"You are mistaken, dear, - not all old maids are unhappy, not all old bachelors are selfish . You sit in the office with a cigar in your teeth, with a book in your hands, and you think that you have penetrated into the very recesses of the soul, everyone already knows that there are no more unresolved issues for you. And especially when you, with God's help, found a word like "psychology"... the thing is psi-ho-lo-gia!.. And do you know what psychology is? There is a plant like parsley... It looks good and smells nice, seasoning it with food is delicious. Here is the psychology - the same parsley . But try to chew one parsley!.. Do not want? So what do you impose on me "psychology"? If you want to really know what psychology is, then please sit down and listen carefully, what I will tell you. Then you will express your opinion about where all sorts of misfortunes come from, where the causes of selfishness lie, and so on ... ”The story was first published in the newspaper Der Freund, St. Petersburg, 1907 .