ABSTRACT
“It would have been much more useful to be persecuted and to sit in prison than at the editorial office of the Lexicon of World Literature, since at either of the former, I could have inspired many. I never chose a bourgeois and peaceful life. Now, this lexicon is like an herbarium, I collect and identify long dead, pressed authors. And all the while, there are immense opportunities for me to join the great American rebellion.” 1
