"Robert A. Heinlein - To Sail Beyond the Sunset" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

тАЪJust a moment. Add to number three: Thou shalt not split infinitives, or
dangle participles. Thou shalt shun solecisms. Thou shalt honour the noble
English language, speech of Shakespeare, Milton and Poe, and it will serve
thee all the days of thy life. In particular, Maureen, if 1 ever again hear you
say тАЮdifferent thanтАЬ I will beat you about the head and shoulders with an
unbated ablative absolute.тАЩ
тАЪFather, that was an accident! I meant to -тАЪ
тАЪExcuses. LetтАЩs hear number four.тАЩ
тАЪCommandment number four. Go to church on Sundays. Smile and be
pleasant but donтАЩt be too smarmily a hypocrite. DonтАЩt let my children, if and
when I have any, play out in front on Sunday or make too much noise out the
back. Support the church by deeds and money but not too conspicuously.тАЩ
тАЪMaureen, thatтАЩs well put. YouтАЩll be a preacherтАЩs wife yet.тАЩ
тАЪOh, God, Father, IтАЩd rather be a whore!тАЩ
тАЪThe two are not incompatible. Continuez, ma ch├иre enfante.тАЩ
тАЪMais oui, mon cher papa. Honour thy father and thy mother where anyone
can see you. But once you leave home, live your own life. DonтАЩt let them lead
you around by the nose. Mon papa, you phrased that one yourself... and I
donтАЩt like it much. I do honour you, because I want to. And I donтАЩt have
anything against Mother; we just donтАЩt sing in the same key. But IтАЩm grateful
to her.тАЩ
тАЪAvoid gratitude, my dear; it can sour your stomach. After you marry and IтАЩm
dead, are you going to invite Adele to move in with you?тАЩ
тАЪUh -тАЪ I stopped, unable to answer.
тАЪThink about it. Think it through carefully, in advance... because any answer
you make in a hurry while my grave is still fresh is certain to be a wrong
answer. Next item:
тАЪThou shalt not commit murder. тАЮMurderтАЬ means killing somebody wrongfully.
Other sorts of killing come in several flavours and each sort must be
analysed. IтАЩm still working on this one, Father.тАЩ
So am I. Just bear in mind that a person who eats meat is on the same moral
level as the butcher.тАЩ
тАЪYes, sir. Thou shalt not get caught committing adultery... and that means
donтАЩt get pregnant, donтАЩt catch a social disease, donтАЩt let Mrs Grundy even
suspect you, and above all donтАЩt let your spouse find out; it would make him
most unhappy... and he could divorce you. Father, I donтАЩt think I would ever
be tempted by adultery. If God had intended a woman to have more than one
man he would have supplied more men... instead of just enough to go
around.тАЩ
тАЪWho intended? I didnтАЩt catch the name.тАЩ
тАЪI said тАЮGodтАЬ but you know what I mean!тАЩ
тАЪI do indeed. You are indulging in theology; I would rather see you take
laudanum. Maureen, when anyone talks about GodтАЩs will or GodтАЩs intentions
or NatureтАЩs intentions if he is afraid to say тАЮGodтАЬ, I know at once that he is
selling a gold brick. To himself, in some cases, as you were just doing. To
read a moral law into the fact that about as many males are born as females
is to make too much stew from one oyster; itтАЩs as slippery as Post hoc,
propter hoc.
тАЪAs for your belief that you will never be tempted, here you are, barely dry
behind the ears and only a year past first onset of menses... and you think