Endnotes
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Novels by the above-mentioned authors. ↩
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Frogs in the Caucasus make a noise quite different from the croaking of frogs elsewhere. —L. T. ↩
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Shamil was the leader (in 1834–1859) of the Caucasian hill-tribes in their prolonged resistance to Russia. ↩
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A naib was a man to whom Shamil had entrusted some administrative office. —L. T. ↩
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He is a collective noun by which the soldiers indicate the enemy. —L. T. ↩
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The Terek Territory lies to the northeast of the Caucasian Mountains. The Great and Little Chechnya are districts in the southern part of it. ↩
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The vintovka was a long Asiatic rifle used by the Circassians (Cherkeses). When firing, they rested the barrel on a support formed by two thin spiked sticks tied at the top by a strap. ↩
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A distinction very frequently met with in Russian is between literate and illiterate people; i.e., between those who can and those who cannot read and write. ↩
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A soldier’s card game. —L. T. ↩
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Most of the Russian army at that time were armed with smoothbore muskets, but a few had wide-calibred muzzle-loading rifles (stutzers), which were difficult to handle and slow to load. Vintovkas were also rifles. ↩
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Russians in the Caucasus used the word “Tartar” loosely for any of the native Mohammedan tribes (Circassians, Karbadans, etc.). ↩
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The “unicorn” was a type of gun, narrowing towards the muzzle, used in the Russian artillery at that time. ↩
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The cherez is a purse in the form of a garter, usually worn by soldiers below the knee. —L. T. ↩
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The “Tartars,” being Mohammedans, made a point of not letting the bodies of their slain fall into the hands of the “unbelievers,” but removed them and buried them as heroes. The capture of the three bodies therefore indicates the vigour of the attack and the demoralization of the enemy. ↩
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General A. P. Ermolov (1772–1861), who was renowned for his firmness and justness as a ruler in the Caucasus, and who subdued Chechnya and Daghestan, used to say that after ten years in the Caucasus an officer “either takes to drink or marries a loose woman.” ↩
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An officer’s allowance in Russia proper is very small, but when on service in Poland, the Caucasus, Siberia, etc., they receive a higher rate of pay. ↩
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It is customary, especially among the peasants and soldiers, to wrap long strips of linen round the feet and legs instead of wearing stockings. ↩
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Ryabco, soldier’s food, made of soaked hardtack and dripping. —L. T. ↩
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Dargo, in the Terek Territory, was the headquarters of Shamil until 1845. ↩
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The soldier miscalls the Andiysky chain of mountains “Indeysky,” apparently connecting them with India. ↩
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Polish name for lord or gentleman. ↩
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Fedot, da nyé tot, an untranslatable play on the word. ↩
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Kitudubl = Fr. quitte ou double. ↩
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Asé = assez. ↩
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The landing-place here called the Gráfskaya, is evidently the one called the Ekateríninskaya on Todleben’s plans of Sevastopol. ↩
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Cannons were removed from the vessels for use on the fortifications. ↩
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The samovar, or “self-boiler,” is an urn in which water can be boiled and kept hot without any other fire having to be lit. ↩
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A hot drink made with treacle and lemon, also sometimes with honey and spice. ↩
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The first bombardment of Sevastopol took place on 5th October, old style, i.e. the 17th our style. ↩
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Among a population largely illiterate, the signboards were usually pictorial. The bakers showed loaves and rolls, the bootmakers boots and shoes, etc., etc. ↩
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The 24th October, o.s. = 5th November N.S., i.e., the date of the battle of Inkerman. ↩
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Called by the English the “Flagstaff Bastion.” ↩
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“Forgive me” or “farewell” are almost interchangeable expressions in Russian. “Goodbye” (prostсháyte) etymologically means “forgive.” The form (prostíte) here used, however, means primarily “forgive me.” ↩
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The Army and Navy Gazette. ↩
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The term junker, borrowed from the German and pronounced “yunker,” is used in Russian in more than one sense, but at the time of the Crimean war it meant a volunteer, usually of good family, who had not yet received a commission, but was not treated as a private, and on an emergency was allowed to take an officer’s duty. Our word “cadet” nearly translates it. ↩
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A common way in Russia of protecting a bed from the damp or cold of a wall is to nail a rag or carpet to the wall by the side of the bed. ↩
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“I tell you, at one time it was the only thing talked of in Petersburg.” ↩
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The thick walls of Russian houses allow ample space to sit or lounge by the windows. ↩
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“Well, gentlemen, I think there will be warm work tonight.” ↩
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“No, tell me, will there really be anything on, tonight?” ↩
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“What a charming sight! eh?” ↩
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Rifles, except some clumsy stutzers, had not been introduced into the Russian army, but were used by the besiegers, who had a yet greater advantage in their artillery. It is characteristic of Tolstoy that, occupied with men rather than mechanics, he does not, in these Sketches, dwell on this disparity of weapons. ↩
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Our soldiers, fighting the Turks, have become so accustomed to this cry of the enemy that they now always say that the French also shout Allah. —L. T. ↩
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“You are wounded?” ↩
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“Excuse me, sire, I am dead.” ↩
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The Russian icons are paintings, in Byzantine style, of God, the Mother of God, Christ, or some saint, martyr, or angel. They are usually on wood, and are often covered over, except the face and hands, with an embossed gilt cover. ↩
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“Has the flag of truce been lowered yet?” ↩
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“No, not yet.” ↩
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“Had it remained dark for another half-hour, the ambuscades would have been recaptured.” ↩
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“Sir, I will not say no, lest I give you the lie.” ↩
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“What regiment do you belong to?” ↩
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“He’s come to look at our works, the confounded—” ↩
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“And this, what is this tied bird for?” ↩
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“Because this is a cartridge pouch of a Guard regiment, monsieur, and bears the Imperial eagle.” ↩
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“And do you belong to the Guards?” ↩
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“No, monsieur, to the 6th Regiment of the line.” ↩
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“And this: where did you buy?” ↩
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“At Balaclava, Monsieur! It’s only made of palm wood.” ↩
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“Pretty.” ↩
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“If you will be so good as to keep it as a souvenir of this meeting, you will do me a favour.” ↩
