Book 1 Chapter 4

ANNA PAVLOVNA smiled and promised to look after Pierre, who was, she knew, related to Prince Vassily on his father's side. The elderly lady, who had been till then sitting by the aunt, got up hurriedly, and over-took Prince Vassily in the hall. All the affectation of interest she had assumed till now vanished. Her kindly, careworn face expressed nothing but anxiety and alarm.

“What have you to tell me, prince, of my Boris?” she said, catching him in the hall. “I can't stay any longer in Petersburg. Tell me what news am I to take to my poor boy?”

Although Prince Vassily listened reluctantly and almost uncivilly to the elderly lady and even showed signs of impatience, she gave him an ingratiating and appealing smile, and to prevent his going away she took him by the arm. “It is nothing for you to say a word to the Emperor, and he will be transferred at once to the Guards,” she implored.

“Believe me, I will do all I can, princess,” answered Prince Vassily; “but it's not easy for me to petition the Emperor. I should advise you to apply to Rumyantsov, through Prince Galitsin; that would be the wisest course.”

The elderly lady was a Princess Drubetskoy, one of the best families in Russia; but she was poor, had been a long while out of society, and had lost touch with her former connections. She had come now to try and obtain the appointment of her only son to the Guards. It was simply in order to see Prince Vassily that she had invited herself and come to Anna Pavlovna's party, simply for that she had listened to the vicomte's story. She was dismayed at Prince Vassily's words; her once handsome face showed exasperation, but that lasted only one moment. She smiled again and grasped Prince Vassily's arm more tightly.

“Hear what I have to say, prince,” she said. “I have never asked you a favour, and never will I ask one; I have never reminded you of my father's affection for you. But now, for God's sake, I beseech you, do this for my son, and I shall consider you my greatest benefactor,” she added hurriedly. “No, don't be angry, but promise me. I have asked Galitsin; he has refused. Be as kind as you used to be,” she said, trying to smile, though there were tears in her eyes.

“Papa, we are late,” said Princess Ellen, turning her lovely head on her statuesque shoulders as she waited at the door.

But influence in the world is a capital, which must be carefully guarded if it is not to disappear. Prince Vassily knew this, and having once for all reflected that if he were to beg for all who begged him to do so, he would soon be unable to beg for himself, he rarely made use of his influence. In Princess Drubetskoy's case, however, he felt after her new appeal something akin to a conscience-prick. She had reminded him of the truth; for his first step upwards in the service he had been indebted to her father. Besides this, he saw from her manner that she was one of those women—especially mothers—who having once taken an idea into their heads will not give it up till their wishes are fulfilled, and till then are prepared for daily, hourly persistence, and even for scenes. This last consideration made him waver.

“Chère Anna Mihalovna,” he said, with his invariable familiarity and boredom in his voice, “it's almost impossible for me to do what you wish; but to show you my devotion to you, and my reverence for your dear father's memory, I will do the impossible—your son shall be transferred to the Guards; here is my hand on it. Are you satisfied?”

“My dear prince, you are our benefactor. I expected nothing less indeed; I know how good you are—” He tried to get away. “Wait a moment, one word. Once in the Guards …” She hesitated. “You are on friendly terms with Mihail Ilarionovitch Kutuzov, recommend Boris as his adjutant. Then my heart will be set at rest, then indeed …”

Prince Vassily smiled. “That I can't promise. You don't know how Kutuzov has been besieged ever since he has been appointed commander-in-chief. He told me himself that all the Moscow ladies were in league together to give him all their offspring as adjutants.”

“No, promise me; I can't let you off, kind, good friend, benefactor …”

“Papa,” repeated the beauty in the same tone, “we are late.”

“Come, au revoir, good-bye. You see how it is.”

“To-morrow then you will speak to the Emperor?”

“Certainly; but about Kutuzov I can't promise.”

“Yes; do promise, promise, Basile,” Anna Mihalovna said, pursuing him with the smile of a coquettish girl, once perhaps characteristic, but now utterly incongruous with her careworn face. Evidently she had forgotten her age and from habit was bringing out every feminine resource. But as soon as he had gone out her face assumed once more the frigid, artificial expression it had worn all the evening. She went back to the group in which the vicomte was still talking, and again affected to be listening, waiting for the suitable moment to get away, now that her object had been attained.

