 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy translated by Elmer and Louise Maud book 11 This is a LibriVox recording or LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Ernst Patinama War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy book 11 chapter 1 1812 Absolute continuity of motion is not comprehensible to the human mind Laws of motion of any kind become comprehensible to man only when he examines arbitrarily selected elements of that motion But at the same time a large portion of human error comes from the arbitrary division of continuous motion into discontinuous elements There is a well-known so-called Sophism of the ancients Consisting in this that Achilles could never catch up with the tortoise He was following in spite of the fact that he traveled ten times as fast as a tortoise By the time Achilles has covered the distance that separated him from the tortoise The tortoise has covered one tenth of the distance ahead of him When Achilles has covered that tenth the tortoise has covered another one hundredth and so on forever This problem seemed to the ancients insoluble The observed answer that Achilles could never overtake the tortoise resulted from this That motion was arbitrarily divided into discontinuous elements Whereas the motion both of Achilles and of the tortoise was continuous By adopting smaller and smaller elements of motion We only approach a solution of the problem, but never reach it Only when we have admitted the conception of the infinitely small and the resulting geometrical progression with the common ratio of one tenth and have found the sum of this progression to infinity Do we reach a solution of the problem? The modern branch of mathematics having achieved the art of dealing with infinitely small Can I yield solutions in other more complex problems of motion which used to appear insoluble? This modern branch of mathematics Unknown to the ancients when dealing with problems of motion Admits the conception of the infinitely small and so conforms to the chief condition of motion Absolute continuity and thereby corrects the inevitable error Which the human mind cannot avoid when it deals with separate elements of motion instead of examining continuous motion in Seeking the laws of historical movement just the same thing happens the movement of humanity Rising as it does from innumerable arbitrary human wills is continuous To understand the laws of this continuous movement is the aim of history But to arrive at these laws Resulting from the sum of all those human wills Mounds mind postulates arbitrary and disconnected units The first method of history is to take an arbitrarily selected series of continuous events and Examine it apart from others Though there is and can be no beginning to any event for one event always flows uninterruptedly from another The second method is to consider the actions of some one man a king or a commander as Equivalent to the sum of many individual wills Whereas the sum of individual wills is never expressed by the activity of a single historic personage Historical science in its endeavor to draw nearer to truth Continually takes smaller and smaller units for examination But however small the units it takes We feel that to take any unit disconnected from others or to assume a beginning of any phenomenon Or to say that the will of many men is expressed by the actions of any one historic personage is in itself false It needs no critical exertion to reduce utterly to dust any deductions drawn from history It is merely necessary to select some larger or smaller unit as the subject of observation as Criticism as every right to do Seeing that whatever unit history observes must always be arbitrarily selected Only by taking infinitesimally small units for observation The differential of history that is the individual tendencies of men and Attending to the art of integrating them that is finding the sum of these infinitesimals can we hope to arrive the laws of history The first 15 years of the 19th century in Europe Present an extraordinary movement of millions of people Men leave their customary pursuits hasten from one side of Europe to the other plunder and slaughter one another triumph and are plunged in despair and For some years the whole cause of life is altered and presents an intensive movement Which first increases and then slackens What was the cause of this movement by what laws was it governed asks the mind of man The historians replying to this question Lay before us the sayings and doings of a few dozen men in a building in the city of Paris According these sayings and doings to revolution Then they give a detailed biography of Napoleon and of certain people favorable or hostile to him Tell of the influence some of these people had on others and say That is why this movement took place and those are its laws But a mind of man who totally refuses to believe this explanation But plainly says that this method of explanation is fallacious Because in it a weaker phenomenon is taken as a cause of a stronger the sum of human wills produced a revolution and Napoleon and Only the sum of those wills first tolerated and then destroyed them But every time there have been conquests there have been conquerors Every time there has been a revolution in any state there have been great men says history and Indeed human reason replies Every time conquerors appear there have been wars But this does not prove that a conquerors caused the wars and that it is possible to find the laws of a war and a personal activity of a single man Whenever I look at my watch and its hands point to ten I hear the bells of the neighboring church But because the bells begin to ring when the hands of the clock reach ten I have no right to assume that the movement of the bells is caused by the position of the hands of the watch Whenever I see the movement of locomotive I hear the whistle and see the valves opening and wheels turning But I have no right to conclude that the whistling and the turning of wheels are the cause of the movement of the engine The peasants say that a cold wind blows in late spring because the oaks are budding and Really every spring cold winds to blow when the oak is budding But though I do not know what courses to cold winds to blow when the oak buds unfold I cannot agree with the peasants that the unfolding of the oak buds is the cause of the cold wind For the force of the wind is beyond the influence of the buds I see only a coincidence of occurrences such as happens with all phenomena of life and I see that however much and however carefully I observe the hands of the watch and the valves and wheels of the engine and The oak I shall not discover the cause of the bells ringing the engine moving or of the winds of spring to that I must entirely change my point of view and Study the laws of the movement of steam of the bells and of the wind History must do the same and attempts in this direction have already been made To study the laws of history, we must completely change the subject of our observation must leave aside kings Ministers and generals and the common infinitesimally small elements by which the masses are moved No one can say in how far it is possible for man to advance in his way toward an understanding of the laws of history But it is evident that only along that path does the possibility of discovering the laws of history lie and That is yet not a millionth part as much mental effort has been applied in this direction by historians as has been devoted to describing the actions of various kings commanders and ministers and propounding historians own reflections concerning these actions end of chapter one Recording by Ernst Patinama Amsterdam the Netherlands War and peace book 11 chapter 2 read for LibriVox.org by Ernst Patinama The forces of a dozen European nations burst into Russia The Russian army and people avoided a collision till small ensque was reached and again from small ensque to Borodino The French army pushed on to Moscow its goal its impetus ever increasing as it neared its aim Just as the velocity of a falling body increases as it approaches the earth Behind it were 700 miles of hunger stricken hostile country Ahead were a few dozen miles separating it from its goal Every soldier in Napoleon's army felt this and the invasion moved on by its own momentum The more the Russian army retreated to more fiercely a spirit of hatred of the enemy fled up and while it retreated the army increased and consolidated at Borodino a collision took place Neither army was broken up, but the Russian army retreated immediately after the collision as inevitably as a war recoils after colliding with another having a greater momentum and With equal inevitability the ball of invasion that had advanced with such momentum Rode on for some distance though the collision had deprived it of all its force The Russians retreated 80 miles to beyond Moscow and the French reached Moscow and there came to a standstill For five weeks after that. There was not a single battle The French did not move as a bleeding mortally wounded animal licks its wounds They remained in utter Moscow for five weeks and then suddenly with no fresh reason fled back They made a dash for the Kaluga road and after a victory for it Malo Yaroslavitz the field of conflict again remained theirs Without undertaking a single serious battle. They fled still more rapidly back to Smolensk beyond Smolensk beyond the Biryosina beyond Vilna and farther still On the evening of the 26th of August Kutuzov and the whole Russian army were convinced that the battle of Borodino was a victory Kutuzov reported so to the emperor He gave orders to prepare for a fresh conflict to finish the enemy and did this not to deceive anyone But because he knew that the enemy was beaten as everyone who had taken part in the battle knew it But all that evening and next day reports came in one after another of Unheard of losses of the loss of half the army and a fresh battle proved physically impossible It was impossible to give battle before information had been collected the wounded gathered in the supplies of ammunition Replenished to slain Wreck-n-Tarp new officers appointed to replace those who had been killed and before the men had had food and sleep and Meanwhile the very next morning after the battle the French army advanced of itself upon the Russians Carried forward by the force of its own momentum Now seemingly increased in inverse proportion to the square of the distance from its aim Kutuzov's wish was to attack next day and a whole army desired to do so But to make an attack the wish to do so is not sufficient There must also be a possibility of doing it and that possibility did not exist It was impossible not to retreat a day's march and then in the same way It was impossible not to retreat another and a third day's march and at last on the 1st of September When the army drew near Moscow Despite the strength of the feeling that had arisen in all ranks the force of circumstances Compelled it to retire beyond Moscow and the troops retired one more last day's march Unabandoned Moscow to the enemy Four people Accustomed to think that plans of campaign and battles