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“They are not handsome, these d⸺ Russians.” ↩
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“What are they laughing about?” ↩
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“Don’t leave your ranks; to your places, damn it!” ↩
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“Whom I knew very intimately, Monsieur. He is one of those real Russian Counts, of whom we are so fond.” ↩
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“I am acquainted with a Sazónof, but he is not a Count, as far as I know—a small, dark man, of about your age.” ↩
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“Just so, Monsieur, that is he. Oh! how I should like to meet the dear Count! If you should see him, please be so kind as to give him my compliments—Captain Latour.” ↩
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“Is it not terrible, this sad duty we are engaged in? It was warm work last night, was it not?” ↩
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“Ah, Monsieur, it is terrible! But what fine fellows your men are, what fine fellows! It is a pleasure to fight with fellows of that make.” ↩
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“It must be admitted that yours are no fools either.” ↩
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The last posting-station north of Sevastopol. —L. T. ↩
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Vodka is a spirit distilled from rye. It is the commonest form of strong drink in Russia. ↩
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This pontoon bridge was erected during the summer of 1855. At first it was feared that the water was too rough in the Roadstead for a secure bridge to be built, but it served its purpose and even stood the strain put upon it by the retreat of the Russian army to the North Side. ↩
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In addressing anyone in Russian, it is usual to employ the Christian name and patronymic: i.e., to the Christian name (in this case Michael) the father’s Christian name is joined (in this case Semyón), with the termination vitch (o-vitch or e-vitch), which means, “son of.” The termination is often shortened to itch. Surnames are less used than in English, for the patronymic is suitable for all circumstances of life—both for speaking to and of anyone—except where people on very intimate terms use only the Christian name, or a pet name. ↩
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The Korábelnaya was a suburb of Sevastopol lying to the east of the South Bay and to the south of the Roadstead. Like the “North Side,” it was connected with Sevastopol by a floating bridge. ↩
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That is, a medal granted for service in the suppression of the Hungarian rising in 1849, when Nicholas I supported Austria. ↩
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Referring to the custom of charging the Government more than the actual price of supplies, and thereby making an income which was supposed to go for the benefit of the regiment, but part of which frequently remained unaccounted for. ↩
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The Cantonists, in the old days of serfdom, were the sons of soldiers, condemned by law and heredity to be soldiers also. ↩
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It is a Russian custom to offer bread and salt to new arrivals. ↩
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Gorodki is a game in which short, thick, sticks are arranged in certain figures within squares. Each side has its own square, and each player in turn throws a stick to try to clear out the enemy’s square. The side wins which accomplishes this first with the six figures in which the little sticks are successively arranged. ↩
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Run of ill-luck. ↩
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The luck has turned. ↩
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Yes, my dear, the days follow, but do not resemble one another. ↩
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Kabarda is a district in the Terek Territory of the Caucasus, and Kabarda horses are famous for their powers of endurance. ↩
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A position in the world. ↩
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My father allowed me 10,000 rubles a year. ↩
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I was received in the best society of Petersburg; I could aspire … ↩
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But in particular I spoke the society jargon. ↩
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Was that liaison with Mme. D⸺. ↩
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My father; you will have heard him spoken of. ↩
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He disinherited me. ↩
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He has been consistent. ↩
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Camp life. ↩
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I should be seen under fire. ↩
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You know, with the prestige that misfortune gives. ↩
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(But) what a disenchantment! ↩
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I hope that is saying a good deal. ↩
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You can have no idea of what I had to suffer. ↩
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With the small means I had, I lacked everything. ↩
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With my pride, I wrote to my father. ↩
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Have you a cigarette? ↩
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Who is the son of my father’s steward. ↩
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I have been seen under fire. ↩
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War, camp-life. ↩
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It is dreadful, it is killing. ↩
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Quite frankly. ↩
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You are above that [i.e. above despising me for my misfortunes], my dear, I have not a halfpenny. ↩
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Can you lend me ten rubles? ↩
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Do not trouble yourself. ↩
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Reversing. ↩
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From lightheartedness. ↩
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Genteel women. ↩
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And I have not a strong head. ↩
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Morskaya—one of the best streets in Petersburg. ↩
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On the ground floor. ↩
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In the morning I went out. ↩
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It must be admitted that she was a ravishing woman. ↩
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Always gay, always loving. ↩
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And I have much to reproach myself with. ↩
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I have made her suffer, often. ↩
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I am broken. ↩
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Dignity in misfortune. ↩
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Has stained me. ↩
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I cannot. ↩
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I have shown it. ↩
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Khozyáïn. ↩
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Izbá. ↩
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Khozyáïstvo. ↩
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Bátiushka. ↩
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Dvor. ↩
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Dvor. ↩
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Bratets, brother. ↩
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Bátiushka. ↩
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Bátiushka. ↩
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Shchets for shchi. ↩
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Bátiushka. ↩
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The lands belonging to the Russian commune, or mir, were periodically distributed by allotment, each full-grown peasant receiving as his share a tiagló representing what the average man and his wife were capable of cultivating. When the period was long—ten years for instance—it sometimes happened that a serf, by reason of illness, laziness, or other misfortune, would find it hard to cultivate his share, pay the tax on it, and also do the work required of him on his bárin’s land. Such was Churis’s complaint. ↩
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Barshchina: work on the master’s land. ↩
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Zemski. ↩