“And what do you think of this latest farce of the coronation at Milan?” said Anna Pavlovna. “And the new comedy of the people of Lucca and Genoa coming to present their petitions to Monsieur Buonaparte. Monsieur Buonaparte sitting on a throne and granting the petitions of nations! Adorable! Why, it is enough to drive one out of one's senses! It seems as though the whole world had lost its head.”

Prince Andrey smiled sarcastically, looking straight into Anna Pavlovna's face.

“God gives it me; let man beware of touching it,” he said (Bonaparte's words uttered at the coronation). “They say that he was very fine as he spoke those words,” he added, and he repeated the same words in Italian: “Dio me l'ha data, e quai a chi la tocca.”

“I hope that at last,” pursued Anna Pavlovna, “this has been the drop of water that will make the glass run over. The sovereigns cannot continue to endure this man who is a threat to everything.”

“The sovereigns! I am not speaking of Russia,” said the vicomte deferentially and hopelessly. “The sovereigns! … Madame! What did they do for Louis the Sixteenth, for the queen, for Madame Elisabeth? Nothing,” he went on with more animation; “and believe me, they are undergoing the punishment of their treason to the Bourbon cause. The sovereigns! … They are sending ambassadors to congratulate the usurper.”

And with a scornful sigh he shifted his attitude again. Prince Ippolit, who had for a long time been staring through his eyeglass at the vicomte, at these words suddenly turned completely round, and bending over the little princess asked her for a needle, and began showing her the coat-of-arms of the Condé family, scratching it with the needle on the table. He explained the coat-of-arms with an air of gravity, as though the princess had asked him about it. “Staff, gules; engrailed with gules of azure—house of Condé,” he said. The princess listened smiling.

“If Bonaparte remains another year on the throne of France,” resumed the vicomte, with the air of a man who, being better acquainted with the subject than any one else, pursues his own train of thought without listening to other people, “things will have gone too far. By intrigue and violence, by exiles and executions, French society—I mean good society—will have been destroyed for ever, and then…”

He shrugged his shoulders, and made a despairing gesture with his hand. Pierre wanted to say something—the conversation interested him —but Anna Pavlovna, who was keeping her eye on him, interposed.

“And the Emperor Alexander,” she said with the pathetic note that always accompanied all her references to the imperial family, “has declared his intention of leaving it to the French themselves to choose their own form of government. And I imagine there is no doubt that the whole nation, delivered from the usurper, would fling itself into the arms of its lawful king,” said Anna Pavlovna, trying to be agreeable to an émigré and loyalist.

“That's not certain,” said Prince Andrey. “M. le vicomte is quite right in supposing that things have gone too far by now. I imagine it would not be easy to return to the old régime.”

“As far as I could hear,” Pierre, blushing, again interposed in the conversation, “almost all the nobility have gone over to Bonaparte.”

“That's what the Bonapartists assert,” said the vicomte without looking at Pierre. “It's a difficult matter now to find out what public opinion is in France.”

“Bonaparte said so,” observed Prince Andrey with a sarcastic smile. It was evident that he did not like the vicomte, and that though he was not looking at him, he was directing his remarks against him.

“ ‘I showed them the path of glory; they would not take it,' ” he said after a brief pause, again quoting Napoleon's words. “ ‘I opened my anterooms to them; they crowded in.' … I do not know in what degree he had a right to say so.”

“None!” retorted the vicomte. “Since the duc's murder even his warmest partisans have ceased to regard him as a hero. If indeed some people made a hero of him,” said the vicomte addressing Anna Pavlovna, “since the duke's assassination there has been a martyr more in heaven, and a hero less on earth.”

Anna Pavlovna and the rest of the company hardly had time to smile their appreciation of the vicomte's words, when Pierre again broke into the conversation, and though Anna Pavlovna had a foreboding he would say something inappropriate, this time she was unable to stop him.

“The execution of the duc d'Enghien,” said Monsieur Pierre, “was a political necessity, and I consider it a proof of greatness of soul that Napoleon did not hesitate to take the whole responsibility of it upon himself.”

“Dieu! mon Dieu!” moaned Anna Pavlovna, in a terrified whisper.

“What, Monsieur Pierre! you think assassination is greatness of soul?” said the little princess, smiling and moving her work nearer to her.