are made by generals as in one of us sitting over a map in a study May imagine how he would have arranged things in this or that battle the questions present themselves Why did Kutuzov during the retreat not do this or that? Why did he not take up a position before reaching Fili? Why did he not retire at once by the Kaluga Road? Abandoning Moscow and so on People accustomed to think in that way Forget or do not know the inevitable conditions which always limit the activities of any commander-in-chief The activity of a commander-in-chief does not at all resemble the activity we imagine to ourselves When we sit at ease in our studies Examining some campaign on the map with a certain number of troops on this and that side and a certain own locality and Begin our plans from some given moment a Commander-in-chief is never dealing with the beginning of any event the position from which we always contemplated The commander-in-chief was always in the midst of a series of shifting events And so he never can at any moment consider the whole import of an event that is occurring Moment by moment the event is imperceptibly shaping itself and at every moment of this continuous uninterrupted shaping of events the commander-in-chief is in the midst of a most complex play of intrigues worries contingencies authorities projects councils threats and Deceptions and is continually obliged to reply to innumerable questions addressed to him which constantly conflict with one another Learned military authorities quite seriously tell us that Katoosov should have moved his army to the Kaluga Road Long before reaching Philly and that somebody actually submitted such a proposal to him But a commander-in-chief Especially at a difficult moment there's always before him not one proposal, but dozens simultaneously And all these proposals based on strategic syntactics contradict each other The commander-in-chief's business it would seem is simply to choose one of these projects But even that he cannot do events in time do not wait For instance on the 28th it is suggested to him to cross to the Kaluga Road But just then an agitant gallops up from Miloradovic Asking whether he is to engage the French or retire An order must be given him at once that instant and the order to retreat carries us past the turn to the Kaluga Road And after the agitant comes the commissary general Asking where the stores are to be taken and the chief of the hospitals asks where the wounded are to go and Courier from Petersburg brings a letter from the sovereign Which does not admit of the possibility of abandoning Moscow and a commander-in-chief's rival The man who is undermining him and there are always not merely one but several such Presents a new project diametrically opposed to that of turning to the Kaluga Road and the commander-in-chief himself needs sleep and Refreshment to maintain his energy And the respectable general who has been overlooked in the distribution of rewards comes to complain And the inhabitants of the district pray to be defended and an officer Sent to inspect the locality comes in and gives a report quite contrary to what was said by the officer previously sent And a spy a prisoner and a general who has been on reconnaissance all described the position of the enemy's army differently People accustomed to misunderstand or to forget these inevitable conditions of a commander-in-chief's actions Described to us for instance the position of the army at Philly and Assume that a commander-in-chief could on the 1st of September quite freely decide whether to abandon Moscow or defend it Whereas with a Russian army less than four miles from Moscow knows such question existed When had that question been settled? Adresa and at Smolensk and most palpably of all on the 24th of August at Shevardino and 226 at Borodino and each day and hour a minute of the retreat from Borodino to Philly end of chapter 2 Recording by Ernst Patinama Amsterdam the Netherlands This recording is in the public domain after 11 section 3 of War and Peace by Leo Tossoi translated by Almer and Louise Montt Kutsov to inspect the position told the Field Marshal that it was impossible to fight there before Moscow and have to must retreat Kutsov looked at him in silence Give me your hand said he and turning it so as to feel the pulse added you are not well my dear fellow Think what you are saying Kutsov could have yet admit the possibility of retreating beyond Moscow without a battle On the Pokhlinie Hill four miles from the Dormagloff gate of Moscow Kutsov got out of his carriage and sat down at a bench by the roadside a Great crowd of generals gathered around him and the Count Rostepin who had come out from Moscow joined them This brilliant company separated into several groups who all discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the position The state of the army the plan suggested the situation of Moscow and the military questions generally Though they'd not been summoned for the purpose and though it was not so called They all felt that this was really a council of war The conversations all dealt with public questions If anyone gave or asked for personal news, it was done on a whisper and they immediately reverted to general matters No jokes or laughter or smiles even were seen among all these men They evidently all made an effort to hold themselves at the height of the situations demanded and All these groups while talking among themselves tried to keep the near commander in chief whose bench formed the center of the gathering and To speak so that he might overhear them The commander chief listened to what was being said and sometimes asked them to repeat the remarks But did not himself take part in the conversations or express any opinion After hearing what was being said by one or other of these groups He generally turned away with an air of disappointment as though they were not speaking of anything he wished to hear Some discussed the positions that he'd chosen Criticizing not the position himself so much as the mental capacity of those who are chosen it Others argued that a mistake had been made earlier and that a battle should have been fought two days before Others again spoke of the battle of Salamaka, which was described by Croçade as a newly arrived Frenchman in a Spanish uniform This Frenchman and one of the German princes serving with the Russian army were discussing the siege of Saragossa and considering the possibility of defending Moscow in a similar manner Count Roche to pin was telling a fourth group that he was prepared to die with the city's train band under the wall of the capital But that he still could not help regretting having been left in ignorance of what was happening and that he had known it Sooner things would have been different a Fifth group displaying the profoundity of their strategic perceptions discussed the directions the troops would now have to take a Sixth group was talking about absolute nonsense Kutsov's expression grew more and more preoccupied and gloomy For your mom all this talk he all saw only one thing That to defend Moscow was a physical impossibility in the full meaning of these words that is to say so utterly impossible that if Any senseless commander would have given orders to fight confusion would result from battle would still not take place It would not take place because the commanders not merely all recognized the position to be impossible But in their conversations were only discussing what would happen after its inevitable abandonment How could the commanders lead their troops to a field of battle they considered impossible to hold The lower-grade officers and even the soldiers who to reason also considered the position impossible and therefore could not go to fight fully convinced as they were of defeat If Benzigan insisted on the position being defended and others still discussed it The question was no longer important in itself, but only as a pretext for disputes and intrigue This cuts off new wealth Beneksen who had chosen this position warmly displayed his Russian patriotism Kutsov could not listen to this without waiting By insisting that Moscow must be defended His aim was as clear as daylight to Kutsov if the defenses failed to throw the blame on Kutsov Who had brought the army as far as the sparrow hills without giving battle if it succeeded to claim the success as its Own or if that or were not given to clear himself of the crime of abandoning Moscow But this intrigue did not occupy the old man's mind One terrible question absorbed him and to that question he heard no reply from anyone The question for him now was have I really allowed Napoleon to reach Moscow and When did I do so? When was it decided? Can it have been yesterday when I ordered Plato to retreat or was it in the evening before when I had that nap and told Benzigan to issue orders or Was it earlier still when my when was this terrible after decided? Moscow must be dependent The army must retreat and the order to do so must be given To give that terrible order seemed to him equivalent to resigning the command of the army And not only did he love power to which he was accustomed The honors awarded to Prince Przorski under whom he was served in Turkey galled him But he was convinced that he was destined to save Russia and that that was why against the Emperor's wish as By the will of the people he had been chosen commander-in-chief He was convinced that he alone could maintain command of the army in these difficult circumstances And that it all the world here alone could encounter the Invincible Napoleon without fear and he was Horrified at the thought of the orders he had to issue But something had to be decided and these conversations around him with which were Assuming to free a character must be stopped He called the most important generals to him My head Be it good or bad must depend on itself said he rising from the bench and he rose to Philly with his carriages were waiting end of chapter 11 section 3 recorded by John Ellis chapter 4 book 11 of Leo Tolstoy's war and peace This is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer Please visit LibriVox org chapter 4 book 11 of Leo Tolstoy's war and peace Read by a father Xyle of Detroit The council of war began to assemble at 2 in the afternoon in the better and roomier part of Andrew Sevastianov's hut the men women and children of the large peasant family Crowded into the back room across the passage Only Malasha Andrew six-year-old granddaughter Whom his serene highness had petted and to whom he had given a lump of sugar while drinking his tea Remained on the top of the brick oven in the larger room Malasha looked down from the oven with shy delight at the faces uniforms and decorations of the generals Who one after another came into the room and sat down on the broad benches in the corner under the icons? Granddad himself as Malasha in her own mind called Kutuzov sat apart in a dark corner behind the oven he sat sunk deep in a folding armchair and Continually cleared his throat and pulled at the collar of his coat which though it was unbuttoned Still seemed to pinch his neck Those who entered went up one by one to the field marshal He pressed