Chapter 7 Chapter VII

About two years ago, in 1808, Pierre returned to Petersburg after traversing the territory.Pierre had no choice but to become the head of the Petersburg Freemasonry.He started the mess hall of the Masonry chapter, built the buildings over the grave, recruited new members, took care of the connections of the various chapters and obtained real appointments.He provided money to build the building, and as far as possible to make up the money used for charity, most members are very stingy and don't give money on time.He almost alone maintained a poorhouse built by the Freemasons in Petersburg at his own expense.

Meanwhile, his life went on as usual, still indulging in excess.He loved good food and good wine, and although he considered it immoral and detrimental to his self-respect, he could not refuse the entertainment of the bachelor society in which he participated. Pierre, after a year of trifling and merriment, began to feel that the more he tried to gain a foothold in Masonic soil, the more the ground sank beneath his feet.At the same time, he felt that the deeper the ground he trodden sank under his feet, the more involuntarily he clung to it.When he embarked on Masonic activities he had the feeling of someone putting one foot trustingly on the flat surface of a bog.He put one foot on it and it sank.In order to get a good idea of ​​the hardness of the ground on which he was standing, he put his other foot on it, sank deeper into the mire, and walked involuntarily up and down in the knee-deep mud go.

Joseph Alexievich was not in Petersburg. (He had recently resigned from the Petersburg Masonic branch and lived a secluded life in Moscow.) Brothers and brothers, the members of the Masonic branch were all people Pierre knew on a daily basis, and it was difficult for him to regard them as only Think of them as brothers and sisters of the Freemasonry, not as the belief of the Duke of so-and-so.Putting forward the point of view of the distinction between heaven and man, arguing and expounding the "mandate of heaven and using it", or so-and-so Ivan Vasilyevich, most of these people he knows on weekdays are weak and insignificant people.Beneath their aprons and emblems, he saw their uniforms and crosses for their hard work.Pierre used to collect money for charity, counting the twenty to thirty rubles he got from ten members in the income account, most of them were owed, but half of them were as rich as he was, so Pierre I remembered the Masonic oath: every Mason swears to give all his property for others, and a doubt arose in him which he tried to dispel.

He divided the brothers and sisters he knew into four categories.He does not actively participate in the work of the branch, nor does he intervene in secular activities, but specializes in the study of the mystical teachings of Freemasonry, the question of the title of the Trinity of God, or the question of the three major factors: sulfur, mercury and salt, or the question of Solomon. The square of the temple and the meaning of various objects.Pierre respected this class of brothers, to whom, in his opinion, mainly the older brothers and Joseph Alexievich himself belonged, but Pierre did not share their aspirations.His heart was not on the mystical side of Masonicism.

He put himself and his fellow brothers and sisters in the second category, those who were searching, hesitant, who had not yet found a suitable direct path in Freemasonry, but hoped to find it. He classifies such brothers and sisters into the third category (they are the most numerous) who see only external forms and rituals, and see nothing else in Freemasonry. Although they cherish this strict external form, Don't care about its content and meaning. Wilarski, and even the heads of major chapters fall into this category. In addition, there are many brothers and sisters who are classified into the fourth category, especially those who joined the association recently.According to Pierre's observation, these people have neither any belief nor any aspirations. The brothers and sisters of the noble family are close to each other.

Pierre began to feel that he was not satisfied with his activities.It seemed to him at times that Freemasonry, at least the Freemasonry he knew here, was only on the surface.He did not want to doubt Freemasonry itself at all, but he suspected that Russian Freemasonry was going down a wrong path, that it had strayed from its origins.Pierre therefore went abroad at the end of the year in order to obtain the secrets of the Masonic superiors. In the summer of 1809 Pierre returned to Petersburg.According to our Freemasons’ communications with foreign countries, Bezukhov has gained the trust of many high-level people in foreign countries, learned many secrets, was awarded high positions, and brought back many benefits to the public welfare of the Russian Freemasonry.All the freemasons in Petersburg came to visit him and flatter him. Everyone seemed to think that he was hiding something and was planning something.