“Ah! oh!” cried different voices.

“Capital!” Prince Ippolit said in English, and he began slapping his knee. The vicomte merely shrugged his shoulders.

Pierre looked solemnly over his spectacles at his audience.

“I say so,” he pursued desperately, “because the Bourbons ran away from the Revolution, leaving the people to anarchy; and Napoleon alone was capable of understanding the Revolution, of overcoming it, and so for the public good he could not stop short at the life of one man.”

“Won't you come over to this table?” said Anna Pavlovna. But Pierre went on without answering her.

“Yes,” he said, getting more and more eager, “Napoleon is great because he has towered above the Revolution, and subdued its evil tendencies, preserving all that was good—the equality of all citizens, and freedom of speech and of the press, and only to that end has he possessed himself of supreme power.”

“Yes, if on obtaining power he had surrendered it to the lawful king, instead of making use of it to commit murder,” said the vicomte, “then I might have called him a great man.”

“He could not have done that. The people gave him power simply for him to rid them of the Bourbons, and that was just why the people believed him to be a great man. The Revolution was a grand fact,” pursued Monsieur Pierre, betraying by this desperate and irrelevantly provocative statement his extreme youth and desire to give full expression to everything.

“Revolution and regicide a grand fact?…What next?…but won't you come to this table?” repeated Anna Pavlovna.

“Contrat social,” said the vicomte with a bland smile.

“I'm not speaking of regicide. I'm speaking of the idea.”

“The idea of plunder, murder, and regicide!” an ironical voice put in.

“Those were extremes, of course; but the whole meaning of the Revolution did not lie in them, but in the rights of man, in emancipation from conventional ideas, in equality; and all these Napoleon has maintained in their full force.”

“Liberty and equality,” said the vicomte contemptuously, as though he had at last made up his mind to show this youth seriously all the folly of his assertions: “all high-sounding words, which have long since been debased. Who does not love liberty and equality? Our Saviour indeed preached liberty and equality. Have men been any happier since the Revolution? On the contrary. We wanted liberty, but Bonaparte has crushed it.”

Prince Andrey looked with a smile first at Pierre, then at the vicomte, then at their hostess.

For the first minute Anna Pavlovna had, in spite of her social adroitness, been dismayed by Pierre's outbreak; but when she saw that the vicomte was not greatly discomposed by Pierre's sacrilegious utterances, and had convinced herself that it was impossible to suppress them, she rallied her forces and joined the vicomte in attacking the orator.

“Mais, mon cher Monsieur Pierre,” said Anna Pavlovna, “what have you to say for a great man who was capable of executing the due—or simply any human being—guiltless and untried?”

“I should like to ask,” said the vicomte, “how monsieur would explain the 18th of Brumaire? Was not that treachery?”

“It was a juggling trick not at all like a great man's way of acting.”

“And the wounded he killed in Africa?” said the little princess; “that was awful!” And she shrugged her shoulders.

“He's a plebeian, whatever you may say,” said Prince Ippolit.

Monsieur Pierre did not know which to answer. He looked at them all and smiled. His smile was utterly unlike the half-smile of all the others. When he smiled, suddenly, instantaneously, his serious, even rather sullen, face vanished completely, and a quite different face appeared, childish, good-humoured, even rather stupid, that seemed to beg indulgence. The vicomte, who was seeing him for the first time, saw clearly that this Jacobin was by no means so formidable as his words. Every one was silent.

“How is he to answer every one at once?” said Prince Andrey. “Besides, in the actions of a statesman, one must distinguish between his acts as a private person and as a general or an emperor. So it seems to me.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” put in Pierre, delighted at the assistance that had come to support him.

“One must admit,” pursued Prince Andrey, “that Napoleon as a man was great at the bridge of Arcola, or in the hospital at Jaffa, when he gave his hand to the plague-stricken, but…but there are other actions it would be hard to justify.”

Prince Andrey, who obviously wished to relieve the awkwardness of Pierre's position, got up to go, and made a sign to his wife.

Suddenly Prince Ippolit got up, and with a wave of his hands stopped every one, and motioning to them to be seated, began:

“Ah, I heard a Moscow story to-day; I must entertain you with it. You will excuse me, vicomte, I must tell it in Russian. If not, the point of the story will be lost.” And Prince Ippolit began speaking in Russian, using the sort of jargon Frenchmen speak after spending a year in Russia. Every one waited expectant; Prince Ippolit had so eagerly, so insistently called for the attention of all for his story.