the hands of some and nodded to others His adjutant Kaisarov was about to draw back the curtain of the window facing Kutuzov But the latter moved his hand angrily and Kaisarov Understood that his serene highness did not wish his face to be seen Round the peasants deal table on which lay maps plans pencils and papers So many people gathered that the orderly's brought in another bench and put it beside the table Ermolov Kaisarov and toll who had just arrived sat down on this bench In the foremost place immediately under the icons lay Barclay de Toly his high forehead merging into his bald crown He had a st. George's cross around his neck and looked pale and ill He had been feverish for two days and was now shivering and in pain Beside him sat uvorov who with rapid gesticulations was giving him some information Speaking in low tones as they all did Chubby little doctor of was listening attentively with eyebrows raised and arms folded on his stomach On the other side sat Count Osterman Tolstoy seemingly absorbed in his own thoughts His broad head with its bold features and glittering eyes was resting on his hand Rayevsky twitching forward the black hair on his temples as was his habit Glanced now at Kutuzov and now at the door with a look of impatience Con of Nitsyn's firm handsome and kindly face was lit up by a tender sly smile His glance met Maloshas and the expression of his eyes caused the little girl to smile They were all waiting for Benigtson who on the pretext of inspecting the positions Was finishing his savory dinner They waited for him from four till six o'clock and did not begin their deliberations all that time talked in low tones of other matters Only when Benigtson had entered the hut did Kutuzov leave his corner and draw toward the table But not near enough for the candles that had been placed there to light up his face Benigtson opened the council with the question Are we to abandon Russia's ancient and sacred capital without a struggle or are we to defend it a Prolonged and general silence followed There was a frown on every face and only Kutuzov's angry grunts and occasional cough broke the silence All eyes were gazing at him Maloshatou looked at granddad She was nearest to him and saw how his face puckered. He seemed about to cry, but this did not last long Russia's ancient and sacred capital He suddenly said repeating Benigtson's words in an angry voice and thereby drawing attention to the false note in them Allow me to tell you your excellency That that question has no meaning for a russian He lurched his heavy body forward Such a question cannot be put. It is senseless The question I have asked these gentlemen to meet to discuss is a military one The question is that of saving russia Is it better to give up Moscow without a battle or by accepting battle to risk losing the army as well as Moscow That is the question on which I want your opinion And he sank back in his chair The discussion began Benigtson did not yet consider his game lost Admitting the view of bar clay and others that a defensive battle at philly was impossible But imbued with russian patriotism and the love of Moscow He proposed to move troops from the right to the left flank during the night and attack the french right flank the following day Opinions were divided and arguments were advanced for and against that project ermalov doctorov and reevsky agreed with benigtson Whether feeling it necessary to make a sacrifice before abandoning the capital or guided by other personal considerations These generals seem not to understand that this council could not alter the inevitable course of events And that Moscow was in effect already abandoned The other generals however understood it and leaving aside the question of Moscow Of the direction of the army should take in its retreat molasha who kept her eyes fixed on what was going on before her Understood the meaning of the council differently It seemed to her that it was only a personal struggle between granddad and long coat as she termed benigtson She saw that they grew spiteful when they spoke to one another and in her heart she sided with granddad In the midst of the conversation she noticed granddad give benigtson a quick subtle glance And then to her joys he saw that granddad said something to long coat which settled him benigtson suddenly reddened and paced angrily up and down the room What so affected him was kutizov's calm and quiet comment on the advantage or disadvantage Of benigtson's proposal to move troops by night from the right to the left flank to attack the french right wing Gentlemen said kutizov. I cannot approve of the count's plan Moving troops in close proximity to an enemy is always dangerous and military history supports that view for instance kutizov seemed to reflect searching for an example Then with a clear naive look at benigtson he added Oh, yes, take the battle of friedland, which I think the count well remembers and which was Not fully successful only because our troops were rearranged too near the enemy There followed a momentary pause which seemed very long to them all The discussion recommenced but pauses frequently occurred and they all felt that there was no more to be said During one of these pauses kutizov heaved a deep sigh as if preparing to speak They all looked at him Well gentlemen, I see that it is I who will have to pay for the broken crockery said he And rising slowly he moved to the table Gentlemen, I have heard your views Some of you will not agree with me, but I He paused By the authority entrusted to me by my sovereign and country order a retreat After that the generals began to disperse with the solemnity and circumspect silence Of people who are leaving after a funeral Some of the generals in low tones and in a strain very different from the way they had spoken during the council communicated something to their commander-in-chief molasha Who had long been expected for supper climbed carefully backwards down from the oven Her bare little feet catching at its projections and slipping between the legs of the generals. She darted out of the room When he had dismissed the generals kutizov sat a long time with his elbows on the table thinking always of the same terrible question When When did the abandonment of moscow become inevitable? When was that done which settled the matter? And who was to blame for it? I did not expect this Said he to his agitant schneider when the latter came in late that night I did not expect this. I did not think it would happen You should take some rest your serene highness replied schneider But no they shall eat horse flesh yet like the turks exclaimed kutizov without replying striking the table with his pudgy fist They shall too if only end of chapter four of book 11 of war and peace by leo tollstoy read by father xyle of detroit war and peace book 11 chapter 5 Recording for LibriVox.org by Eva Harnick At that very time in circumstances even more important than retreating without a battle namely the evacuation and burning of moscow Rostopcin who is usually represented as being the instigator of that event acted in an altogether different manner from kutizov After the battle of vorodino The abandonment and burning of moscow was as inevitable as the retreat of the army beyond moscow without fighting Every russian might have predicted it not by reasoning but by the feeling implanted in each of us and in our fathers The same thing that took place in moscow had happened in all the towns and villages on russian's soul beginning with smolensk Without the participation of kont rostopcin and his broadsheets The people awaited the enemy unconcernedly Did not riot or become excited or tear anyone to pieces But faced its fate feeling within it the strength to find what it should do at that most difficult moment And as soon as the enemy drew near the wealthy classes went away Abandoning their property while the poorer remained and burned and destroyed what was left The consciousness that this would be so and would always be so Was and is present in the heart of every russian And the consciousness of this and the foreboding that moscow would be taken was present in russian moscow society in 1812 Those who had quitted moscow already in july and at the beginning of august Showed that they expected this Those who went away taking what they could And abandoning their houses and half their belongings did so from the latent patriotism Which expresses itself not by phrases or by giving one's children To save the fatherland and similar unnatural exploits But unultrusively simply organically and therefore in the way That always produces the most powerful results It is disgraceful to run away from danger. Only cowards are running away from moscow. They were told In his broadsheets rostovchin impressed on them that to leave moscow was shameful They were ashamed to be called cowards Ashamed to leave but still they left knowing it had to be done Why did they go It is impossible to suppose that rostovchin had scared them by his accounts of horrors napoleon had committed in conquered countries The first people to go away were the rich educated people Who knew quite well that vienna and berlin had remained intact and that during napoleon's occupation The inhabitants had spent their time pleasantly in the company of the charming frenchmen whom the russians and especially The russian ladies then liked so much They went away Because for russians there could be no question as to whether sinks would go well or ill on the french rule in moscow It was out of the question to be on the french rule It would be the worst thing that could happen They went away even before the battle of borodino And still more rapidly after it despite rostovchin's calls to defend moscow Or the announcement of his intention to take the wonder working icon of the iberian mother of god And go to fight or of the balloons that were to destroy the french And despite all the nonsense rostovchin wrote in his broadsheets They knew that it was for the army to fight And that if it could not succeed it would not do to take young ladies and house serfs To the three hills quarter of moscow to fight napoleon And that they must go away sorry as they were to abandon their property to destruction They went away without thinking of the tremendous significance of that immense and wealthy city Being given over to destruction For a great city with wooden buildings was certain when abandoned by its inhabitants to be burned They went away each on his own account And yet it was only in consequence of their going away That the momentous event was accomplished that will always remain the greatest glory of the russian people The lady who afraid of being stopped by kontrostovchin's orders Had already in june moved with her negroes And her women gestures from moscow to her saratova state With a vague consciousness that she was not bonaparte servant Was really simply and truly carrying out the great work which saved russia But kontrostovchin who now talented those who left moscow and now had the government officers removed Now distributed quite useless weapons to the drunken rebel Now had processions displaying the icons And now forbade father augustin