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Bátiushka. ↩
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Bátiushka. ↩
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Raspútitsa. ↩
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Báruinya. ↩
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Yukhvánka-Mudr’yónui. ↩
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Dvor. ↩
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Mátushka. ↩
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Where the holy images and the lighted taper are to be found. ↩
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Vaciaso for vashe siátelstvo (your excellency). ↩
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Dvor. ↩
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Khozyáïstvo. ↩
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Little David White. ↩
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Khozyáïstvo. ↩
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Khozyáïka. ↩
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Izbá. ↩
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Dvor. ↩
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Khozyáeva; literally, “master and mistress.” ↩
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Six arshin. ↩
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Polushubok. ↩
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Khozyáïn. ↩
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Tulup. ↩
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Literally, “middle of the white day.” ↩
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Khozyáïstvo. ↩
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Clodhopper. ↩
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Baba. ↩
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Dyevka, marriageable girl. ↩
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Muzhik. ↩
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Bátiushka. ↩
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Bátiushka. ↩
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Bátiushka. ↩
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Eighty-one acres. ↩
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Bátiushka. ↩
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Bátiushka; Mitri Mikolayévitch, rustic for Dmitri Nikolayévitch. ↩
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Proshchaïte, khozyáeva. ↩
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Izbá. ↩
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Constantinople. ↩
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Hofbrücke, torn down in 1852. ↩
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E’en though the clouds may veil it,
The sun shines ever clear. -
I also have lived and rejoiced.
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Freemasonry in Russia was a secret movement, the original purpose of which was the moral perfecting of people on the basis of equality and universal brotherhood. Commencing as a mystical-religious movement in the eighteenth century, it became political during the reign of Alexander I, and was suppressed in 1822. ↩
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The Martinists were a society of Russian Freemasons, founded in 1780, and named after the French theosophist, Louis Claude Saint-Martin. ↩
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The Tugendbund was founded by men of high rank, to promote physical and moral welfare, by education, publications, advice, and charity. ↩
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M. H. Milorádovitch (1770–1825) distinguished himself in the war against the French, became General-Governor of Petersburg, and was killed in the “December” mutiny of 1825. ↩
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D. V. Davídof (1784–1839), a popular poet, and leader of a guerilla force in the war of 1812; he was a contemporary of A. S. Poúshkin (1799–1837), the greatest of Russian poets. ↩
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The nobility, in the Russian sense of the word, includes not merely those who have titles, but all who in England would be called the gentry. ↩
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A town in the Tambóf Government, noted for its horse fair. ↩
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A troika is a three-horse sledge, or, more correctly, a team of three horses. ↩
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Twenty degrees of cold Réaumur, or thirteen below zero Fahrenheit. ↩
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The gaming referred to was called shtos. The “players” selected cards for themselves from packs on the table, and put their stakes on or under their cards. The “banker” had a pack from which he dealt to right and left alternately. Cards dealt to the right won for him; those dealt to the left won for the “players.” “Pass up” was a reminder to the players to hand up stakes due to the “bank.” “Simples” were single stakes. By turning down “corners” of his card a player increased his stake two or threefold. A “transport” increased it sixfold. Shtos has now been replaced by newer forms of gambling. ↩
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The five-rouble note was blue and the ten-rouble note was red. ↩
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That is to say, a medal gained in the defence of his country against Napoleon. ↩
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The custom being not to dance a whole dance with one lady, but to take a few turns round the room, conduct the lady to her seat, bow to her, thank her, and seek a fresh partner. ↩
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The zakoúska (“little bite”) consists, according to circumstances, of a more or less varied choice of snacks: caviar, salt-fish, cheese, radishes, or whatnot, with small glasses of vodka or other spirits. It is sometimes served alone, but usually forms a whet for the appetite, laid out on a side table, and partaken of immediately before dinner or supper. It somewhat answers to the hors-d’oeuvre of an English dinner-party. ↩
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The same word (rouká) stands for hand or arm in Russian. ↩
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In Russia godparents and their godchildren, and people having the same godfather or godmother, are considered to be related. ↩
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Bémol is French for a flat in music; but in Russia many people who know nothing of musical technicalities imagine it to have something to do with excellence in music. ↩
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Tolstoy seems here to antedate the intervention of Russia in the Hungarian insurrection. As a matter of fact, the Russian army entered Hungary in May 1849, and the war was over by the end of September that year. ↩
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They will be putting themselves to expense on our account. ↩
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If you please, gentlemen. ↩
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In Préférence partners play together as in whist. There was a method of scoring “with tables” which increased the gains and losses of the players. In Préférence the players compete in declaring the number of tricks the cards they hold will enable them to make. The highest bidder decides which suit is to be trumps, and has to make the number of tricks he has declared, or be fined. A player declaring misère undertakes to make no tricks, and is fined (puts on a remise) for each trick he or she makes. “Ace and king blank” means that a player holds, of a given suit, the two highest cards and no others. ↩
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At the time of this story two currencies were in use simultaneously—the depreciated “assignations” and the “silver roubles,” which were usually paper, like the “assignations.” ↩
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Kvass is a non-intoxicating drink usually made from rye-malt, and rye-flour. ↩
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It is the custom in Russia to congratulate anyone on his or her birthday, and also on receiving Communion. ↩
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The better is the enemy of the good. ↩
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Good luck, my friend! ↩
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I love you. ↩
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Intercession of the Virgin. ↩
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“Dare to err and dream.” ↩
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Made by scalding wood-ash taken from the stove, and used for washing clothes. ↩
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The abacus, with wires and beads to count on, is still much used in Russia. ↩
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A letter written six months after his marriage by Leo Tolstoy to his wife’s younger sister, the Natásha of War and Peace.