“In Moscow there is a lady, une dame. And she is very stingy. She wanted to have two footmen behind her carriage. And very tall footmen. That was her taste. And she had a lady's maid, also very tall. She said…”

Here Prince Ippolit paused and pondered, apparently collecting his ideas with difficulty.

“She said…yes, she said: ‘Girl,' to the lady's maid, ‘put on livrée, and get up behind the carriage, to pay calls.' ”

Here Prince Ippolit gave a loud guffaw, laughing long before any of his audience, which created an impression by no means flattering to him. Several persons, among them the elderly lady and Anna Pavlovna, did smile, however.

“She drove off. Suddenly there was a violent gust of wind. The girl lost her hat, and her long hair fell down…”

At this point he could not restrain himself, and began laughing violently, articulating in the middle of a loud guffaw, “And all the world knew…”

There the anecdote ended. Though no one could understand why he had told it, and why he had insisted on telling it in Russian, still Anna Pavlovna and several other people appreciated the social breeding of Prince Ippolit in so agreeably putting a close to the disagreeable and illbred outbreak of Monsieur Pierre. The conversation after this episode broke up into small talk of no interest concerning the last and the approaching ball, the theatre, and where and when one would meet so-and-so again.

安娜·帕夫洛夫娜微微一笑，她答应接待皮埃尔，安娜知道瓦西里公爵是皮埃尔的父系的亲戚。原先和姑母坐在一起的已过中年的妇女赶快站起来，在接待室里赶上瓦西里公爵。原先她脸上假装出来的兴致已经消失了。她那仁慈的、痛哭流涕的面孔只露出惶恐不安的神色。

“公爵，关于我的鲍里斯的事，您能对我说些什么话呢？”她在接待室追赶他时说道。（她说到鲍里斯的名字时，特别在字母“U”上加重音）。“我不能在彼得堡再呆下去了。请您告诉我，我能给我那可怜的男孩捎去什么信息呢？”

尽管瓦西里公爵很不高兴地、近乎失礼地听这个已过中年的妇人说话，甚至表现出急躁的情绪，但是她仍向公爵流露出亲热的、令人感动的微笑，一把抓住他的手，不让他走掉。

“您只要向国王替我陈词，他就可以直接调往近卫军去了，这在您易如反掌。”她央求道。

“公爵夫人，请您相信。凡是我能办到的事，我一定为您办到，”瓦西里公爵答道，“但是向国王求情，我确有碍难。我劝您莫如借助于戈利岑公爵去晋见鲁缅采夫，这样办事更为明智。”

已过中年的妇人名叫德鲁别茨卡娅公爵夫人，她出身于俄国的名门望族之一，但是她现已清寒，早就步出了交际场所，失掉了往日的社交联系。她现在走来是为她的独子在近卫军中求职而斡旋。她自报姓氏，出席安娜·帕夫洛夫娜举办的晚会，其目的仅仅是要拜谒瓦西里公爵，也仅仅是为这一目的，她才聆听子爵讲故事。瓦西里公爵的一席话真使她大为震惊，她那昔日的俊俏的容貌现出了愤恨的神态，但是这神态只是继续了片刻而已，她又复微露笑意，把瓦西里公爵的手握得更紧了。

“公爵，请听我说吧，”她说道，“我从未向您求情，今后也不会向您求情，我从未向您吐露我父亲对您的深情厚谊。而今我以上帝神圣的名份向您恳求，请您为我儿子办成这件事吧，我必将把您视为行善的恩人，”她赶快补充一句话，“不，您不要气愤，就请您答应我的恳求吧。我向戈利岑求过情，他却拒之于千里之外。Soyezlebonenfantquevousavez

