myself, and try only to please myself, I am
an extreme individualist. My morality allows me to gratify my senses by
pleasant impressions, to convey to my consciousness pleasant
representations, so as to enjoy as much as possible. Enjoyment is the
only object of my existence, and to destroy all those who come in the
way of it is my right."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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