to remove icons or the relics of saints Now seized all the private carts in moscow And on 136 of them removed the balloon that was being constructed by lepik Now hinted that he would burn moscow and related how he had set fire to his own house Now wrote a proclamation to the french solemnly abrading them for having destroyed his orphanage Now claimed the glory of having hinted that he would burn moscow And now repudiated the deed Now ordered the people to catch all spies and bring them to him And now reproached them for doing so Now expelled all the french residents from moscow and now allowed madame ober shan The center of the whole french colony in moscow to remain But ordered the venerable old postmaster klucharev to be arrested and exiled for no particular offense Now assembled the people at the three hills to fight the french And now to get rid of them handed over to them a man to be killed and himself drove away by a back gate Now declared that he would not survive the fall of moscow And now wrote french verses in albums concerning his share in the affair This man did not understand the meaning of what was happening But merely wanted to do something himself that would astonish people To perform some patriotically heroic feat And like a child he made sport of the momentous and unavoidable event The abandonment and burning of moscow And tried with his puny hand now to speed and now to stay The enormous popular tide that bore him along with it End of chapter five, recording by Ava Harnick, Pontavedra, Florida War and Peace Book 11 chapter 6 Read for LibriVox.org by Philippa Brody Helen, having returned with the court from Vilna to Petersburg, found herself in a difficult position In Petersburg she had enjoyed the special protection of a grandee who occupied one of the highest posts in the empire In Vilna she had formed an intimacy with the young foreign prince When she returned to Petersburg both the magnet and the prince were there and both claimed their rights Helen was faced by a new problem how to preserve her intimacy with both without offending either What would have seemed difficult or even impossible to another woman Did not cause the least embarrassment to Countess Bezikova Who evidently deserved her reputation of being a very clever woman Had she attempted concealment or tried to extricate herself from her awkward position by cunning She would have spoiled her case by acknowledging herself guilty But Helen, like a really great man who can do whatever he pleases, once assumed her own position to be correct As she sincerely believed it to be and that everyone else was to blame The first time the young foreigner allowed himself to reproach her she lifted her beautiful head and half turning to him said firmly Feds just like a man selfish and cruel I expected nothing else a woman sacrifices herself for you. She suffers and this is her reward What right of you Monsignor to demand an account of my attachments and friendships He is a man who has been more than a father to me The prince was about to say something but a len interrupted him Well, yes, said she it may be that he has other sentiments for me than those of a father But that is not a reason for me to shut my door on him I am not a man that I should repay kindness within gratitude No Monsignor that in all that relates to my intimate feelings I render account only to God and to my conscience She concluded laying her hand on her beautiful fully expanded bosom and looking up to heaven But for heaven's sake listen to me Marry me and I will be your slave But that's impossible You won't dain to demean yourself by marrying me you Said Helen beginning to cry The prince tried to comfort her but Helen as if quite distraught Said through her tears that there was nothing to prevent her marrying that there were precedents There were up to that time very few but she mentioned Napoleon and some other exalted personages That she had never been her husband's wife and that she had been sacrificed But the law religion said the prince already yielding The law religion what have they been invented for if they can't arrange that said Helen The prince was surprised that so simple an idea had not occurred to him And he applied for advice to the holy brethren of the society of Jesus with whom he was on intimate terms A few days later at one of those entanting feats which Helen gave at her country house on the stone island The charming monsieur de jubu a man no longer young with snow white hair and brilliant black eyes a jesuit A robe court was presented to her and in the garden by the light of the illuminations and to the sound of music Talked to her for a long time of the love of god of christ of the sacred heart And of the consolations the one true catholic religion affords in this world and the next Helen was touched and more than once tears rose to her eyes and to those of monsieur de jubu And their voices trembled A dance for which her partner came to seek her put an end to her discourse with her future directure de conscience But the next evening monsieur de jubu came to see Helen when she was alone and after that often came again One day he took the contest to a roman catholic church Where she knelt down before the altar to which she was led The enchanting middle-aged frenchman laid his hands on her head and as she herself afterwards described it She felt something like a fresh breeze wafted into her soul It was explained to her that this was la grâce After that a long frocked abbey was brought to her she confessed to him and he absolved her from her sins Next day she received a box containing the sacred host which was left at her house for her to partake of A few days later Helen learned with pleasure that she had now been admitted to the true catholic church And that in a few days the pope himself would hear of her and would send her a certain document All that was done around her and to her at this time all the attention devoted to her by so many clever men And expressed in such pleasant refined ways And the state of dove-like purity she was now in She wore only white dresses and white ribbons all that time gave her pleasure But her pleasure did not cause her for a moment to forget her aim And as it always happens in contests of cunning that a stupid person gets the better of cleverer ones Helen having realized that the main object of all these words and all this trouble was After converting her to Catholicism to obtain money from her for Jesuit institutions as to which she received indications Before parting with her money insisted that the various operations necessary to free her from her husband should be performed In her view the aim of every religion was merely to preserve certain properties while affording satisfaction to human desires And with this aim in one of her talks with her father confessor She insisted on an answer to the question in how far was she bound by her marriage? They were sitting in the twilight by a window in the drawing room The center flowers came in at the window Helen was wearing a white dress Transparent over her shoulders and bosom The abbey a well-fed man with a plump clean-shaven chin a pleasant firm mouth and white hands meekly folded on his knees Sat close to Helen and with a subtle smile on his lips and a peaceful look of delight at her beauty Occasionally glanced at her face as he explained his opinion on the subject Helen with an uneasy smile looked at his curly hair and his plump Clean-shaven blackish cheeks and every moment expected the conversation to take a fresh turn But the abbey though he evidently enjoyed the beauty of his companion was absorbed in his mastery of the matter The course of the father confessor's arguments ran as follows Ignorant of the import of what you were undertaking you made a vow of conjugal fidelity to a man who on his part By entering the marriage state without faith in the religious significance of marriage Committed an act of sacrilege That marriage lacked the dual significance It should have had yet in spite of this your vow was binding you swerved from it What did you commit by so acting a venial or a mortal sin? A venial sin for you acted without evil intention If now you married again with the object of bearing children your sin might be forgiven But the question is again a twofold one firstly But suddenly Helen who was getting bored said with one of her bewitching smiles But I think that having espoused the true religion I cannot be bound by what a false religion laid upon me The director of her conscience was astounded at having the case presented to him thus With the simplicity of Columbus's egg he was delighted at the unexpected rapidity of his pupil's progress But could not abandon the edifice of argument he had laboriously constructed Let us understand one another countess said he with a smile and began refuting his spiritual daughter's arguments End of chapter 6 recording by Philippa Brody laspecula.blogspot.com War and peace book 11 chapter 7 read for LibriVox.org by Philippa Brody Helen understood that the question was very simple and easy from the ecclesiastical point of view And that her directors were making difficulties only because they were apprehensive As to how the matter would be regarded by the secular authorities So she decided that it was necessary to prepare the opinion of society She provoked the jealousy of the elderly magnate and told him what she had told her other suitor That is she put the matter so that the only way for him to obtain a right over her was to marry her The elderly magnate was at first as much taken aback by the suggestion of marriage With a woman whose husband was alive as the younger man had been But Helen's imperturbable conviction that it was as simple and natural as marrying a maiden had its effect on him too Had Helen herself shown the least sign of hesitation shame or secrecy Her cause would certainly have been lost But not only did she show no signs of secrecy or shame on the contrary with good-natured naivety She told her intimate friends and these were all Petersburg that both the prince and the magnate had proposed to her And that she loved both and was afraid of grieving either A rumor immediately spread in Petersburg not that Helen wanted to be divorced from her husband Had such a report spread many would have opposed so illegal an intention But simply that the unfortunate and interesting Helen was in doubt which of the two men she should marry The question was no longer whether this was possible But only which was the better match and how the matter would be regarded a court There were it is true some rigid individuals unable to rise to the height of such a question Who saw in the project a desecration of the sacrament of marriage But there were not many such and they remained silent While the majority were interested in Helen's good fortune and in the question Which match would be the more advantageous whether it was right or wrong to remarry while one had a husband living They did not discuss for that question had evidently been settled by people Wiser than you or me as they said and to doubt the correctness of that decision would be to risk exposing one's stupidity And incapacity to live in