ètè，”①她说道，竭力地露出微笑，但是她的眼睛里噙满了泪水。

①法语：请您像以前那样行行善吧。

“爸爸，我们准会迟到啦，”呆在门边等候的公爵小姐海伦扭转她那长在极具古典美肩膀上的俊美的头部，开口说道。

但是，在上流社会上势力是一笔资本，要珍惜资本，不让它白白消耗掉。瓦西里公爵对于这一点知之甚稔，他心里想到，如果人人求他，他替人人求情，那末，在不久以后他势必无法替自己求情了，因此，他极少运用自己的势力。但是在名叫德鲁别茨卡娅的公爵夫人这桩事情上，经过她再次央求之后，他心里产生一种有如遭受良心谴责的感觉。她使公爵回想起真实的往事：公爵开始供职时，他所取得的成就归功于她的父亲。除此之外，从她的作为上他可以看到，有一些妇女，尤其是母亲，她们一作出主张，非如愿以偿，决不休止，否则，她们就准备每时每刻追随不舍，剌剌不休，甚至于相骂相斗，无理取闹，她就是这类的女人。想到最后这一点，使他有点动摇了。

“亲爱的安娜·米哈伊洛夫娜，”他说道，嗓音中带有他平素表露的亲昵而又苦闷的意味，“您希望办到的事，我几乎无法办到；但是，我要办妥这件不可能办妥的事，以便向您证明我对您的爱护和对您的去世的父亲的悼念，您的儿子以后会调到近卫军中去，您依靠我吧，我向您作出了保证，您觉得满意吗？”

“我亲爱的，您是个行善的恩人！您这样做，正是我所盼望的。我知道您多么慈善。”

他要走了。

“请您等一等，还有两句话要讲。Unefoispasseaux

gardes……①”她踌躇起来，“您和米哈伊尔·伊拉里奥诺维奇·库图佐夫的交情甚厚，请您把鲍里斯介绍给他当副官。那时候我就放心了，那时候也就……”

瓦西里公爵脸上流露出微笑。

①法语：但当他调到近卫军中以后……

“我不能答应这件事。您不知道，自从库图佐夫被委任为总司令以来，人们一直在纠缠他。他曾亲自对我说，莫斯科的夫人们统统勾结起来了，要把她们自己的儿子送给库图佐夫当副官。”

“不，您答应吧，否则，我就不放您走，我的亲爱的恩人。”

“爸爸，”那个美人儿又用同样的音调重复地说了一遍，“我们准要迟到啦。”

“啊，aurevoir①，再见吧，您心里明白她说的话吧？”

“那末，您明天禀告国王吗？”

“我一定禀告。可是我不能答应向库图佐夫求情的事。”

“不，请您答应吧，请您答应吧，Basile”②，安娜·米哈伊洛夫娜跟在他身后说道，她脸上露出卖俏的少女的微笑，从前这大概是她惯有的一种微笑，而今它却与她那消瘦的面貌很不相称了。

显然，她已经忘记自己的年纪，她习以为常地耍出妇女向来所固有的种种手腕。但是当他一走出大门，她的脸上又浮现出原先那种冷漠的、虚伪的表情。她已经回到子爵还在继续讲故事的那个小姐那儿，又装出一副在听故事的模样，同时在等候退席离开的时机，因为她的事已经办妥了。

“可是，近来面世的dusacredeMilan③那幕喜剧，您认为如何？”安娜·帕夫洛夫娜说道，“EtlanouvellecomédiedespeuplesdeGênesetdeLucques，quiviennentprésenterleursvoeuxàM．Buonaparte，M，BuonaparteassissurunTrone，etexaucantlesvoeuxdesnations！Adorable！Non，maisc'estàendevenirfolle！Ondirait，quelemondeentieraperdulatete．④”

①法语：再见。

②法语：瓦西里。

③法语：《米兰的加冕典礼》。

④法语：还有一幕新喜剧哩：热那亚和卢加各族民众向波拿巴先生表达自己的意愿。波拿巴先生坐在宝座上，居然满足了各族民众的愿望。呵！太美妙了！这真会令人疯狂。好像了不起似的，全世界都神魂颠倒了。

安德烈公爵直盯着安娜·帕夫洛夫娜的脸，发出了一阵冷笑。

“DieumeLadonne，gareàquilatouche，”他说道（这是波拿巴在加冕时说的话），“Onditqu'ilaététrèsbeauenprononcantcesporoles，①”他补充说，又用意大利语把这句话重说一遍，“Diomiladona，guaiachilatocca．”

“J'espéreenfin，”安娜·帕夫洛夫娜继续说下去，“quecaaétélagoutted'eauquiferadeborderleverre．LessouBverainsnepeuventplussupportercethomme，quimenacetout．”②

