Luka

“ As she listens to Luka's words, Wasjka enters and laughs them to scorn. Is there a God? The company, which has returned, discusses violently this question. Talk, talk, talk—the Russian tramp will talk all day if you give him a theme and a drink. If one believes in a God, interposes Luka, then God exists; if one does not, then there is no God. ”

“ PEPEL [shaking his fist at her] We’ll see . . . [Exit]
VASSILISA [disappearing through window] I’ll arrange some wedding for you . . .
KOSTILYOFF [crossing to Luka] Well, old man, how’s everything?
LUKA. All right!
KOSTILYOFF. You’re going away, they say—?
LUKA. Soon.
KOSTILYOFF. Where to?
LUKA. I’ll follow my nose . . .
KOSTILYOFF. Tramping, eh? Don’t like stopping in one place all the time, do you?
LUKA. Even water won’t pass beneath a stone that’s sunk too firmly in the ground, they say . . .
KOSTILYOFF. That’s true for a stone. But man must settle in one place. ”

“ The bears' flesh would last them as long as it kept good, and they had plenty of water on board for at least a fortnight. In a few minutes Luka was sound asleep. Jack lay on the deck in front of him, sometimes sleeping, sometimes waking up, and giving a sharp bark in reply to the cry of a sea-gull passing overhead, or a flock of black ducks skimming along close to the surface of the water within fifty yards of the boat. ”

“ But though they perish, the inspiration of Luka is not entirely lost. It is epitomized in the words of one of the victims.
Sahtin.. The old man—he lived from within. He saw everything with his own eyes. . . I asked him once: "Grandfather, why do men really live? "Man lives ever to give birth to strength. There live, for example, the carpenters, noisy, miserable, people . . and suddenly in their midst is a carpenter born . . such all a carpenter as the world has never seen: he is above no other carpenter can be compared to him. He gives a new face to the whole trade . ”

“ In last resort Luka brings help to no one, but only succeeds in embroiling the situation, and accelerating the catastrophe.
Gorki undoubtedly intended to describe a luminary. But he failed to carry out his purpose consistently. In spite of himself this apostle is unable to effect any good, too often does just the contrary. The action of this character reminds us of Gregor Werle in Ibsen's "Wild Duck."
From the purely technical standpoint, moreover, "The Doss-house" is full of defects. The great catastrophe is brought about by eavesdropping. ”

“ It almost annoys me that you should be.’
Lukas had failed again in spite of all he had said, reasoned and urged. At last the thought occurred to him that his sweetheart was perhaps purposely tormenting him, because it gave her pleasure to think that he was head over ears in love with her. ”

“ Summing up our results thus far, we may say that we have found nothing that is out of accord with Lukan usage. On the other hand, indeed, every word and phrase we have examined is well represented in St. Luke's writings. Nevertheless, the [pg 061] words are common elsewhere, and in no case do they tell decisively either way.
b. We now come to words which present difficulties, less or greater, on the assumption of Lukan authorship, and so far tell in favour of the theory of interpolation. These are—ἐπεί, γινώσκω, and perhaps τὸ γεννώμενον. ”

“ Luke uses more than once; the phrase Π. ἅ. ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σέ, which is closely paralleled in Acts i. 8; and, above all, the markedly Lukan εἶπεν δὲ ... πρός.
This feat, it must be confessed, is a striking performance. If, indeed, it has been achieved, we must conclude that it has been carried out deliberately. We make every allowance for the possibility that a redactor may well enter into the style of an author. But to suppose that in so short a passage so many Lukan features have come together without premeditation or design is all but impossible. ”

“ Let us see what, on that hypothesis, the interpolator has done. He has produced a passage of thirty-seven words, in which there [pg 068] is not a construction, and only one word (ἐπεί) , which is not well represented in the Lukan writings. He has used a word (γινώσκω) in a sense not elsewhere illustrated in those works, but a word which St. Luke would naturally employ in the connexion in which it occurs. He has employed words, phrases, and constructions for which St. Luke has a fondness, such as καλέω, δύναμις Ὕψίστου, διὸ καί, the article with the participle in place of a noun (τὸ γενν.) ”