The first few lines are in his wife’s handwriting, the rest in his own. ↩
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Tolstoy’s. ↩
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“Auntie Tatiána”—Tatiána Alexándrovna Érgolski (1795–1874), who brought Tolstoy up. —A. M. ↩
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Natálya Petróvna Okhótnitskaya, an old woman who was living at Yásnaya Polyána. —A. M. ↩
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Alexéy Stepánovich Orékhov (who died in 1882), a servant of Tolstoy’s who had accompanied him to the Caucasus and to Sevastopol during the Crimean War. He was employed as steward at Yásnaya Polyána. —A. M. ↩
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Novaya Azbuka. ↩
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Diminutive of Ivan. ↩
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In English, Five-Mountains. ↩
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Vodka is a spirit distilled from rye. It is the commonest form of strong drink in Russia. ↩
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One of a certain Tartar tribe. ↩
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The samovar (“self-boiler”) is an urn in which water can be heated and kept on the boil. ↩
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A three-horse conveyance. ↩
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The value of the rouble has varied at different times from more than three shillings to less than two shillings. For the purposes of ready calculation it may be taken as two shillings. In reading these stories to children, the word “florin” can be substituted for “rouble” if prefered. ↩
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The adventure here narrated is one that happened to Tolstoy himself in 1858. More than twenty years later he gave up hunting, on humanitarian grounds. ↩
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One hundred kopecks make a rouble. The kopeck is worth about a farthing. ↩
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A non-intoxicating drink usually made from rye-malt and rye-flour. ↩
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The brick oven in a Russian peasant’s hut is usually built so as to leave a flat top, large enough to lie on, for those who want to sleep in a warm place. ↩
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These government bonds were of a peculiar kind: At the moment of the abolition of serfdom, the Russian Government handed to the owners of serfs State bonds instead of money, called in Russia “the redemption bonds.” The money due by the Government on these papers were paid off at fixed periods—and the owners of those bonds sold them often like ordinary Government papers. ↩
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A town in Bulgaria, the scene of fierce and prolonged fighting between the Turks and the Russians in the war of 1877. ↩
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Wax candles are much used in the services of the Russian Church, and it is usual to place one in the hand of a dying man, especially when he receives unction. ↩
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Worn by Russian peasants instead of stockings. ↩
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Little Russia is situated in the southwestern part of Russia, and consists of the Governments of Kiev, Poltava, Tchernigof, and part of Kharkof and Kherson. ↩
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In Great Russia the peasants let their shirt hang outside their trousers. ↩
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An icon (properly ikón) is a representation of God, Christ, an angel, or a saint, usually painted, enamelled, or embossed. ↩
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“For Christ’s sake” is the usual appeal of Russian beggars or poor pilgrims. ↩
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It is often arranged that the shepherd who looks after the cattle of a Russian village Commune should get his board and lodging at the houses of the villagers, passing from one to another in turn. ↩
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Kumiss (or more properly koumýs) is a fermented drink prepared from mare’s milk. ↩
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A kibítka is a movable dwelling, made up of detachable wooden frames, forming a round, and covered over with felt. ↩
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120 desyatins. The desyatin is properly 2.7 acres; but in this story round numbers are used. ↩
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Three rubles per desyatin. ↩
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Five kopecks for a desyatin. ↩
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Diminutive of Michael. ↩
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Dedicated to the memory of M. A. Stakhovitch, the originator of the subject, which was given by his brother to Count Tolstoy. ↩
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Kasakín. ↩
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Dvor. ↩
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Two arshin, three vershoks, = 6.65 feet. ↩
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The best breed of Russian horses is that of the Orlofs. ↩
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Dvor. ↩
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So in the original. ↩
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So in the original. ↩
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Pyégi. ↩
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All expressed in the word strigúnchik. ↩
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Pushchaï. ↩
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Podi! belegis. ↩
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Dugá. ↩
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Do svidánya = au revoir. ↩
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Valyaï! ↩
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Priskashchik. ↩
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Khozhyáïn. ↩
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Barski dom. ↩
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Incrusté. ↩
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Khozyáïn and khozyáïka. ↩
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Frantsuzhenka. ↩
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Akh, brat, brother. ↩
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Kholstomír means a cloth measurer: suggesting the greatest distance from linger to linger of the outstretched arms, and rapidity in accomplishing the motion. ↩
