“
My grandmother was fond of saying that whatever one chooses to do with one’s life, one still must do one’s part. And though the life of a painter may seem frivolous to some, whenever I would unveil a finished work before my subject and see their expression, I knew that I had fulfilled my grandmother’s maxim. But you see, my friend, I was only half kidding when I compared my broom to a paintbrush. For—perhaps to my own surprise—whenever I see the children running down the freshly swept hallways of the schoolhouse, I feel that once again I am doing my part.” Though Pushkin was not familiar with the word magnanimity, he knew well enough that he was in its presence when he spoke to this painter-sweeper, such that upon parting, he shook Litvinov’s hand with feelings of the deepest admiration.
”
”