society Only Maria Dimitrievna Krozimova having come to Petersburg that summer to see one of her sons Allowed herself plainly to express an opinion contrary to the general one Meeting Helen at a ball. She stopped her in the middle of the room and amid general silence said in her gruff voice So wives of living men have started marrying again Perhaps you think you have invented a novelty You've been restored my dear. It was thought of long ago. It's done in all the brothels And with these words Maria Dimitrievna turning up her wide sleeves with her usual threatening gesture and glancing externally round moved across the room Though people were afraid of Maria Dimitrievna. She was regarded in Petersburg as a buffoon And so of what she had said they only noticed and repeated in a whisper The one coarse word she had used supposing the hosting of her remark to lie in that word Prince Vasily who of late very often forgot what he had said and repeated one and the same thing a hundred times Remark to his daughter whenever he chance to see her Helen I have a word to say to you and he would lead her aside drawing her hand downward I have heard of certain projects concerning You know Well, my dear child, you know how much your father's heart rejoices to know that you You have suffered so much But my dear child consult only your own heart That is all I have to say I'm concealing his unvarying emotion. He would press his cheek against his daughters and move away Belibin who had not lost his reputation of an exceedingly clever man And who was one of the disinterested friends so brilliant a woman as Helen always has Men friends who can never change into lovers once gave her his view of the matter at a small and intimate gathering Listen, Belibin said Helen She always called friends of that sort by their surnames and she touched his coat sleeve with her white, brinked fingers Tell me as you would a sister what ought I to do? Which of the two Belibin wrinkled up the skin over his eyebrows and pondered with a smile on his lips You're not taking me unaware as you know said he As a true friend I've thought and thought again about your affair You see if you marry the prince he meant the younger man and he cropped one finger You forever lose the chance of marrying the other and you will displease the court besides You know there is some kind of connection But if you marry the old count she'll make his last days happy and as a widow of the grand the prince would no longer be making a Misaligned by marrying you And belibin smoothed out his forehead That's a true friend said Helen beaming and again touching belibin's sleeve But I love them, you know and don't want to distress either of them. I would give my life for the happiness of them both Belibin shrugged his shoulders as much as to say that not even he could help in that difficulty When mcress fam a masterly woman, that's what is called putting things squarely She would like to be married to all three at the same time thought he But tell me how will your husband look at the matter belibin asked his reputation being so well established that he did not fear to ask So naive a question Will he agree Oh, he loves me. So said Helen who for some reason imagined that pierre too loved her He will do anything for me Polybin puckered his skin in preparation for something witty Even divorce you said he Helen laughed Among those who ventured to doubt the justifiability of the proposed marriage was Helen's mother princess coragina She was continually tormented by jealousy of her daughter And now that jealousy concerned a subject near to her own heart. She could not reconcile herself to the idea She consulted a russian priestess to the possibility of divorce and remarriage during her husband's lifetime And the priest told her that it was impossible And to her delight showed her a text in the gospel which as it seemed to him Plainly forbade remarriage while the husband is alive Armed with these arguments which appeared to her unanswerable. She drove to her daughter's early one morning so as to find her alone Having listened to her mother's objections. Helen smiled blandly and ironically But it says plainly whosoever shall marry her that is divorced said the old princess Oh mama, don't talk nonsense. You don't understand anything in my position. I have obligations Said Helen changing from russian in which language. She always felt that her case did not sound quite clear Into french which suited it better But my dear Oh mama, how is it that you don't understand that the holy father who has the right to grant dispensations Just then the lady companion who lived with Helen came in to announce that his highness was in the ballroom and wished to see her No, tell him I don't wish to see him. I am furious with him for not keeping his word to me Record Said a fair-haired young man with a long face and nose as he entered the room Countess there is mercy for every sin The old princess rose respectfully and curtsied the young man who had entered took no notice of her The princess nodded to her daughter and sidled out of the room Yes, she is right thought the old princess all her convictions dissipated by the appearance of his highness She is right. But how is it that we in our irrecoverable youth did not know it yet? It is so simple She thought as she got into her carriage By the beginning of august Helen's affairs were clearly defined and she wrote a letter to her husband Who as she imagined loved her very much informing him of her intention to marry nn And of her having embraced the one true faith and asking him to carry out all the formalities necessary for a divorce Which would be explained to him by the bearer of the letter And so I pray god to have you my friend in his holy and powerful keeping Your friend Helen This letter was brought to pierce house when he was on the field of Borodino End of chapter seven Recording by Philippa Brody La specula Dot blogspot.com War and peace book 11 chapter 8 read for reliever vox.org by david ream Toward the end of the battle of Borodino pierre having run down from Ryevsky's battery a second time made his way through a goalie to Knioskowo with a crowd of soldiers reached the dressing station and seeing blood and hearing cries and groans Hurried on still entangled in the crowds of soldiers The one thing he now desired with his whole soul was to get away Quickly from the terrible sensations amid which he had lived that day and returned to ordinary conditions of life and sleep Quietly in a room in his own bed He felt that only in the ordinary conditions of life would he be able to understand himself and all he had seen and felt But such ordinary conditions of life were nowhere to be found Though shells and bullets did not whistle over the road along which he was going still on all sides There was what there had been on the field of battle There were still the same suffering exhausted and sometimes strangely in different faces the same blood the same soldiers overcoats The same sounds of firing which though distant now still aroused terror and besides this there were the foul air and the dust Having gone a couple of miles along the mosaic road pier sat down by the roadside Dusk had fallen and the roar of guns died away Pierre lay leaning on his elbow for a long time gazing at the shadows that moved past him in the darkness He was continually imagining that a cannonball was flying toward him with a terrific whiz And then he shuddered and sat up He had no idea how long he had been there in the middle of the night Three soldiers having brought some firewood settled down near him and began lighting a fire The soldiers who threw a side long glances at pier got the fire to burn and placed an iron pot on it into which they Broke some dried bread and put a little dripping The pleasant odor of greasy vines mingled with the smell of smoke Pierre sat up inside the three soldiers were eating and talking among themselves taking no notice of him And who may you be one of them suddenly asked pier Evidently meaning what pier himself had in mind namely if you want to eat we'll give you some food only let us know whether you are an honest man Hi, I said pier feeling it necessary to minimize his social position as much as possible So as to be nearer to the soldiers and better understood by them By rights, I am a militia officer, but my men are not here. I came to the battle and have lost them There now said one of the soldiers another shook his head Would you like a little mash the first soldier asked and handed pier a wooden spoon after licking it clean pier sat down by the fire and began eating the mash As they called the food in the cauldron and he thought it more delicious than any food he had ever tasted As he sat bending greedily over it helping himself to large spoonfuls and chewing one after another His face was lit up by the fire and the soldiers looked at him in silence Where have you to go to tell us said one of them To to mojalsk You're a gentleman, aren't you? Yes And what's your name? Peter kill Kirili itch Well, then Peter kirili itch come along with us. We'll take you there In the total darkness the soldiers walked with pier to mojalsk By the time they got near mojalsk and began ascending the steep hill into the town the cocks were already crowing pier went on with the soldiers quite forgetting that his inn was at the bottom of the hill and that he had already passed it He would not soon have remembered this such was his state of forgetfulness Had he not halfway up the hill stumbled upon his groom Who had been to look for him in the town and was returning to the inn The groom recognized pier and the darkness by his white hat Your excellency. He said why we were beginning to despair. How is it you are on foot? What and where are you going please? Oh, yes said pier the soldiers stopped. So you found your folks at one of them. Well, goodbye, Peter kirili itch, isn't it? Goodbye, Peter kirili itch pier heard the other voices repeat Goodbye, he said and turned with his groom toward the inn I ought to give them something he thought and felt in his pocket No better not said another inner voice There was not a room to be had at the inn. They were all occupied pier went out into the yard and covering himself up head and all lay down in his carriage End of chapter eight recording by david ream sacramental california april third 2009 War and peace book 11 chapter 9 read for libervox.org by david ream Scarcely had pier laid his head on the pillow before he felt himself falling asleep But suddenly almost with the distinctness of reality he heard the boom boom boom of firing the thought of projectiles groans and cries and smelled blood and powder and a feeling of horror and dread of death seized him Filled with fright he opened his eyes and lifted his head from under his cloak All was tranquil in the yard only someone's orderly pass through the gateway splashing through the mud and talked to the innkeeper Above pier's had some pigeons disturbed by the movement he had made in sitting up Fleddered under the dark roof of the penthouse The whole courtyard was permeated by a strong peaceful smell of stable yards Delightful to pier at that moment he could see