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Literally, muzhiks. ↩
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Kupésheskoe, merchant-like. ↩
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In the very free French paraphrase of this parable the physician, without pausing, remarks that the Christians acknowleged no rulers, no authority, no laws. Julius replies that they claim that even without rulers, authorities, and laws, human life will be vastly better if men would only fulfil the law of Christ. The physician replies: “But what guarantee have we that men will fulfil that law. Absolutely none. They say: ‘You have made trial of life with authorities and laws, and it has always been a failure. Try it now without authorities and laws, and you will soon see it becoming perfect.’ You cannot deny this, not having tested it by experience. Here the sophistry of these impious men becomes evident. Are they any more logical than the farmer who should say: ‘You sow the seed in the ground, and then cover it up with soil, and yet the crop falls far below your desires. My advice is: sow it in the sea, and the result will be far more satisfactory.’ And do not attempt to deny this theory; you cannot do so, never having tested it by experience.” This is the argument that shakes Julius’ resolution; but it is all omitted from the Moscow edition of 1898. Probably the doctrine of Christian anarchy, thus advocated, caught the censor’s eye. —N. H. Dole ↩
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In the French translation, this sentence is replaced by another to the effect that the Christians, while acknowledging that discord and violence are a part of human nature, nevertheless take advantage of this organization of society. “The world has always existed by means of its rulers: they assume the responsibility of governing, they protect us from enemies, domestic and foreign. We subjects, in return for this, pay the rulers deference and homage, obey their commands, and assist them by serving the State when we are needed.” —N. H. Dole ↩
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Another long passage is here omitted: Pamphilius goes on to say that the union of men must be brought about by love, not violence. The violence of a brigand is as atrocious exactly as is that of troops against their enemies, or of the judge against the culprit, and Christians can have no part in either; their share consists in submitting to it without protest.
Julius interrupts him, and declares that while they are ready to be martyrs and eager to lay down their lives for the truth, in reality truth is not in them: they preach love, but the result of their preaching is savagery, retrogression to primitive conditions of murder, robbery, and every kind of violence.
Pamphilius denies that such is the case: murder, robbery, and violence existed long before Christianity, and men found no way of coping with them. When violence meets violence crimes are not checked, but are provoked, because feelings of anger and bitterness are aroused. In the mighty Roman Empire, where legislation has been raised to a science, and the laws are thoroughly studied and administered, and the office of judge is highly regarded, nevertheless debauchery and crime are everywhere prevalent; in the early days, when laws were not so numerous or so carefully administered, there was a higher standard of virtue; but simultaneously with the study and application of the laws, there has been going on in the Roman Empire a steady deterioration of morals, accompanied by a vast increase in the number and variety of criminal offenses.
The only way to grapple with such crimes and evil is the Christian way of love. The heathen weapons of vengeance, punishment, and violence are inefficacious. All the preventive and remedial laws and punishments in the world will fail to eradicate people’s propensities to do wrong. The root of the evil must be got at, and that is done by reaching the individual.
Most crimes are perpetrated by men who desire to get more of this world’s goods than they can rightfully acquire. Some of these—as, for instance, monstrous commercial frauds—are perpetrated under the protection of the law, and those that are punishable are so cleverly managed that they often escape the penalty. Christianity takes away all incentive to such crimes, because those that practise it refuse to take more than what is strictly needed for the support of life, and thereby give up to others their free labor. So that the sight of accumulated wealth is not a temptation, and those that are driven to desperation by hunger find what they need without having to use violent means of obtaining it. Some criminals avoid them altogether; others join them, and gradually become useful workers.
As regards the crimes provoked by the play of passions: jealousy, carnal love, anger, and hatred. Laws never restrain such criminals; obstacles only make them worse; but Christianity teaches men to curb their passions by a life of love and labor, so that the spiritual principle will overcome the fleshly; and as Christianity spreads, the number of crimes of this sort will diminish.
There is still another class of crimes, he goes on to say, which have their root in a sincere desire to help humanity. The wish to alleviate the sufferings of an entire people will impel certain men called revolutionists to kill a tyrant with the notion that they are benefiting a majority. The origin of such crimes is a mistaken conviction that evil may be done in order that good may follow. Crimes of this description are not lessened by laws against them, they are provoked by them. The men that commit crimes of this kind have a noble motive—a desire to do good to others. Most men of this kind, though mistaken in their hopes and beliefs, are impelled by the noble motive of desire to do good to others, and they are ready to sacrifice their lives and all they have, and no danger or difficulty stands in their way. Punishment cannot restrain them; danger only gives them new life and spirit; if they suffer, they are regarded as martyrs, and earn the sympathy of mankind, and they stimulate others to go and do likewise.
The Christians, though they clearly perceive the error of such conspirators, appreciate their sincerity and self-denial, and recognize them as brethren on the ground of the positive good which they possess. Many of these conspirators regard the Christians, not as foes, but as men sincerely and eagerly bent on doing good, and so have joined them, accepting the conviction that a quiet life of toil and incessant solicitude for the welfare of others is incomparatively more beneficial than their momentary deeds of prowess, stained by human blood needlessly sacrificed.
