The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

by John Le Carré

“You see, for us it does,” Fiedler continued, “I myself would have put a bomb in a restaurant if it brought us further along the road. Afterwards I would draw the balance—so many women, so many children; and so far along the road. But Christians—and yours is a Christian society—Christians may not draw the balance.” “Why not? They’ve got to defend themselves, haven’t they?” “But they believe in the sanctity of human life. They believe every man has a soul which can be saved. They believe in sacrifice.” “I don’t know. I don’t much care,” Leamas added. “Stalin didn’t either, did he?” Fiedler smiled; “I like the English,” he said, almost to himself; “my father did too. He was very fond of the English.” “That gives me a nice, warm feeling,” Leamas retorted, and relapsed into silence.