Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen

Pierre has changed little outwardly.Outwardly he was the same as before.He was just as absent-minded as before, as if he was concerned not with some things in front of him, but with something special about himself.The difference between his past state and his present state is that before, when he forgot what was in front of him and what people said to him, he always knit his brow tightly, as if he wanted to see clearly Something that couldn't be seen clearly, something that was far away from him.He still does not remember what was said to him, and everything that happened before his eyes; but now he looks at what is in front of him with an invisible smile that seems to be mocking, and listens. What was said to him, though what he saw and heard was obviously something else entirely.Formerly, though he appeared to be a good man, he was, however, an unhappy man; therefore, he was always shunned from a distance.But now, there is often a smile of joy in life on the corner of his mouth, and a sympathetic light in his eyes-as if asking: Is he as satisfied as I am?As long as he is present, people are happy.

In the past, he was always eloquent and impassioned when he talked, he only talked about himself and seldom listened to others; now he is not very keen on this kind of conversation and is good at listening to others, so people also Willing to tell him the most secret thoughts. The princess, who had never liked Pierre and was particularly disgusted with him, felt herself indebted to him since the death of the old count.To her annoyance and surprise, after her short stay in Orel, where she had intended to show that, despite his ingratitude, she still considered it her duty to take care of him, the princess soon felt that she liked Pittsburgh. El.Pierre never tried to please the princess.He just watched her with a kind of curiosity.At first, the princess felt that there was a cold and mocking look in his eyes, so she behaved very restrained in front of him as in front of others, showing only her life. Aggressive side; and now, on the contrary, he seemed to be exploring the hidden things of her soul; she distrusted him at first, but later showed him the kind side of her character with gratitude.

Even the most cunning person could not so easily win the princess's confidence, and call out to her the memories of the best youth and the love of youth.And all Pierre's cunning at the time consisted only in arousing human emotion in this fierce, ruthless, and peculiarly haughty princess, and he took pleasure in it. "Yes, he is a very, very good man if he is not under the influence of bad men, but under the influence of men like me," said the princess to herself. All these changes in Pierre were noticed by two of his servants, Terenty and Vaska.They found him much more easy-going.Often Terenty would help him undress, take the coat and boots in his hand, say good night to him, and would not leave for a long time, wanting to see if the master had any further orders.Pierre could see that Terenty wanted to talk to him, and Pierre probably wanted to keep him.

"Well, tell me... how did you get food?" Dressed, he would stand there for a long time, sometimes listening to Pierre tell his stories, and then he would return to the antechamber with the kindness and friendliness his master had shown him and his master. The doctor who treated Pierre came to see him every day, although this doctor, according to the habit of ordinary doctors, believes that every minute he has to make is very precious to those who suffer from illness. It seemed, however, that he used to sit with Pierre for hours at a time, telling his favorite stories and his observations on the temper of patients in general, and women in particular.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to talk to a man like him; he's not like our province," he said. There were several captured French officers in Orel, and the doctor brought one of them, a young Italian officer. The officer was often at Pierre's, and the princess used to laugh at the tenderness the Italian showed for Pierre. The Italian, it seems, was only happy if he could go to Pierre and talk to him, tell Pierre about his past, about his family life, about his love and vent to him his indignation against the French, and especially against Napoleon. "If all Russians were more or less like you," he said to Pierre,

"C'estun sacrilege que defaire la guerrea unpeuple commelevotre, the French have done you so much, and you don't even hate them." -------- ①It is a crime to fight a people like you. Now Pierre had won the whole heart of the Italian, simply because he had awakened his conscience—the good quality of the soul—and he had appreciated this good quality in the soul. During the last days of Pierre's stay in Orel, he was visited by an old friend of his, Count Wilarsky, who had introduced him to the Masonry in 1807.Count Wilarsky married a wealthy Russian woman who owned several large estates in the Orel province, and he found a temporary job in the city's military ration depot.

After Wilarsky learned that Bezukhov was in Orel, although the two of them did not know each other very well, the friendship and enthusiasm that Wilarsky showed when he met him seemed to be in the desert. as when Chinese people meet.Villarsky was very lonely in Orel, and he was very happy to meet someone who belonged to his own circle and at the same time he believed that he had the same interests as himself. But, to Wilarski's surprise, he soon discovered that Pierre had fallen far behind in real life, and he himself had concluded in his heart that Pierre had fallen into indifference and egoism.

