Те самые свойства его, которые в том свете, в котором он жил прежде, были для него, если не вредны, то стеснительны, - его сила, пренебрежение к удобствам жизни, рассеянность, простота, здесь, между этими людьми, давали ему положение почти героя.
The very qualities that had been a hindrance, if not actually harmful, to him in the world he had lived in - his strength, his disdain for the comforts of life, his absent-mindedness and simplicity - here among these people gave him almost the status of a hero.