Pamphilius concludes that Julius may decide for himself whether the Christians who preach and prove the joy and delight of a spiritual life, from which no evil can arise, or the Roman rulers and judges—who pass sentences according to the letter of a dead law, and thus lash their victims into fury and drive them to the utmost hatred, are most fit to grapple successfully with crime.
Julius replies, “As long as I keep listening to you I seem to get the impression that your point of view is correct.”
Julius is almost convinced by this argument, and asks the same question as in the Moscow edition, but Pamphilius makes a different reply. He says, the reason for this anomaly is not in the Christians, but outside of them. Above and beyond the temporary laws established by the State and recognized by all men, there are eternal laws engraved in the hearts of men. The Christians obey these universal laws, discerning in the life of Christ their clearest and fullest expression, and condemning, as a crime, every form of violence which transgresses His commandments. They feel bound to observe the civil laws of the country in which they live, unless these laws are opposed to God’s laws. “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” The Christians strive to avoid and do away with all crimes, both those against the State and those that go counter to God’s will, and, therefore, their fight with crime is more comprehensive than that carried on by the State. But this recognition of God’s will as the highest law offends those that claim precedence for a private law, or that take some ingrained custom of their class as a law. Such men are animated by feelings of enmity for those that proclaim that man has a higher mission than to be merely subjects of a State or members of a Society. Christ said concerning them: “Woe unto you lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.”
The Christians entertain enmity against no man, not even against those that persecute them, and their way of life injures no man. The only reason why men hate and persecute them is because their manner of life is a constant rebuke to those whose conduct is based on violence. Christ predicted this hatred, but, strengthened by His example, they do not fear those that kill the body. They live in the light of truth, and that life knows no death. Physical suffering and death they cannot escape, neither can their persecutors and executioners. But the Christian is supported by his religion, and though not secure from physical pain and death, yet he preserves equanimity in all the vicissitudes of life, consoled by the conviction that whatever happens to him independently of his own will is unavoidable and for his ultimate good, and by the knowledge that he is true to his conscience and to reason.
The end of the chapter is practically the same. —N. H. Dole ↩
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Offense; Russian, temptation. ↩
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Omitted, the significant dictum: “The greater the power of the ruler the less he is loved.” ↩
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Soblaznitʹ, tempt, seduce. ↩
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It was customary in Russia for a first, second, and third bell to ring before a train left a station. —A. M. ↩
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Literally “in the terem,” the terem being the woman’s quarter where in olden times the women of a Russian family used to be secluded in oriental fashion. —A. M. ↩
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The Housebuilder, a sixteenth-century manual, by the monk Silvester, on religion and household management. —A. M. ↩
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One Russian edition adds: “First woman’s rights, then civil marriage, and then divorce, come as unsettled questions.” —A. M. ↩
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Tea in Russia is usually drunk out of tumblers. —A. M. ↩
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In Russia, as in other continental countries and formerly in England, the maisons de tolérance were under the supervision of the government; doctors were employed to examine the women, and, as far as possible, see they did not continue the trade when diseased. —A. M. ↩
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A notorious Parisian cancanière. —A. M. ↩
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Streets in Moscow in which brothels were numerous. —A. M. ↩
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In the printed and censored Russian edition the word “Court” was changed to “most refined.” —A. M. ↩
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In Russia wet-nurses were usually provided with an elaborate national costume by their employers. —A. M. ↩
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The practice of employing wet-nurses was very much more general in Russia than in the English-speaking countries. —A. M. ↩
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The card-game named in the original, and then much played in Russia, was vint, which resembles bridge. —A. M. ↩
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Vánka the Steward is the subject and name of some old Russian poems. Vánka seduces his master’s wife, boasts of having done so, and is hanged. —A. M. ↩
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In Russian the word for “forgive me” is very similar to that for “goodbye,” and is sometimes used in place of the latter. —A. M. ↩
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The Institute was a boarding-school for the daughters of the nobility and gentry, in which great attention was paid to the manners and accomplishments of the pupils. —A. M. ↩
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An “envelope” was a small mattress with a coverlet attached, on which babies were carried about. —A. M. ↩
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What would you have? ↩
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At this place the alternative ending, printed at the end of the story, begins. ↩
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Trial by jury was introduced in 1864, and at first the juries were inclined to be extremely lenient to the prisoners. —A. M. ↩
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“The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles.” ↩
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1st October o.s. —A. M. ↩
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“Lise, look to the right. That is he.” ↩
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“Where? Where? He is not so very handsome.” ↩
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Two hundred miles. ↩
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Páshenka is a familiar pet name. Praskóvya Mikháylovna (Michael’s daughter) is the full Christian name and patronymic proper when formally addressing an adult. —A. M. ↩
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£6. ↩
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About a penny. ↩
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“Sometimes two shillings, sometimes one, or sometimes sevenpence.” ↩
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“Ask them whether they are quite sure that their pilgrimage pleases God.” ↩
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“What does he say? He does not answer.” ↩
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“He says that he is a servant of God. That one is probably a priest’s son. He is not a common man. Have you any small change?” ↩
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“But tell them that I give it them not to spend on church candles, but that they should have some tea. Tea, tea for you, old fellow.” ↩
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Count Leo Tolstoy’s article “The Overthrow of Hell and Its Restoration” is a vigorous attack on the Church. It constitutes the first part of a pamphlet which may be regarded as Tolstoy’s confession of faith, or rather the programme of his social and religious convictions. He is severe on both the Church and the established government, and while in many respects he denounces the Russian government in particular, his comments strike home to government in any form. When speaking of the Church, he thinks first of all of the Greek Catholic Church; but he hits the Episcopalians as well, saying:
“The Church is produced thus: Some people assure themselves and others that their teacher, God, has chosen special men who, with those to whom they transfer this power, can alone correctly interpret His teaching. Those men who call themselves the Church regard themselves as holding the truth, not because what they preach is truth, but because they regard themselves as the only true successors of the disciples of the disciples of the disciples, and at last of the disciples of the teacher Himself, God …
“Having recognised themselves as the only expositors of God’s law, and having persuaded others of this, these men became the highest arbiters of man’s fate, and therefore were entrusted with the highest power over men. Having received this power, they naturally became infatuated and, for the most part, depraved, thus exciting against themselves the anger and enmity of men. In order to overcome their enemies they, having no other arms but violence, began to persecute, to kill, to burn all those who would not recognise their power. Thus by their very position they were forced to misrepresent the teaching so that it should justify both their wicked lives and their cruelties to their enemies.”
