Leo Tolstoy

“ We don’t care for it. We are ignorant people.”
“We cannot consent, because that is an uncustomary thing. Let it be as it was before. If you would only do away with the seed,” several voices were heard.
“Doing away with the seed” meant that under the present regime the sowing-seed was chargeable to the peasants, and they asked that it be furnished by the master.
“So you refuse to take the land?” asked Nekhludoff, turning to a middle-aged, bare-footed peasant in tattered caftan and with a radiant face who held his cap straight in front of him, like a soldier hearing “Hats off!” ”

“ Nekhludoff spoke very clearly, and the peasants were sensible folks; but he was not understood, and could not be understood by them for the same reason which prevented the clerk from understanding him for a long time. They were convinced that it was natural for every man to look out for his own interest. And as to the land owners, the experience of several generations had taught them long ago that these were always serving their own interests. ”