the clear starry sky between the dark roofs of two penthouses Thank god there is no more of that he thought covering up his head again Oh what a terrible thing is fair and how shamefully I yielded to it But they they were steady and calm all the time to the end thought he They in pier's mind were the soldiers those who had been at the battery Those who had given him food and those who had prayed before the icon They those strange men he had not previously known stood out clearly and sharply from everyone else To be a soldier just a soldier thought pier as he fell asleep To enter communal life completely to be imbued by what makes them what they are But how cast off all the superfluous devilish burden of my outer man There was a time when I could have done it I could have run away from my father as I wanted to or I might have been sent to serve as a soldier after the duel with Dullakoff and the memory of the dinner at the English club when he had challenged Dullakoff Flash through pier's mind and then he remembered his benefactor at torzok And now a picture of solemn meeting of the lodge presented itself to his mind It was taking place at the English club and someone near and dear to him sat at the end of the table Yes, that is he it is my benefactor But he died thought pier Yes, he died and I did not know he was alive How sorry I am that he died and how glad I am that he is alive again On one side of the table sat Anatoly Dullakoff and his vitsky Din is off and others like them In his dream the category to which these men belonged was as clearly defined in his mind as the category of those he termed They and he heard those people Anatoly and Dullakoff shouting and singing loudly Yet through their shouting the voice of his benefactor was heard speaking all the time And the sound of his words was as weighty and uninterrupted as the booming on the battlefield but pleasant and comforting Pier did not understand what his benefactor was saying But he knew the categories of thoughts were also quite distinct in his dream that he was talking of goodness and the possibility of being what they were And they with their simple kind firm faces surrounded his benefactor on all sides But though they were kindly they did not look at pier and did not know him Wishing to speak and to attract their attention he got up. But at that moment his legs grew cold and bare He felt ashamed and with one arm covered his legs from which his cloak had in fact slipped For a moment as he was rearranging his cloak pier opened his eyes and saw the same penthouse roofs Posts and yard But now they were all bluish lit up and glittering with frost or dew It is dawn thought pier but that's not what I want I want to hear and understand my benefactor's words again. He covered himself up with his cloak But now neither the lodge nor his benefactor was there There were only thoughts clearly expressed in words thoughts that someone was uttering or that he himself was formulating Afterwards when he recalled those thoughts pier was convinced that someone outside himself had spoken them Though the impressions of that day had evoked them He had never it seemed to him been able to think and express his thoughts like that when awake To endure war is the most difficult subordination of man's freedom to the law of god the voice had said Simplicity is submission to the will of god. You could not escape from him and they are simple They do not talk but act the spoken word is silver, but the unspoken is golden Man can be master of nothing while he fears death, but he who does not fear it possesses all If there were no suffering man would not know his limitations would not know himself The hardest thing pier went on thinking or hearing in his dream is to be able in your soul to unite the meaning of all To unite all he asked himself. No not to unite thoughts cannot be united But to harness all these thoughts together is what we need Yes, one must harness them must harness them. He repeated to himself with inner rapture Feeling that these words and they alone expressed what he wanted to say and solve the question that tormented him Yes, one must harness it is time to harness time to harness time to harness your excellency Your excellency some voice was repeating we must harness it is time to harness It was the voice of the groom trying to wake him the sun shone straight into pier's face He glanced at the dirty in-yard in the middle of which soldiers were watering their lean horses at the pump While carts were passing out of the gate pier turned away with repugnance and closing his eyes quickly fell back on the carriage seat No, I don't want that. I don't want to see and understand that I want to understand what was revealing itself to me in my dream One second more and I should have understood it all But what am I to do? Harness but how can I harness everything and pier felt with horror that the meaning of all he had seen and thought in the dream had been destroyed The groom the coachman and the innkeeper told pier that an officer had come with the news That the french were already near mosaisk and that our men were leaving it pier got up and having told them to harness and overtake him went on foot through the town The troops were moving on leaving about 10 000 wounded behind them There were wounded in the yards at the windows of the houses and the streets were crowded with them In the streets around carts that were to take some of the wounded away shouts curses and blows could be heard pier offered the use of his carriage which had overtaken him to a wounded general he knew and drove with him to moscow On the way pier was told of the death of his brother-in-law anatoly and of that of prince andrew End of chapter nine recorded sacramental california april 25th 2009 war and peace book 11 chapter 10 recording for libruvox.org by Ava harnick On the 13th of august pier reached moscow Close to the gates of the city. He was met by contra-stopchins adjutant We have been looking for you everywhere said the adjutant The count wants to see you particularly He asked you to come to him at once on a very important matter Without going home pier took a cab and drove to see the moscow commander-in-chief Count rostoptrin had only that morning returned to town from his summer villa at so-called niki The under room and reception room of his house were full of officials who had been summoned or had come for orders Vasily chikov and platov had already seen the count and explained to him that it was impossible to defend moscow And that it would have to be surrendered Though this news was being concealed from the inhabitants The officials the heads of the various government departments Knew that moscow would soon be in the enemy's hands Just as count rostoptrin himself knew it And to escape personal responsibility They had all come to the governor To ask how they were to deal with their various departments As pier was entering the reception room a courier from the army came out of rostoptrin's private room In answer to questions with which he was greeted The courier made a despairing gesture with his hand and passed through the room While waiting in the reception room pier with weary eyes watched the various officials Old and young military and civilian who were there They all seemed dissatisfied and uneasy pier went up the group of men one of whom he knew After greeting pier they continued their conversation If they were sent out and brought back again later on it will do no harm But as things are now one can't answer for anything But you see what he writes said another pointing to printed sheet he held in his hand That is another matter that is necessary for the people said the first What is it asked pier oh it's a fresh broadsheet pier took it and began reading His serene highness has passed through most heist In order to join up with the troops moving toward him and has taken up a strong position where the enemy will not soon attack him Forty eight guns with ammunition have been sent him from here And his serene highness says he will defend moscow to the last drop of blood And is even ready to fight in the streets Do not be upset brothers that the law courts are closed Sinks have to be put in order and we will deal with villains in our own way When the time comes I shall want both town and peasant lads and will raise the cry a day or two beforehand But they are not wanted yet So I hold my peace An axe will be useful a hunting spear not bad But a three-pronged fork will be best of all A Frenchman is no heavier than a sheaf of rye Tomorrow after dinner I shall take the iberian icon of the mother of god to the wounded in the catching hospital Where we will have some water blessed That will help them to get well quicker I too am well now one of my eyes was sore But now I am on the lookout with both But military men have told me that it is impossible to fight in the town set pier And that the position Well, of course, that is what we were saying replied the first speaker And what does he mean by one of my eyes was sore, but now I am on the lookout with both asked pier The count had a stye replied the adjutant smiling and was very much upset when I told him people had come to ask What was the matter with him? By the by count he added suddenly addressing pier with a smile We heard that you have family troubles And that the counters your wife I have heard nothing pier replied unconcernedly, but what have you heard? Oh, well, you know people often invent things I only say what I heard But what did you hear? Well, they say continued the adjutant with the same smile That the counters your wife is preparing to go abroad I expect it is nonsense Possibly remarked pier looking about him absentmindedly And who is that he asked Indicating a short old man in a clean blue peasant overcoat With a big snow white beard and eyebrows and a ruddy face He that's a tradesman that is to say he's the restaurant keeper Where is Charkin? Perhaps you have heard of that affair with the proclamation Oh, so that is where is Charkin said pier looking at the firm calm face of the old man And seeking any indication of his being a traitor That is not he himself That is the father of the fellow who wrote the proclamation said the adjutant The young man is in prison and I expect it will go hard with him An old gentleman wearing a star and another official a German wearing a cross around his neck approach the speaker It is a complicated story, you know said the adjutant That proclamation appeared about two months ago. The count was informed of it He gave orders to investigate the matter Gabriel Ivanovich here made the inquiries The proclamation had passed through exactly 63 hands He asked one From whom did you get it from so-and-so? He went to the next one from whom did you get it? And so on till he reached Vereshchagin A half educated tradesman, you know a pet of a trader said the adjutant smiling They asked Who gave it to you and the point is that we knew whom he had it from He could only have had it from the postmaster But evidently they had come to some understanding He replied from no one. I made it up myself They threatened and questioned him, but he stuck to that I made it up myself And