Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-Five

Within a year of his son's departure, the old Prince Nikolai Andreevich Bolkonsky's health was weakening and his willpower was failing.He had become more excitable than before, and most likely vented his unprovoked anger on Princess Marya.He seemed to find fault with her various weaknesses, trying to torture her mentally as cruelly as possible.Princess Marya had two passions, and therefore two pleasures: nephew Nikolushka and religion, both of which were favorite subjects of offense and ridicule for the old prince.No matter what he said, he always attributed the topic to the superstition of spinsters and the pampering of children. "It's no use trying to turn him (Nikolushka) into a spinster like yourself; Prince Andrew needs a son, not a virgin," he said.Or when he was dealing with Mademoiselle Bourienne, he asked Princess Mary how she liked our priest and our statue, and he joked...

He insulted Princess Marya so continually and mercilessly that his daughter could not even restrain herself in order to forgive him.Will he offend his daughter?Would her father (who, she knew after all, loved her) be unfair?And what is fair?The princess never thought of this proud word: "fairness".For her, all the complex laws of human beings can be gathered into one simple law, the law of love and self-sacrifice, which God himself has taught us from God himself, who suffered for all mankind with love. rules.What does the fairness or injustice of others matter to her?She deserved to suffer herself, to love others, and she did.

In winter Prince Andrei used to come to Bald Mountain, he was very cheerful and gentle, and Princess Marya had not seen him like this for a long time.She had a presentiment that something had happened to him, but he had nothing to say about love to Princess Marya.Prince Andrei had a long conversation with his father before he left, and Princess Marya noticed that they both expressed dissatisfaction with each other before he left. Not long after Prince Andrei's departure, Princess Maria wrote a letter to her friend Julie Karagina in Petersburg from Bald Hills. Lily Karagina married her brother "The Concept of Fear", "The Stages of the Path of Life", "Education in Christianity", while her friend was mourning for her brother who died in Turkey.

"Dear, tender friend Julie, Grief appears to be our common misfortune. Your loss is so appalling that I can only explain to myself that it was a special gift from God who wanted to test you and your wonderful mother out of love for you.Ah, my friend, religion, religion alone, needless to say, can comfort us from our disappointment, religion alone can explain to us what human beings cannot understand without the help of religion; to what end and why Those who are good, noble, who know how to find happiness in life, who not only do no harm to anyone, but are indispensable to the happiness of others, should be called to God, while those who are malicious, useless, harmful elements, or those who The man who is a burden to himself and others survives.The death of the first person I will never forget—the death of my dear sister-in-law made that impression on me.Just as you asked about the fate of people, why should your best brother die, so I asked Lisa, far from doing harm to others, and that she never had any evil thoughts in her heart except good ones. , Why did this Angel die?My friend, what's the matter?You see, five years have passed since then, and I have begun to understand, with my paltry wisdom, why she deserved to die, a death which was but an expression of the infinite kindness of the Creator, whose deeds For although we mostly do not understand it, it is only an expression of his infinite benevolence for his creatures.Perhaps I have often thought that she was too pure and angelic to be able to take on the duties of a mother.Her young wife was impeccable, and perhaps she could not have been such a mother.And what she bequeathed to us at present, and especially to Prince Andrew, was pure pity and nostalgia.She will probably acquire a place in the underworld that we dare not hope for ourselves.But it is not necessary to speak of her alone, for such a dreadful death, though terribly sad, has had an exceedingly good effect on me and on my brother.Back then, in the moment of loss, it was impossible for me to have that thought in my head, and then I brushed it off out of fear, but now the problem is so obvious and unquestionable.I am writing all this to you now, my friend, only to convince you of the truth of the Gospel which is my rule of life: not a hair will fall from our heads if God does not consent .And God's will is based only on infinite love for us, so that whatever happens to us, it is for our good.You ask if we are spending the winter in Moscow?Although I would like to meet with you, I do not want or wish to.You will be amazed that Bonaparte was the cause of the hindrance.Here's why: My father's health was visibly weakened: he could not bear opposition, and gradually became irritable.You know that a lot of the irritation is about politics.To think that Bonaparte was on a par with all the princes of Europe, and especially with ours—

The grandson of the great Catherine is neck and neck, he just can't stand it!You know, I don't care about politics at all, but from my father's words, from his conversations with Mikhail Ivanovich, I know everything that is going on in the world , the material is expensive. ’, especially knowing that people pay homage to Bonaparte, as if only Bald Mountain on the whole earth didn’t recognize Bonaparte not only as a great man, but even as Emperor of France. My father couldn’t stand such things. It seemed to me, My father foresaw the inevitable conflict, mainly because of his own views on political issues, but also because of his style of expressing his opinions freely to anyone, so he did not like to mention the trip to Moscow. Avoid the controversy about Bonaparte, he will lose all the curative effects he has achieved. In any case, the matter will be settled quickly. Our family life, except for the absence of brother Andrei, will continue as usual. As As I wrote in my letter, he has changed a lot lately. After suffering, his mental outlook has not fully recovered until this year. He has become like the one I used to know when I was a child: kind, gentle, with a kind heart. A heart unrivalled. It seems to me that he understands that life is not over for him. But with this mental change, his physical strength is weakened. He has become thinner than before. I am more nervous. I am worried for him, but I am glad that he has gone abroad, as the doctors told him long ago. I hope that the treatment abroad will restore him. Write and tell me that Petersburg has treated him well. What has this active, learned and intelligent young man said. Please forgive my relative's pride, I have never doubted it.

The good he has done here to everyone, from his peasants to his nobles, is innumerable.When he got to Petersburg, all he got was what he deserved.I find it strange that rumors from Petersburg keep reaching Moscow, especially unreliable rumors, as you write, including one about my brother's marriage to the petite Rostova. rumor.I don't think Andre is going to marry anyone, especially her.Here's why: First, I know that although he seldom talks about his late wife, the grief of this loss is so ingrained in him that he can't make up his mind to remarry or give our little angel Find a stepmother.Secondly, as far as I know, this girl is not among Prince Andrew's favorite women, and I do not think that Prince Andrew would choose her as his wife, and I frankly do not wish him to.But I've been chatting for too long, and I'm almost done writing the second paper.Farewell, my dear friend, may God place you under His holy and mighty protection.My dear friend, Mademoiselle Bourienne, I kiss you.

Mary. "