tories, that foes like lambs or chickens give them no pleasure in conquest. After their conquests are complete and their foes have been either put to the sword or brought under submission, conquerors like these often suffer from loneliness and regret: they find that their conquests have deprived them of worthy foes and outspoken friends and have left them with only abject slaves that chant the familiar refrain of "Your subject trembles and quakes because he knows that he deserves death." Our Ah Q was not afflicted with such flaws in his nature. He was always happy in his victories. Perhaps he was a living proof of the supremacy of the spiritual civilization of the Chinese.
Look at him, he is so pleased and lighthearted that he is positively floating on air!
His latest victory had an unusual effect upon Ah Q. Ordinarily he would begin to snore almost as soon as he lay down, but on this occasion, after floating about the village and finally back to the temple, he could not sleep. His thumb and second finger seemed different, seemed softer and smoother than usual. Had something greasy and smooth on the nun's face stuck to his finger or had his fingers become smooth from their contact with the nun?
"May Ah Q never have any offspring!" He recalled the voice. Yes, he must have a woman, he said to himself; without children there would be no one to make offerings to his spirit after he was dead. Moreover, "Of the three filial impieties, the greatest is to be without heirs." His desire, therefore, was strictly in accordance with the teachings of the sages. Ah Q could not banish these thoughts from his mind and we do not know how long it was before he began to snore.