“Lessouverains？JeneparlepasdelaRuisie，”子爵彬彬有礼地，但却绝望地说道，“Lessouverains，madame！

Qu'ontilsfaitpourLouisⅩⅤⅡ，pourlareine，pourmadameElisabeth？Rien，”他兴奋地继续说下去，“Etcroyez－moi，ilssubissentlapunitionpourleurtrahisondelacausedesBourbons．Lessouverains？IlsenvoientdesambasBsadeurscomplimenterl'usurpateur③．”

①法语：上帝赐予我王冠，谁触到王冠，谁就会遭殃。据说，他说这句话时，派头十足。

②法语：他已恶贯满盈，达到不可容忍的地步，我希望这是他的最后一桩罪行，各国国王再也不能容忍这个极尽威胁之能事的恶魔了。

③法语：各国国王吗？我不是说俄国的情形。各国国王呀！他们为路易十七、为皇后、为伊丽莎白做了什么事？什么事也没有做。请你们相信我吧，他们因背叛波旁王朝的事业而遭受惩处。各国国王吗？他们还派遣大使去恭贺窃取王位的寇贼哩。

他鄙薄地叹了一口气，又变换了姿势。伊波利特戴上单目眼镜久久地望着子爵，他听到这些话时，忽然向那矮小的公爵夫人转过身去，向她要来一根针，便用针在桌子上描绘孔德徽章，指给她看。他意味深长地向她讲解这种徽章，好像矮小的公爵夫人请求他解释似的。

“Batondegueules，engrêlédegueulesd'azuz—maisonCondé，”①他说道。

公爵夫人微露笑容听着。

“如果波拿巴再保留一年王位，”子爵把开了头的话题儿继续讲下去，他讲话时带着那种神态，有如某人在一件他最熟悉的事情上不聆听他人的话，只注意自己的思路，一个劲儿说下去！“事情就越拖越久，以致不可收拾。阴谋诡计、横行霸道、放逐、死刑将会永远把法国这个社会，我所指的是法国上流社会，毁灭掉，到那时……”

他耸耸肩，两手一摊。皮埃尔本想说句什么话，子爵的话使他觉得有趣，但是窥伺他的安娜·帕夫洛夫娜把话打断了。

“亚历山大皇帝宣称，”她怀有一谈起皇室就会流露的忧郁心情说，“他让法国人自己选择政体形式，我深信，毫无疑义，只要解脱篡夺王位的贼寇的羁绊，举国上下立刻会掌握在合法的国王手上。”安娜·帕夫洛夫娜说道，尽量向这个侨居的君主主义者献殷勤。

“这话不太可靠，”安德烈公爵说。“Monsieurlevicomte②想得合情合理，事情做得太过火了。不过，我想，要走回原路，实在太难了。”

①法语：孔德的住宅——是用天蓝色的兽嘴缠成的兽嘴权杖的象征。

②法语：子爵先生。

“据我所闻，”皮埃尔涨红着脸又插嘴了，“几乎全部贵族都已投靠波拿巴了。”

“这是波拿巴分子说的话，”子爵不望皮埃尔一眼便说道，“眼下很难弄清法国的社会舆论。”

“Bonapartel'adit，”①安德烈公爵冷冷一笑，说道。（看起来，他不喜欢子爵，没有望着子爵，不过这些话倒是针对子爵说的话。）

“Jeleuraimontrélechemindelagloire，”他沉默片刻之后，又重复拿破仑的话，说道，“ilsn'enontpasvoulu，jeleuraiouvertmesantichambres，ilssesontprécipitesenfoule……Jenesaispasaquelpointilaeuledroitdeledire．”②

“Aucun，”③子爵辩驳道，“谋杀了公爵以后，甚至连偏心的人也不认为他是英雄了。Simemecaaétéunhérospourcertainesgens，”子爵把脸转向安娜·帕夫洛夫娜，说道，“depuisl'assasinatduducilyaunmartyrdeplusdansleciel，unhérosdemoinssurlaterre．”④