so it was reported to the count who sent for the man From whom did you get the proclamation? I wrote it myself Well, you know the count said the adjutant cheerfully with a smile of pride He fled up dreadfully And just think of the fellow's audacity Lying and obstinacy And the count wanted him to say it was from Klu Charov I understand said Pierre Not at all rejoined the adjutant in dismay Klu Charov had his own sins to answer for without that And that is why he has been banished But the point is that the count was much annoyed How could you have written it yourself said he and he took up the hamburger set that was lying on the table Here it is You did not write it yourself, but translated it and translated it abominably Because you don't even know French, you fool And what do you think? No, said he, I have not read any papers. I made it up myself If that is so, you are a traitor and I will have you tried and you will be hanged Say from whom you had it I have seen no papers. I made it up myself And that was the end of it The count had the father fetched, but the fellow stuck to it He was sent for trial and condemned to hard labor, I believe Now the father has come to intercede for him But he's a good for nothing, lad You know, that sort of tradesman's son, a dandy and lady killer He attended some lectures somewhere and imagines that the devil is no match for him That is the sort of fellow he is His father keeps a cook shop here by the stone bridge And you know, there was a large icon of God Almighty Painted with a scepter in one hand and an orb in the other Well, he took that icon home with him for a few days and what did he do? He found some scoundrel of a painter And of chapter 10 Recording by Eva Harnick, Pontevedra, Florida War and Peace Book 11, Chapter 11 Read for LibreVox.org by Geneva In the middle of this fresh tale, Pierre was summoned to Commander-in-Chief When he entered the private room, Count was stoppighing, Packering his face, was rubbing his forehead and eyes with his hand A short man was saying something, but when Pierre entered, he stopped speaking and went out Oh, how do you do, great warrior? Said the restitution as soon as the short man had left the room We have heard of a powers, but that's not the point But to ourselves, Moshear, do belong to the Masons He went down severely, as though there was something wrong about it Which he nevertheless intended to pardon Pierre remained silent I am well informed, my friend, but I am aware that there are Masons And I hope that you are not one of those who are pretends of saving mankind wish to ruin Russia Yes, I am a Mason, Pierre replied There you see, Moshear I expect you know that Messias Spronsky and Magnitsky have been deported to their proper place Mr. Kluscharov has been treated in the same way And so have others who on the plea of building up the temple of Solomon have tried to destroy the temple of their fatherland You can understand that there are reasons for this, and that I could not have excited Postmaster had he not been a harmful person It has now come to my knowledge that you lent him your carriage for his removal from town And that you have even accepted papers from him for safe custody I like you and don't wish you any harm And as you are only half my age, I advise you, as a father would, to cease all communication with men of that stamp and to live here as soon as possible But what did Kluscharov do wrong, can't asked Pierre That is for me to know, but not for you to ask, shot his restructuring If he has accused of circulating Napoleon's proclamation, it is not proved that he did so Said Pierre without looking at restructuring and verse charging There we are, restructuring shouted at Pierre louder than before, thrown in suddenly Verse charging is a renegade and a traitor who will be punished as he deserves Said he was the vindictive heat with which people speak when recording an insult But I did not summon you to discuss my actions but to give you advice or in order if you prefer it I beg you to leave the town and break off all communication with such men as Kluscharov And I will knock the nonsense out of anybody But probably realizing that he was shouting at Pazukhov, who so far was not guilty of anything, he added, taking Pierre's hand in a friendly manner We are on the eve of a public disaster, and I haven't time to be polite to everybody who has business with me My head is sometimes in a whirl Well, Moshear, what are you doing personally? Why, nothing, answered Pierre without raising his eyes or changing the subtle expression on his face To confront, I word a friendly advice, Moshear, be off as soon as you can, that's all I have to tell you, happy he who has ears to hear Goodbye, my dear fellow Oh, by the by, he shouted through the doorway after Pierre Is it true that the context has fallen into the clutches of the holy fathers of the society of Jesus? Pierre did not answer and left the restructuring room more silent and angry than he had ever before shown himself When he reached home, it was already getting dark Some eight people had come to see him that evening, the secretary of a committee, the colonel of his battalion, his steward, his major domo, and various petitioners They all had business with Pierre and wanted decisions from him Pierre did not understand and was not interested in any of these questions and only answered them in order to get rid of these people When left alone at last, he opened and read his wife's letter They, the soldiers at the battery, Prince Andrew killed, said old man Simplicity is submission to God, suffering is necessary Dominion of all, one must harness, my wife is getting married, one must forget and understand And going to his bed, he threw himself on it, without addressing and immediately fell asleep When he awoke next morning, the major domo came to inform him that a special messenger, a police officer, had come from Count Restorption to know whether Count Bazukov had left or was leaving the town A dozen persons who had business with Pierre were waiting him in the drawing room Pierre dressed hurriedly and, instead of going to see them, went to the back porch and out through the gate From that time, till the end of the destruction of Moscow, knew one of Bazukov's household, despite all the such they made, saw Pierre again or knew where he was End of Chapter 11 War and Peace Book 11 Chapter 12 Read for LibriVox.org by Paul McCartan The raw stuffs remained in Moscow till the 1st of September That is, till the eve of the enemy's entry into the city After Petya had joined Obolensky's regiment of Cossacks and left for Belayasirkov where that regiment was forming, the Countess was seized with terror The thought that both her sons were at the war had both gone from under her wing, that today or tomorrow either or both of them might be killed like the three sons of one of her acquaintances struck her that summer for the first time with cruel clearness She tried to get Nicholas back and wished to go herself to join Petya or to get him an appointment somewhere in Petersburg But neither of these proved possible Petya could not return unless his regiment did so or unless he was transferred to another regiment on active service Nicholas was somewhere with the army and had not sent a word since his last letter in which he had given a detailed account of his meeting with Princess Mary The Countess did not sleep at night or when she did fall asleep dreamed that she saw her sons lying dead After many consultations and conversations the count at last devised means to tranquilize her He got Petya transferred from Obolensky's regiment to Besukovs which was in training near Moscow Though Petya would remain in the service this transfer would give the Countess the consolation of seeing at least one of her sons under her wing and she hoped to arrange matters for her Petya so as not to let him go again but always get him appointed to places where he could not possibly take part in the battle As long as Nicholas alone was in danger the Countess imagined that she loved her firstborn more than all her other children and even reproached herself for it But when her youngest, the scapegrace who had been bad at lessons was always breaking things in the house and making himself a nuisance to everybody That snub-nosed Petya with his merry black eyes and fresh rosy cheeks where soft down was just beginning to show When he was throwing amid those big, dreadful, cruel men who were fighting somewhere about something and apparently finding pleasure in it then his mother thought she loved him more much more than all her other children The nearer the time came for Petya to return the more uneasy grew the Countess She began to think she would never live to see such happiness The presence of Sonia, of her beloved Natasha or even of her husband irritated her What do I want with them? I want no one but Petya, she thought At the end of August the Rostaus received another letter from Nicholas He rode from the province of Arones where he had been sent to procure remounts But that letter did not set the Countess at ease Knowing that one son was out of danger she became the more anxious about Petya Though by the 20th of August nearly all of the Rostaus acquaintances had left Moscow and though everybody tried to persuade the Countess to get away as quickly as possible she would not bear of leaving before her treasure her adored Petya returned On the 28th of August he arrived The passionate tenderness with which his mother received him did not please the 16-year-old officer Though she concealed from him her intention of keeping him under her wing Petya guessed her designs and instinctively fearing that he might give way to emotion when with her might become womanish as he termed it to himself He treated her coldly avoided her and during his stay in Moscow attached himself exclusively to Natasha for whom he had always had a particularly brotherly tenderness almost lover-like Owing to the Count's customary carelessness nothing was ready for their departure by the 28th of August and the carts that were to come from their Ryazan and Moscow estates to remove their household belongings did not arrive till the 30th From the 28th till the 31st all Moscow was in a bustle and commotion Every day thousands of men wounded at Borodino were brought in by the Dorogomilov Gate and taken to various parts of Moscow and thousands of carts conveyed the inhabitants and their possessions out by the other gates In spite of Rostapshin's broadsheets or because of them or independently of them the strangest and most contradictory rumors were current in the town Some said that no one was to be allowed to leave the city others on the contrary said that all the icons had been taken out of the churches and everybody was to be ordered to leave Some said there had been another battle after Borodino at which the French had been routed while others on the contrary reported that the Russian army had been destroyed Some talked about the Moscow militia which, preceded by the clergy would go to the Three Hills Others whispered that Augustine had been forbidden to leave that traders had been seized that the peasants were rioting and robbing