War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (ebook reader for pc TXT) π
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Against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, five aristocratic families in Russia are transformed by the vagaries of life, by war, and by the intersection of their lives with each other. Hundreds of characters populate War and Peace, many of them historical persons, including Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I, and all of them come to life under Tolstoyβs deft hand.
War and Peace is generally considered to be Tolstoyβs masterpiece, a pinnacle of Russian literature, and one of historyβs great novels. Tolstoy himself refused to call it that, saying it was βnot a novel, even less is it a poem, and still less a historical chronicle.β It contains elements of history, narrative, and philosophy, the latter increasing in quantity as the book moves towards its climax. Whatever it is called, it is a triumph whose breadth and depth is perhaps unmatched in literature.
This production restores the Russian given names that were anglicized by the Maudes in their translation, the use of Russian patronymics and diminutives that they eliminated, and Tolstoyβs original four-book structure.
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- Author: Leo Tolstoy
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A member of the Hofkriegsrath from Vienna had come to KutΓΊzov the day before with proposals and demands for him to join up with the army of the Archduke Ferdinand and Mack, and KutΓΊzov, not considering this junction advisable, meant, among other arguments in support of his view, to show the Austrian general the wretched state in which the troops arrived from Russia. With this object he intended to meet the regiment; so the worse the condition it was in, the better pleased the commander in chief would be. Though the aide-de-camp did not know these circumstances, he nevertheless delivered the definite order that the men should be in their greatcoats and in marching order, and that the commander in chief would otherwise be dissatisfied. On hearing this the regimental commander hung his head, silently shrugged his shoulders, and spread out his arms with a choleric gesture.
βA fine mess weβve made of it!β he remarked.
βThere now! Didnβt I tell you, MikhΓ‘il MΓtrich, that if it was said βon the marchβ it meant in greatcoats?β said he reproachfully to the battalion commander. βOh, my God!β he added, stepping resolutely forward. βCompany commanders!β he shouted in a voice accustomed to command. βSergeants major!β ββ β¦ How soon will he be here?β he asked the aide-de-camp with a respectful politeness evidently relating to the personage he was referring to.
βIn an hourβs time, I should say.β
βShall we have time to change clothes?β
βI donβt know, General.β ββ β¦β
The regimental commander, going up to the line himself, ordered the soldiers to change into their greatcoats. The company commanders ran off to their companies, the sergeants major began bustling (the greatcoats were not in very good condition), and instantly the squares that had up to then been in regular order and silent began to sway and stretch and hum with voices. On all sides soldiers were running to and fro, throwing up their knapsacks with a jerk of their shoulders and pulling the straps over their heads, unstrapping their overcoats and drawing the sleeves on with upraised arms.
In half an hour all was again in order, only the squares had become gray instead of black. The regimental commander walked with his jerky steps to the front of the regiment and examined it from a distance.
βWhatever is this? This!β he shouted and stood still. βCommander of the third company!β
βCommander of the third company wanted by the general!β ββ β¦ commander to the generalβ ββ β¦ third company to the commander.β The words passed along the lines and an adjutant ran to look for the missing officer.
When the eager but misrepeated words had reached their destination in a cry of: βThe general to the third company,β the missing officer appeared from behind his company and, though he was a middle-aged man and not in the habit of running, trotted awkwardly stumbling on his toes toward the general. The captainβs face showed the uneasiness of a schoolboy who is told to repeat a lesson he has not learned. Spots appeared on his nose, the redness of which was evidently due to intemperance, and his mouth twitched nervously. The general looked the captain up and down as he came up panting, slackening his pace as he approached.
βYou will soon be dressing your men in petticoats! What is this?β shouted the regimental commander, thrusting forward his jaw and pointing at a soldier in the ranks of the third company in a greatcoat of bluish cloth, which contrasted with the others. βWhat have you been after? The commander in chief is expected and you leave your place? Eh? Iβll teach you to dress the men in fancy coats for a parade.β ββ β¦ Ehβ ββ β¦β?β
The commander of the company, with his eyes fixed on his superior, pressed two fingers more and more rigidly to his cap, as if in this pressure lay his only hope of salvation.
βWell, why donβt you speak? Whom have you got there dressed up as a Hungarian?β said the commander with an austere gibe.
βYour excellencyβ ββ β¦β
βWell, your excellency, what? Your excellency! But what about your excellency?β ββ β¦ nobody knows.β
βYour excellency, itβs the officer DΓ³lokhov, who has been reduced to the ranks,β said the captain softly.
βWell? Has he been degraded into a field marshal, or into a soldier? If a soldier, he should be dressed in regulation uniform like the others.β
βYour excellency, you gave him leave yourself, on the march.β
βGave him leave? Leave? Thatβs just like you young men,β said the regimental commander cooling down a little. βLeave indeed.β ββ β¦ One says a word to you and youβ ββ β¦ What?β he added with renewed irritation, βI beg you to dress your men decently.β
And the commander, turning to look at the adjutant, directed his jerky steps down the line. He was evidently pleased at his own display of anger and walking up to the regiment wished to find a further excuse for wrath. Having snapped at an officer for an unpolished badge, at another because his line was not straight, he reached the third company.
βH-o-o-w are you standing? Whereβs your leg? Your leg?β shouted the commander with a tone of suffering in his voice, while there were still five men between him and DΓ³lokhov with his bluish-gray uniform.
DΓ³lokhov slowly straightened his bent knee, looking straight with his clear, insolent eyes in the generalβs face.
βWhy a blue coat? Off with itβ ββ β¦ Sergeant major! Change his coatβ ββ β¦ the rasβ ββ β¦β he did not finish.
βGeneral, I must obey orders, but I am not bound to endureβ ββ β¦β DΓ³lokhov hurriedly interrupted.
βNo talking in the ranks!β ββ β¦ No talking, no talking!β
βNot bound to endure insults,β DΓ³lokhov concluded in loud, ringing tones.
The eyes of the general and the soldier met. The general became silent, angrily pulling down his tight scarf.
βI request you to have the goodness to change your coat,β he said as he turned away.
IIβHeβs coming!β shouted the signaler at that moment.
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