The general meeting of the second-level branch has been confirmed, and Pierre promised to make a report at the branch instead of the top leader of the Freemasonry to convey the content of the instructions to the brothers and sisters in Petersburg.There were a lot of people in attendance.After the ordinary ceremony, Pierre stood up to speak. "Dear brothers and sisters," he began, blushing and stammering, holding a written speech in his hand, "it is not enough to keep our secrets in a secluded place in the branch, we must take Action... action. We are all in a sleepy state, but we are going to act." Pierre picked up his notebook and began to read.

"To spread the pure truth and acquire the noble character," he read, "we shall cleanse the prejudices of the people, spread the codes in keeping with the spirit of the age, undertake to educate the youth, unite closely with the wisest, boldly and wisely To overcome superstition, atheism, and ignorance, and to produce men of power who are true to us, united by a common purpose. "To this end, virtue should prevail over vice, and every effort should be made to enable honest men in this life to obtain perpetual rewards for their virtues. But the present political establishment presents great hindrances to our great aspirations. In What should we do in this situation? Should we promote revolution, overthrow everything that exists, and drive out violence with violence?... No, we have no such intention at all. As long as people remain like this, any violent reform should Criticized because it does nothing to abolish evil; and because prudence does not need violence.

"The whole project of Freemasonry must be founded on that basis: to produce men of firm and moral integrity, united with each other by a common conviction, that every effort should be made everywhere to purify crime and ignorance, and To shelter genius and virtue, to rescue the best from the ashes, to join us in Freemasonry. Only we Freemasonry held power at that time - ruthlessly bound the arms of those who protected riots, and kept them involuntarily regulated In a word, it is necessary to establish a general mode of government, which will be universal throughout the world, without prejudice to the mutual relations of the peoples; all other institutions of government may continue to exist, and conduct all business, provided that they do not hinder our Freemasonry. The attainment of the great end is the triumph of virtue over vice. Christianity itself intends to achieve this end. It teaches man to be a virtuous and good man, and that it is for his own good to follow the example of the best and wisest, and to follow their example. teach.

"When all is in darkness, it goes without saying that preaching is enough: previously unknown truths endow it with special power, but what we need now is the most effective method. Now let the passions Everyone who dominates finds the fascination of the sensual in the attention to virtue. It is impossible to eradicate passion: only if it is directed to a noble purpose, so that everyone must satisfy his passion within the limits of virtue. We Freemasonry should Various methods are provided for this. "In each of our countries there will soon be some good men, each of whom educates two others, who are closely bound up with each other, and then all is achievable for Freemasonry, because it Has secretly made many contributions to the welfare of mankind."

The speech made not only a strong impression but a stir in the branch.Most of the brothers and sisters saw the dangerous attempt of the Illuminati in this speech, and showed the indifference to his speech that surprised Pierre.The instructor began to refute Pierre.Pierre began to play with his thoughts, and his emotions grew more and more intense.It has been a long time since such a lively discussion was held.Two factions formed here: some accused Pierre and criticized his Illuminati ideas; others supported him.What struck Pierre for the first time at this meeting was the inexhaustible variety of human intelligence, which leads to the fact that two people seem to have different opinions about any truth.Even those members who were on his side seemed to understand him differently, and understandings were often limited and subject to change, which he could not approve of, since Pierre's main desire was precisely to make what he understood Thoughts are imparted truthfully to others. After the meeting, the instructor reproached Bezukhov with malicious contempt and contempt for his impatience, and said that it was not love of virtue but a keen interest in strife that dominated him in arguments.Pierre did not answer him, but asked curtly whether he would accept his proposal.He was told that his proposal would not be accepted, and Pierre, without waiting for the usual ceremony, left the club and drove home.