①法语：这是波拿巴说的话。

②法语：“我向他们指出了一条光荣之路，他们不愿意走这条路；我给他们打开了前厅之门，他们成群地冲了进来……”我不知道他有多大的权利说这种话。

③法语：无任何权利。

④法语：即令他在某些人面前曾经是英雄，而在公爵被谋杀之后，天堂就多了一个受难者，尘世也就少了一个英雄。

安娜·帕夫洛夫娜和其他人还来不及微露笑容表示赏识子爵讲的这番话，皮埃尔又兴冲冲地谈起话来了，尽管安娜·帕夫洛夫娜预感到他会开口说些有伤大雅的话，可是她已经无法遏止他了。

“处昂吉安公爵以死刑，”皮埃尔说道，“此举对国家大有必要。拿破仑不怕独自一人承担责任，我由此看出，这正是他精神伟大之所在。”

“Dieu！mondieu！”①安娜·帕夫洛夫娜以低沉而可怖的嗓音说道。

“Comment，M．Pierre，voustrouvezquel'assassinatestgrandeurd'aAme？”②矮小的公爵夫人说道，她一面微微发笑，一面把针线活儿移到她自己近旁。

“嗬！啊呀！”几个人异口同声地说道。

“Capital！”③伊波利特公爵说了一句英国话，他用手掌敲打着膝头。子爵只是耸耸肩膀。

①法语：天哪，我的天哪！

②法语：皮埃尔先生，您把谋杀看作是精神的伟大吗？

③英语：好得很！

皮埃尔心情激动地朝眼镜上方瞅了瞅听众。

“我之所以这样说，”他毫无顾忌地继续说下去，“是因为波旁王朝回避革命，让人民处在无政府状态，唯独拿破仑善于理解革命，制服革命，因此，为共同福利起见，他不能顾及一人之命而停步不前。”

“您愿不愿意到那张桌上去？”安娜·帕夫洛夫娜说道。可是皮埃尔不回答，继续讲下去。

“不，”他愈益兴奋地说，“拿破仑所以伟大，是因为他高踞于革命之上，摒除了革命的弊病，保存了一切美好的事物——公民平等呀，言论出版自由呀，仅仅因为这个缘故，他才赢得了政权。”

“是的，假如他在夺取政权之后，不滥用政权来大肆屠杀，而把它交给合法的君王。”子爵说，“那么，我就会把他称为一位伟人。”

“他不能做出这等事。人民把政权交给他，目的仅仅是要他把人民从波旁王朝之下解救出来，因此人民才把他视为一位伟人。革命是一件伟大的事业，”皮埃尔先生继续说道。他毫无顾忌地、挑战似地插进这句话，借以显示他风华正茂，想快点把话儿全部说出来。

“革命和杀死沙皇都是伟大的事业吗？……从此以后……您愿不愿意到那张桌上去？”安娜·帕夫洛夫娜把话重说了一遍。

“《Contratsocial》，”①子爵流露出温顺的微笑，说道。

①法语：《民约论》——卢梭著。

“我不是说杀死沙皇，而是说思想问题。”

“是的，抢夺、谋杀、杀死沙皇的思想。”一个含有讥讽的嗓音又打断他的话了。

“不消说，这是万不得已而采取的行动，但全部意义不止于此，其意义在于人权、摆脱偏见的束缚、公民的平等权益。

拿破仑完全保存了所有这些思想。”

“自由与平等，”子爵蔑视地说，好像他终究拿定主意向这个青年证明他的一派胡言，“这都是浮夸的话，早已声名狼藉了。有谁不热爱自由与平等？我们的救世主早就鼓吹过自由平等。难道人们在革命以后变得更幸福么？恰恰相反。我们都希望自由，而拿破仑却取缔自由。”

安德烈公爵面露微笑，时而瞧瞧皮埃尔，时而瞧瞧子爵，时而瞧瞧女主人。开初，安娜·帕夫洛夫娜虽有上流社会应酬的习惯，却很害怕皮埃尔的乖戾举动。但是一当她看到，皮埃尔虽然说出一些渎神的坏话，子爵并没有大动肝火，在她相信不可能遏止这些言谈的时候，她就附和子爵，集中精力来攻击发言人了。

“Mais，moncherm－rPierre，”①安娜·帕夫洛夫娜说道，“一个大人物可以判处公爵死刑，以至未经开庭审判、毫无罪证亦可处死任何人，您对这事作何解释呢？”

