Eugene Onegin ( without commentary )

XI

He might have manifested feelings instead of bristling like a beast; he ought to have disarmed 4 the youthful heart. "But now too late 5 the time has flown away… Moreover," he reflects, "in this affair an old duelist has intervened$ 8 he's wicked, he's a gossip, he talks glibly… Of course, contempt should be the price of his droll sallies 5 but the whisper, the snickering of fools…" 12 And here it is-public opinion!38 Honor's mainspring, our idol! And here is what the world turns on!