people on their way from Moscow and so on But all this was only talk In reality though the council of Philly at which it was decided to abandon Moscow had not yet been held Both those who went away and those who remained behind felt though they did not show it that Moscow would certainly be abandoned and that they ought to get away as quickly as possible and save their belongings It was felt that everything would suddenly break up and change but up to the 1st of September nothing had done so As a criminal who is being led to execution knows that he must die immediately but yet looks about him and straightens the cap that is a riot in his head So Moscow involuntarily continued its wanted life Though it knew that the time of its destruction was near when the conditions of life to which its people were accustomed to submit would be completely upset During the three days preceding the occupation of Moscow the whole Rostov family was absorbed in various activities The head of the family Count Ilya Rostov continually drove about the city collecting the current rumours from all sides and gave superficial and hasty orders at home about the preparations for their departure The Countess watched the things being packed was dissatisfied with everything was constantly in pursuit of Petia who was always running away from her and was jealous of Natasha with whom he spent all his time Sonya alone directed the practical side of matters by getting things packed but of late Sonya had been particularly sad and silent Nicholas's letter in which he mentioned Princess Mary had elicited in her presence joyous comments from the Countess who saw an intervention of providence in this meeting of the Princess and Nicholas I was never pleased at Balkansky's engagement to Natasha said the Countess but I always wanted Nicholas to marry the Princess and had a presentiment that it would happen what a good thing it would be Sonya felt that this was true that the only possibility of retrieving the Rostov's affairs was by Nicholas marrying a rich woman and that the Princess was a good match it was very bitter for her but despite her grief or perhaps just because of it she took on herself all the difficult work of directing the story and packing of their things and was busy for whole days the Count and Countess turned to her when they had any orders to give Petia and Natasha on the contrary far from helping their parents were generally a nuisance and hindrance to everyone almost all day long the house resounded with their running feet their cries and their spontaneous laughter they laughed and were gay not because there was any reason to laugh but because Gayety and Murth were in their hearts and so everything that happened was a cause for Gayety and laughter to them Petia was in high spirits because having left home a boy he had returned as everybody told him a fine young man because he was at home because he had left Belyas Serkov where there was no hope of soon taking part in the battle and had come to Moscow where there was to be fighting in a few days and chiefly because Natasha whose lead he always followed was in high spirits Natasha was gay because she had been sad too long and now nothing reminded her of the cause of her sadness and because she was feeling well she was also happy because she had someone to adore her the adoration of others was a lubricant the wheels of her machine needed to make them run freely and Petia adored her above all they were gay because there was a war near Moscow they would be fighting at the town gates arms were being given out everybody was escaping going away somewhere and in general something extraordinary was happening and that is always exciting especially to the young end of chapter 12 recording by Paul McCartan in Waterford Ireland February 2009 On Saturday the 31st of August everything in the Rostov's house seemed topsy-turvy all the doors were open all the furniture was being carried out or moved about and the mirrors and pictures had been taken down there were trunks in the rooms and hay wrapping paper and ropes were scattered about the peasants and house-serves getting out the sinks were treading heavily on the parquet floors the yard was crowded with peasant carts some loaded high and already corded up others still empty the voices and footsteps of the many servants and of the peasants who had come with the carts resounded as they shouted to one another in the yard and in the house the count had been out since morning the counters had a headache brought on by all the noise and turmoil and was lying down in the new sitting room with a vinegar compress on her head Petja was not at home he had gone to visit a friend with whom he meant to obtain a transfer from the militia to the active army Sonya was in the ballroom looking after the packing of the glass and china Natasha was sitting on the floor of her dismantled room with dresses, ribbons and scarves strewn all about her gazing fixedly at the floor and holding in her hands the old ball dress already out of fashion which she had worn at her first Petersburg ball Natasha was ashamed of doing nothing when everyone else was so busy and several times that morning had tried to set to work but her heart was not in it and she could not and did not know how to do anything except with all her heart and all her might for a while she had stood beside Sonya while the china was being packed and tried to help but soon gave it up and went to her room to pack her own things at first she found it amusing to give away dresses and ribbons to the maids but when that was done and what was left had still to be packed she found it dull Do Nyasha, you pack you will, won't you dear and when Do Nyasha willingly promised to do it all for her Natasha sat down on the floor took her old ball dress and fell into a reverie quite unrelated to what ought to have occupied her thoughts now she was roused from her reverie by the talk of the maids in the next room which was theirs and by the sound of their hurried footsteps going to the back porch Natasha got up and looked out of the window an enormously long row of cards full of wounded men had stomped in the street the housekeeper the old nurse the cook's coachmen maids footmen postillions and scullions stood at the gate staring at the wounded Natasha throwing a clean pocket handkerchief over her hair and holding an end of it in each hand went out into the street the former housekeeper the old mavera Guzminichna had stepped out of the crowd by the gate gone up to a cart with a hood constructed of basks mats and was speaking to a pale young officer who lay inside Natasha moved a few steps forward and stopped charlie still holding her handkerchief and listened to what the housekeeper was saying then you have nobody in the housekeeper nobody in Moscow she was saying you would be more comfortable somewhere in a house in ours for instance the family are leaving I don't know if it would be allowed replied the officer in a weak voice here is our commanding officer ask him and he pointed to a stout major who was walking back along the street past the row of cards Natasha glanced with frightened eyes at the face of the wounded officer and at once went to meet the major May the wounded man stay in our house she asked the major raised his hand to his cap with a smile which one do you want mom's cell said he's screwing up his eyes and smiling Natasha quietly repeated her question and her face and her face and whole manner were so serious though she was still holding the ends of her handkerchief that the major see smiling and after some reflection as if considering in how far the thing was possible replied in the affirmative oh yes why not they may he said with a slight inclination of her head Natasha stepped back quickly to Mavra Kuzminichnya who stood talking compassionately to the officer they may he says they may whispered Natasha the card in which the officer lay was turned into the rust of yard and dozens of cards with wounded men began at the invitation of the townsfolk to turn into the yards and to draw up at the entrances of the houses in Povarskaya street Natasha was evidently pleased to be dealing with new people outside the ordinary routine of her life she and Mavra Kuzminichnya tried to get as many of the wounded as possible into their yard your papa must be told though said Mavra Kuzminichnya never mind never mind what does it matter for one day we can move into the drawing room they can have all our half of the house there now young lady you do take things into your head even if we put them into the wing the men's room or the nurses room we must ask permission well I will ask Natasha ran into the house and went on tiptoe through the half open door into the sitting room where there was a smell of vinegar and Hoffman's drops are you asleep mama oh what sleep said the counters waking up just as she was dropping into her doors mama darling said Natasha kneeling by her mother and bringing her face close to her mother's I am sorry forgive me I will never do it again I woke you up Mavra Kuzminichnya had sent me they have brought some wounded here officers will you let them come they have nowhere to go I knew you would let them come she said quickly all in one breath what officers whom have they brought I don't understand anything about it said the counters Natasha laughed and the counters too smiled slightly I knew you would give permission so I will tell them and having kissed her mother Natasha got up and went to the door in the hall she met her father who had returned with bad news we have stayed too long said the counter is involuntary vexation the club is closed and the police are leaving Papa is it all right I have invited some of the wounded into the house said Natasha of course it is he answered absently that is not the point I beg you not to indulge in trifles now but to help to pack and tomorrow we must go go go and the count gave a similar order to the major domo and the servants at dinner Petr having returned home told them the news he had heard he said the people had been getting arms in the Kremlin and that though Rostovchin's broadsheet had said that he would sound a call two or three days in advance the order had certainly already been given for everyone to go armed to the three hills tomorrow and that there would be a big battle there the countess looked with timid horror at her son's eager excited face as he said this she realized that if she said a word about his not going to the battle she knew he enjoyed the thought of the impending engagement he would say something about man honor and the fatherland something senseless masculine and obstinate which there would be no contradicting and her plans would be spoiled and so hoping to arrange to leave before then and take Petr Vizha as their protector and defender she did not answer him but after dinner called the countess side and implored him with tears to take her away quickly that very night if possible Vizha woman's involuntary loving cunning she who till then had not shown any alarm said that she would die of fright if they did not leave that very night without any pretense she was now afraid of everything end of chapter 13 recording by