"Vous vousen croutez, moncher," he said to him.Although Villarsky now felt happier with Pierre than ever, he went to see Pierre every day.And Pierre, looking at Villarski and listening to him now, felt strange and unbelievable when he thought that he had been like this not so long ago.Wilarsky was a married, married man, busy with his wife's affairs, his own business, and the affairs of the family.He considered all these affairs, in essence, obstacles to life, all base, because they were all for his own and his family's benefit.Military, administrative, political, and Masonic questions continued to attract his attention.Pierre, on the other hand, did not try to change his point of view, did not condemn him, but admired this strange phenomenon, so familiar to him, with that calm, gay sneer that he now often had.

-------- ① French: You are too depressed, my friend. In Pierre's friendship with Villarski, the princess, the doctor, and all the people he met, there was a new feature which won the general favor of all, namely, the recognition that everyone could Think, feel, and see things in your own way; admit that it is impossible to change one's beliefs with words.This reasonable quality, which every human being should have, which had excited and annoyed Pierre before, now served as a basis for sympathy and interest.The different, even diametrically opposite, views of life that people have with each other pleased Pierre and caused him to smile ironically and mildly.

In practical matters, Pierre now felt, unexpectedly, that he had an opinion of what he had encountered, which he had never had before.At first, every money problem, especially when it happened to a very rich man like himself, always made him feel in a dilemma, helpless and anxious when someone asked him for money. "To give or not to give?" he asked himself. "I'm rich, and he needs money. But there are others who need money more. But who needs it most? Maybe they're a pair of liars?" If he finds any solution, as long as he has money, he will give it to anyone who asks him, and give it to everyone.In the past, whenever a question about property was encountered, some people said that it should be done this way, while others said that it should be done that way, and he, too, did not know what to do.

Now, to his surprise, he was no longer indecisive and anxious about all this.Now a judge arose in him, deciding what should be done and what should not be done, according to some laws unknown to himself. He was still as casual about money matters as ever, but he now clearly knew what to do and what not to do.The first thing this new inquisitor did for him was to respond to a request made to him by a captured French colonel: the colonel related to Pierre his many exploits, and in the end he was almost officially Ask Pierre for four thousand francs to send to his wife and children.Pierre rejected him without the slightest effort or tension, and when the matter was over, he himself was amazed that such a problem, which had seemed insoluble in the past, turned out to be such a problem. Simple, so a breeze.While refusing the colonel's request, he made up his mind that when he left Orel he had to use some cunning to get the Italian officer to accept some money from him, which he obviously needed. of.Pierre once again proved that he really had his own mind on the practical problems he encountered, dealing with his wife's debts and whether to restore his house and dacha in Moscow. His steward came to see him in Orel, and Pierre, together with him, made a rough calculation of the changed income.According to the steward's estimate, Pierre lost about 20,000 rubles in the Moscow fire. Consoling Pierre for these losses, the steward reckoned with Pierre, saying that, notwithstanding these losses, if he had refused to pay the debt owed to the duke's daughter, he would not have paid it. Obligations of these debts; if he does not repair his house in Moscow and dachas in the suburbs of Moscow, these buildings will get nothing except the huge expenditure of 80,000 rubles a year. will decrease, but will increase. "Yes, yes, that's true," said Pierre, smiling happily; "yes, yes, I don't need all that, I'm a rich man because I'm broke. " But when Saveliich came here from Moscow in January, he told about the situation in Moscow, and also about the architect's budget for the restoration of a house in Moscow and a dacha in the suburbs of Moscow, when he told about these things It was as if he was talking about something that had already been decided.During this period Pierre received letters from Petersburg from Prince Vasili and some other acquaintances.Debts owed by his wife are mentioned in these letters.Then Pierre decided that the plan proposed by the steward, which pleased him so much, was wrong, that he must go to Petersburg to settle all the affairs of his wife; he must go to Moscow to repair the house.As for why he did this, he didn't know, but he knew unequivocally that it should be done this way.As a result of his decision, his income was cut by three quarters.But it should be done; he felt it. Wilarsky was going to Moscow, and they agreed to go together. Throughout Pierre's recovery in Orel, he experienced firsthand the freedom and the joys of life; however, this feeling became more apparent when he saw hundreds of strangers' faces in the world of freedom during his travels. It's even more intense.During the whole journey, he felt the kind of joy that a schoolboy feels during his vacation.Everyone: the coachman, the post-keeper, the peasants on the road or in the village—all these people only pleased Pierre more in these words of his.Wilarski's eyes took on a new meaning.Along the way, Wilarsky kept complaining that Russia was poorer than Europe, backward than Europe, plus ignorance. What Wilarsky saw in his eyes was a lifeless place, but Pierre was in the sky. In the heavy snow, I saw a very strong vitality in this boundless land, which supports the life of this complete, unique and unified nation.Instead of contradicting Wilarski, he seemed to agree with what he said (an unintentional agreement is one of the easiest ways to avoid unnecessary arguments), but with a cheerful smile, he listened. Follow his talk.