“ 'It's nearer through the other gate!'
'What are you talking about?' cried Lukashka. 'We must go through the middle gates, of course.'
'So we must, it's nearer that way,' said one of the Cossacks who was covered with dust and rode a perspiring horse. ”

“ Everything’s wearing thin. Very thin. Oh Lukie!”
“Listen,” said Luke resolutely. “I’m going to be noble. This is little Lukie, underneath his straw hat, being noble. Some men would confess their love for you. They would pour out in words the passion that was consuming them. I shall not. In fact, you’ll have to guess. Only, if the time ever does come that you simply cannot stand it any longer, apply to me. Applications should be sent to the office address in care of Mabel. Write distinctly. Good-by, Jona.” ”

“ Luke bent over the dead man. What a personality, what a dominant and oppressive personality, a corpse has! It is not the personality of the living man, but another—a quite different one—masquerading in his place.
Luke felt almost sure that this husk, this shell, this mockery of the real James, was possessed of some detestable consciousness of its own, a consciousness as remote from that of the man he loved as that pallid forehead with the deep purple gash across it, was remote from the dear head whose form he knew so well. ”

“ Jenks favors admission!" I exclaimed.
"Luke? He's been talking to you, has he? Well, now, Luke. Here's all there is to him Natural gas. That's why I support him, you see. If we sent a real smart man to Washington he might get us made a State. Ho, ho! But Luke stays here most of the time, and he's no good anyway. Oh, ho, ho! So you're buying no mines this season?"
Once more I found myself narrating the insignificance of my visit to Arizona—the Bishop must have been a hard inquisitor for even the deeply skilful to elude—and for the first time my word was believed. ”

“ Swift and furtive, like some small animal in danger of its life, Louisa slipped in between the screen and the bed, and before the doctor or nurse could prevent her, she had bent right over the sick man and whispered close to his ear:
"Lord Radclyffe, unless you make an effort now, to-morrow Luke will be standing in the dock—branded as a felon. Make an effort for Luke's sake!"
And the spirit which had gone wandering in the land of shadows came back to earth at sound of that one name.
"Luke!" he whispered, "Luke, my boy. I am strong. I can help you." ”

“ Luke, as rustic, simple, and religious as he, from its pavement to the black beams of its roof. His heart was heavy, poor priest, thus to leave his nest without honor; to carry humiliation and bitterness to his father and his sister, whose only hope and pride he was! He had every reason to frown as he looked at his breviary.
When he had finished reading, he took his seat on a bench. It was painful to him to take leave of his church. It was his last evening! He stood there with fixed eyes, his eyelids moving regularly, discouraged, cast down, like a stricken beast awaiting the axe. ”

“ Luke answered, ‘We are not the sort of folk to betray our benefactors; I will take the icon and bring you both back, the real one and the copy.’ ‘But suppose something hindered you?’ Luke said, ‘What could hinder me?’ ‘Well, you might die suddenly or be drowned.’ Luke was thoughtful. ”

“ And Rachel, sitting by his side on the soft moss, kept her eyes away, and wondered if all men were as ignorant of a woman's heart as Luke, or whether it was just because he lived so much up in the clouds that he had never studied human nature. ”

“ Long after his death he was adored as the guardian of Sparta, where his memory is still green, and the Peloponnesian mariner, caught in a storm off Cape Matapan, would pray to him, as his ancestors had prayed to Castor and Pollux. For Central Greece the career of the blessed Luke the younger was as important as that of St Nikon for the South. The parents of this remarkable man had fled from Ægina, when the Cretan corsairs plundered that island, and had taken refuge in Macedonia, where Luke was born. ”

“ Luke Manders, the splendid young mountaineer; Luke, the doctor’s discovery and pride; the golden lad of their golden legend.
Luke, Luke, Luke!
Surely, if she kept saying it over and over, it would fill her mind, and there wouldn’t be room for anybody—for anything else, and the silly place in her palm would stop pulsing, pulsing....
“Well, here we are!” said her companion, briskly. “A delightful night for a walk, and I have enjoyed it extremely. I try very hard to do a certain amount of walking every day, but in my intensely busy life it is apt to be crowded out.” ”

