The more I argued with them, the better I came to know their dialectic. First they counted on the
stupidity of their adversary, and then, when there was no other way out, they themselves simply
played stupid. If all this didn't help, they pretended not to understand, or, if challenged, they
changed the subject in a hurry, quoted platitudes which, if you accepted them, they immediately
related to entirely different matters, and then, if again attacked, gave ground and pretended not
to know exactly what you were talking about. Whenever you tried to attack one of these apostles,
your hand closed on a jelly-like slime which divided up and poured through your fingers, but in
the next moment collected again. But if you really struck one of these fellows so telling a blow
that, observed by the audience, he couldn't help but agree, and if you believed that this had
taken you at least one step forward, your amazement was great the next day. The Jew had not the
slightest recollection of the day before, he rattled off his same old nonsense as though nothing
at all had happened, and, if indignantly challenged, affected amazement; he couldn't remember a
thing, except that he had proved the correctness of his assertions the previous day.
Bump |
