*The proverb says: “Not our business, said Mama, Papa will come–he’ll sort everything out.”

*Here is the rest of the poem:

“A humble mortal am I,

Much in love with Thee,

Forget about my vow

(Keep this a secret)

And if it not be repulsive

I, sinful Pimen, pray

To You to give me a kiss.

On the Sabbath I await You

By the holy gates…

Then.....pornography.

*“Copernicus slaved away for a whole century…”

*But then the Ordinin princes had already turned into moneylenders.

*Trans. Note–‘Belye-Kolodezy’ means ‘white wells.’

*Trans. Note: An untranslatable pun. The man has misunderstood the sign, thinking that some people were being issued one product, the rest another. “Komu…komu,” in Russian, means “to some…to others.”

*Trans. Note: Pilnyak’s untranslatable use of the suffix used in the chapter’s subtitle.

Trans. Note: *Incorrectly Russianized words.

**A. A. shows his lack of education by mispronouncing the word. Mogut means “they can.”