“我想问一问，”子爵说道，“先生对雾月十八日作何解释呢？这岂不是骗局么？C'estunescamotage，quineressemblenullementàlamanièred'agird'ungrandhomme．”②“可他杀掉了非洲的俘虏呢？”矮小的公爵夫人说道，“这多么骇人啊！”她耸耸肩膀。

“C'estunroturier，voussurezbeaudire，”③伊波利特公爵说道。

①法语：可是，我亲爱的皮埃尔先生。

②法语：这是欺骗手法，根本不像大人物的行为方法。

③法语：无论您怎么说，是个暴发户。

皮埃尔先生不晓得应该向谁回答才对，他朝大伙儿扫了一眼，脸上露出了一阵微笑。他的微笑和他人难得露出笑容的样子不一样。恰恰相反，当他面露微笑的时候，那种一本正经、甚至略嫌忧愁的脸色，零时间就消失了，又露出一副幼稚、慈善、甚至有点傻气、俨如在乞求宽恕的神态。

子爵头一次和他会面，可是他心里明白，这个雅各宾党人根本不像他的谈吐那样令人生畏。大家都沉默无言了。

“你们怎么想要他马上向大家作出回答呢？”安德烈公爵说道，“而且在一个国家活动家的行为上，必须分清，什么是私人行为，什么是统帅或皇帝的行为。我认为如此而已。”

“是的，是的，这是理所当然的事，”皮埃尔随着说起来，有人在帮忙，他高兴极了。

“不能不承认，”安德烈公爵继续说下去，“从拿破仑在阿尔科拉桥上的表现看来，他是一位伟人，拿破仑在雅法医院向鼠疫患者伸出援助之手，从表现看来，他是一位伟人，但是……但是他有一些别的行为，却令人难以辩解。”

显然，安德烈公爵想冲淡一下皮埃尔说的尴尬话，他欠起身来，向妻子做了个手势，打算走了。

忽然，伊波利特公爵站起身来，他以手势挽留大家，要他们坐下，于是开腔说话了：

“Ah！aujourd'huionm'aracontéuneanecdote

moscovite，charmante：ilfautquejevousenrégale．Vousm'excusez，vicomte，ilfautquejeravconteenrusse．Autrementonnesentirapasleseldel'histoire①”

伊波利特公爵讲起俄国话来了，那口音听来就像一个在俄国呆了一年左右的法国人讲的俄国话。大家都停顿下来，伊波利特公爵十分迫切地要求大家用心听他讲故事。

“莫斯科有个太太，unedame②，十分吝啬。她需要两名跟马车的valetsdepied③，身材要魁梧。这是她个人所好。她有unefemmedechambre④，个子也高大。她说……”

这时分，伊波利特公爵沉思起来了，显然在暗自盘算。

“她说……是的，她说：婢女（àlafemmedechambre），你穿上livrée，⑤跟在马车后面，我们一同去fairedesvisBites．⑥”

①法语：嗬！今天有人给我讲了一则十分动听的莫斯科趣闻，也应该讲给你们听听，让你们分享一份乐趣。子爵，请您原谅吧，我要用俄国话来讲，要不然，趣闻就会没有趣味了。

②法语：一个太太。

③法语：仆人。

④法语：一个女仆。

⑤法语：宫廷内侍制服。

⑥法语：拜会。

伊波利特公爵早就噗嗤一声大笑起来，这时，听众们还没有面露笑容，这一声大笑产生的印象对讲故事的人极为不利。然而，也有许多人，就中包括已过中年的太太和安娜·帕夫洛夫娜，都发出了一阵微笑。

“她坐上马车走了。忽然间起了一阵狂风。婢女丢掉了帽子，给风刮走了，梳理得整整齐齐的长发显得十分零乱……”

这时，他再也忍不住了，发出了若断若续的笑声，他透过笑声说道：

“上流社会都知道了……”

他讲的趣闻到此结束了。虽然不明了他为何要讲这则趣闻，为何非用俄国话讲不可，然而，安娜·帕夫洛夫娜和其他人都赏识伊波利特公爵在上流社会中待人周到的风格，赏识他这样高兴地结束了皮埃尔先生令人厌恶的、失礼的闹剧。在讲完趣闻之后，谈话变成了零星而琐细的闲聊。谈论到上回和下回的舞会、戏剧，并且谈论到何时何地与何人会面的事情。