"To cook your hare you must first catch it, to believe in God you must first have a god.

You used to say that in Petersburg, I'm told, like Nozdryov, who tried to catch a hare by his hind legs." "No, what he did was to boast he'd caught him.

By the way, allow me to trouble you with a question though, for indeed I think I have the right to one now.

Tell me, have you caught your hare ?" "Don't dare to ask me in such words! Ask differently, quite differently." Shatov suddenly began trembling all over.
"Certainly I'll ask differently." Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch looked coldly at him.

"I only wanted to know, do you believe in God, yourself ?" "I believe in Russia....