Tolstoy claims that Christ’s teaching was so simple that no one could possibly misinterpret it. It is expressed in the saying: “Do unto others what thou desirest that others should do unto thee.” But Satan’s helpers succeeded in obscuring the Golden Rule.
Concerning government, Beelzebub says, according to Tolstoy’s description:
“He who destroyed Hell taught mankind to live like the birds of Heaven, commanding men to give to him that asks and to surrender one’s coat to him who wishes to take one’s shirt, saying that to be saved one must give away one’s property. How then dost thou induce men who have heard this to go on plundering?”
“We do this,” said the moustached devil haughtily, throwing back his head, “exactly as did our father and ruler when Saul was elected King. Even as then, we instil into men the idea that instead of ceasing to plunder each other it is more convenient to allow one man to plunder them all, giving him full authority over all. What as new in our methods is only this—that for confirming this one man’s right of plundering we lead him into a church, put a special cap on his head, seat him on an elevated armchair, give him a little stick and a ball, rub him with some oil, and in the name of God and His Son proclaim the person of this man, rubbed with oil, to be sacred. Thus the plunder performed by this personage, regarded as sacred, can in no way be restricted. So these sacred personages and their assistants and the assistants of their assistants, all without ceasing, quietly and safely plunder the people. Generally, laws and regulations are instituted by which the idle minority, even without anointing, may plunder with impunity the laboring majority. In some States of late the plunder goes on without anointed men, even as much as where they exist. As our father and ruler sees, the method we use is in substance the old one. What is new in it is that we have made this method more general, more insidious, more widespread in extent and time, and more stable.”
As to international politics, the devil of murder proposed the following scheme:
“We manage thus: We persuade each nation that it—this nation—is the very best of all nations on earth. ‘Deutschland über alles;’ France, England, Russia ‘über alles,’ and that this nation, whichever it be, ought to rule over all the others. As we inculcate the same idea into all nations, they continually feel themselves in danger from their neighbors—are always preparing to defend themselves, and become exasperated against each other. The more one side prepares for defence, and, in consequence, becomes exasperated against its neighbors, the more all the others prepare for defence and hate each other. So, now all those who have accepted the teaching of him who called us murderers, are continually and chiefly occupied in preparation for murder and in murder itself.”
As to marriage, Beelzebub explained his mode of procedure as follows:
“We do this both according to the old method used by thee, our father and ruler, when yet in the garden of Eden, and which gave over all the human race into our power, but we do it also in a new ecclesiastical way. According to the new ecclesiastical method we proceed thus: We persuade men that true marriage consists not in what it really consists, the union of man and woman, but in dressing oneself up in one’s best clothes, going into a big building arranged for the purpose, and there putting on one’s head caps specially prepared for the occasion, walking round a little table three times to the sound of various songs. We teach men that this only is true marriage. Being persuaded of this, they naturally regard all unions between man and woman formed outside of these conditions as mere frolics binding one to nothing, or as the satisfaction of a hygienic necessity, and therefore they unrestrainedly give themselves up to this pleasure. …
“In this way, while not abandoning the former method of forbidden fruit and inquisitiveness practised in Eden, we attain the very best results, men imagining that they can arrange for themselves an honest ecclesiastical marriage even after a dissolute life: men change hundreds of wives and thus become so accustomed to vice that they go on doing the same after the Church marriage. If for any reason, any of the demands connected with their Church marriage appear to them cumbersome, then they arrange another walk round the little table, whilst the first is regarded as of no effect.”
In order to prevent people from investigating the real cause of all unhappiness on earth, Satan invented science and makes people investigate all kinds of physical laws, the descent of man, etc. He thus succeeds in covering up the important religious truth of the Golden Rule. For the sake of increasing the toil of man, machinery was introduced. The devil of the labor question says: “I persuade men that as articles can be produced better by machines than by men, it is therefore necessary to turn men into machines, and they do this, and the men turned into machines hate those who have done so unto them.”