“ They’re to hurry for all that; those devils may be back at any minute. We’ve arranged the things as best we can; Luke will tell them what’s to be taken first.”
Luke volunteered to be one of the palanquin bearers, suggesting that Isaac Rudd should be the other. Isaac glanced doubtfully towards me.
“It’s all right, Mr. Rudd. There’s a friend of mine in there, an invalid, who is not able to walk very well over uneven ground. If you will assist Mr. Luke, I’ll be obliged. You’ll find that you’ll be able to carry him very easily between you.” ”

“ It's better you should have other resources."
"Luke, I say! Luke!"
But the quick distress of the words was checked by the gentle restraint of Lucas's hand. "I know! I know! But we've all got to die sooner or later, and one doesn't want to tear a larger hole than one need. That's all right, Bertie boy. We'll shunt the subject. Only, if you want to please me, get that nice little girl to marry you soon. Now what was it you wanted to say? Something about Nap?"
"Yes. How did you know? It's an infernal shame to worry you when you're not fit for it. ”

“ And in the open fields my life was pass'd
And in the mountains, else I think that thou
Hadst been brought up upon thy father's knees.
—But we were playmates, Luke; among these hills,
As well thou know'st, in us the old and young
Have play'd together, nor with me didst thou
Lack any pleasure which a boy can know.
Luke had a manly heart ”

“ Luke was conscious of rising to bow to the court and say, “I am for the prosecution, my lord”; and heard the deep, rolling, sonorous voice of Mr Serjeant Towle reply, “I am for the defence, my lord”; and then Luke’s eyes rested upon Sage, who for the first time recognised him, and was now leaning forward, looking at him with wild and starting eyes that seemed to implore him to spare her husband, for the sake of their childhood’s days; and her look fascinated him so that he could not tear his gaze away. ”

“ Luke, and all Rome was heaping up praise and honour upon me to a lavish extent, I went straightway to the old gentleman and suddenly presented myself before him in his own room, like a threatening apparition. Such at least he must have thought me, for he grew as pale as a corpse, and retreated behind a great table, trembling in every limb. And in a firm and earnest way I represented to him that it was not now a paltry barber or a surgeon, but a celebrated painter and Academician of St. Luke, Antonio Scacciati, to whom he would not, T hoped, refuse the hand of his niece Marianna. ”

“ The story of Luke is never lacking in human interest, but no scene is more suffused with sentiment, none more vivid with color, than that which pictures Jesus entering Jerusalem in triumph. We see our Lord mounted as a king, surrounded by acclaiming multitudes, sweeping over the brow of Olivet, while his attendant disciples spread their garments in the way and hail him as the Messiah. We see him lamenting over the doomed city and hear the harsh tones of the rulers who are plotting his death. ”

“ Though I had a kind of an inkling that Luke had done his best to see there were no shirkers, I had not breathed a syllable about the game we were after. But Luke might have dropped a hint. There was that about the fellows which to me smelt like business. And I felt sure that each man had about him somewhere something which would come in handy to fight with. ”

“ Europe, the legend which represents St. Luke as a painter can be traced no higher than the tenth century; the Greek painters introduced it; and a rude drawing of the Virgin discovered in the catacombs, with an inscription purporting that it was ‘one of seven painted by Luca,’ confirmed the popular belief that St. Luke the evangelist was meant. Thus originated the fame of innumerable Virgins of peculiar sanctity, all attributed to his hand, and regarded with extreme veneration. Such ancient pictures are generally of Greek workmanship, and of a black complexion. ”

“ Denying Luke! Luke!"
Color whipped John Petit's face; the features were set in a grimace of pain. Leaning across the table, he confronted his brother.
"It's not that, Luke. God knows you can never be paid, nor half, nor a quarter paid, for what you 've gone through. Don't you think I'd do it if I could? I'm doing my best, Luke. I 've made over my share in the farm to you, and I'm clearing out. I'm going West to-night on the twelve-two. It's a good farm, Luke; the wheat's splendid this year. You 'll do well."
"And—and with Belle's place, too—" Luke looked up abruptly. "Going West, you say? ”