Tolstoy winds up his statements as follows: “The devils encircled Beelzebub. At one end was the devil in the cape—the inventor of the Church; at the other end the devil in the mantle—the inventor of Science. These devils clasped each other’s paws, and the ring was complete.
“All the devils chuckling, yelping, whistling, cracking their heels and twisting their tails, spun and danced around Beelzebub. Beelzebub, himself flapping his unfolded wings, danced in the middle, kicking up high his legs.
“Above were heard cries, weeping, groans, and the gnashing of teeth.” ↩
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In this story Tolstoy has used the names of real people. Esarhaddon (or Assur-akhi-iddina) is mentioned three times in the Bible (2 Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38, and Ezra 4:2), and is also alluded to in 2 Chronicles 33:11, as, “the King of Assyria, which took Manasseh in chains, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.” His son, Assur-bani-pal, whom he promoted to power before his own death, is once mentioned in the Bible, under the name of Asnapper (Ezra 4:10). Of Lailie history does not tell us much; but in Ernest A. Budge’s History of Esarhaddon we read: “A King, called Lailie, asked that the gods which Esarhaddon had captured from him might be restored. His request was granted, and Esarhaddon said, ‘I spoke to him of brotherhood, and entrusted to him the sovereignty of the districts of Bazu.’ ” ↩
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1s. 2d. ↩
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4s. ↩
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£300. ↩
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Not meant as a claim to relationship, but merely as a friendly form of greeting. ↩
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A mineral water from the Caucasus. ↩
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Brother of Alexander I and Nicholas I. He was in command in Poland from 1816, and provoked the insurrection of 1830 by his harsh military rule. ↩
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“To make him sit up for it.” ↩
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Between £4,000 and £5,000. ↩
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About £30. The purchasing power of money at that time in Poland and Russia was very much greater than it now is. ↩
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The Decembrists attempted, by a conspiracy, to secure Constitutional government for Russia after the death of Alexander I, in 1825. ↩
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A strong conveyance, with poles for springs, specially adapted for rough travelling. ↩
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The Russian equivalent to a cabman. ↩
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The Cossack leader of a formidable peasant rising. He was executed in 1775. ↩
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“Each man makes his bed, and must sleep on it.” ↩
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The Tsar’s orders are so called, in official parlance. ↩
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“I become savage when I think of that accursed brood!” ↩
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That is to say, books and pamphlets which, for political reasons, the censor would not sanction, and which it was therefore dangerous to publish. ↩
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The Patriarch whose reforms caused a great schism. ↩
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A term of contempt, and an allusion both to the Government’s tobacco revenue and to the fact that smoking was introduced into Russia in Peter the Great’s time, to the scandal of the Old Believers, who dwell on the text that: “Not that which entereth into a man, defileth him, but that (smoke) which cometh out of him.” ↩
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Alexander II was assassinated on March the First (o.s.), 1881. ↩
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A game of cards similar to auction bridge. ↩
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A school for natural science without Greek and Latin; in the classical gymnasium Latin and Greek are taught. ↩
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County council. ↩
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The name is Frol, but the common way of the ignorant masses is to use H, instead of F. It is as if one said Johnny then John and then John Smith. ↩
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When a lady in Russia stands godmother she gives the christening robes and a dress to the mother. The godfather pays the priest and gives his godchild a cross. ↩
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The Khodinka is a large plain outside Moscow where the military often exercise. It was here that the people of Moscow assembled to celebrate the Tsar’s accession, and where many hundreds were crushed to death. ↩
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The custom of giving a living to a son-in-law is universal in Russia. The living is usually the dowry of the youngest daughter. ↩
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About three halfpence. ↩
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About a shilling. ↩
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The big peasant loaf of black bread. ↩
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Not in the English sense, for there is no Poor-Law system entitling the destitute to demand maintenance. ↩
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Five farthings. ↩
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Three guineas. ↩
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One of the most depressing features of L. N. Tolstoy’s environment is the large number of unemployed and beggars from the adjacent highway. They wait outside the house for hours every day for the coming of Leo Nikolayevich. The consciousness of his inability to render them substantial aid weighs heavily upon him, as does also the fact that, owing to insurmountable obstacles, he cannot even feed them, and allow them to sleep in the house in which he himself lives. These unfortunates surround Leo Nikolayevich at the steps, and besiege him with their importunate requests, just at the time when he seeks the fresh air and is most in need of mental rest and solitude after long-continued and strenuous mental labour. In view of this fact, the idea has occurred to some of Leo Nikolayevich’s friends, of establishing in the village of Yásnaya Polyána a lodging- and eating-house for tramps, the use of which by the latter would save L. N. unnecessary trouble. The establishment of such premises—L. N. has viewed the idea very favourably—would at least afford some temporary relief to the wandering poor who are in dire need. At the same time the peasantry of Yásnaya Polyána would be relieved of the too heavy burden of supporting the passing unemployed described by Tolstoy in his article. Lastly, it would afford Tolstoy, in his declining years, considerable mental relief, which it would seem that he has more than deserved by his incessant labours on behalf of distressed mankind. ↩
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A Zémsky Natchálnik is a salaried official placed in authority in a district. He is often selected from among the local gentry, and wields very considerable authority. ↩
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A primitive plough used by the peasants. ↩