Sunday, July 15, 2018

Book 1 Part 3 Chapter 19 (Chapter 66 overall)

Chapter Summaries: Dole: Prince Andrei left on the field. Napoleon. Insignificance of Napoleon compared to the infinite heaven. Napoleon and Prince Repnin. Lieutenant Sukhtilen's beautiful answer. Napoleon addresses Prince Andrei. The medallion. His feverish imaginations. Dr. Larrey's diagnosis. A hopeless case.
Briggs: Andrey, despite medical treatment, seems likely to die, and is left behind.

Translation:

XIX.
On the Pratzen mountain, on the very location where he fell with the shaft of the standard in his hands, lay Prince Andrey Bolkonsky, shedding blood, and, himself not knowing this, moaned quietly, pitifully with a childish groan.

In the evening he ceased moaning and fell completely silent. He did not know and forgot how long this went on. Suddenly he again felt himself alive and suffering from the burning and tearing pain in his head.

"Where is it, this high sky which I did not know before and saw now?" was his first thought. "And this misery I also did not know, — he thought. — Yes, nothing, I knew nothing before. But, where am I?"

He had begun to listen and heard the sounds of approaching stomps of horses and the sounds of voices speaking in French. He revealed his eyes. Above him was again all of that same high sky with still higher rising floating clouds, through which could be seen the blue infinity. He did not turn his head and did not see those, which, judging by the sounds of hooves and voices, pulled up to him and stopped.

Riding was Napoleon, accompanied by two adjutants. Bonaparte, going around the field of battle, gave to the back the last orders about gained batteries, the shooting by the Augest dam, and considered the slain and wounded remaining on the field of battle.

— Nice people!388— said Napoleon, looking at a murdered Russian grenadier, whose face was buried in the land and the blackened back of his head lay on his belly, throwing back one now hardened hand.

— There are no more battery charges, your majesty!389 — said at this time an adjutant, arriving from the batteries and shooters by the Augest.

— Tell them to bring from the reserves,390 — said Napoleon, and, driving off a few steps, he stopped above Prince Andrey, lying back with the abandoned beside him shaft of the standard (the flag already, as a trophy, was taken by the French).

— That’s a beautiful death,391 — said Napoleon, looking at Bolkonsky.

Prince Andrey got that this was said about him, and that speaking this was Napoleon. He heard how he was called "your majesty"392, understanding who said these words. Yet he heard these words, as he would hear the buzzing of a fly. He not only was not interested in them, but he did not see, and immediately already forgot them. His head burned; he felt that blood came from him, and he saw above himself the distant, high and eternal sky. He knew that this was Napoleon — his hero, but at this moment Napoleon seemed to him such a little, insignificant human in comparison with that which was happening now between his soul and this high, endless sky with the running by him clouds. He completely did not care at this moment who was standing above him, or what was spoken about him; he was only glad that the stopped above him people, and desired only for these people to aid him and would return him to life, which seemed to him so beautiful, because of how he so thoroughly understood it now. He collected all of his forces, so that to move and to produce some sound. He weakly moved his foot and produced his pitied, weak, painful moan.

— Ah! He is alive, — said Napoleon. — Raise this young man, ce jeune homme, and tear him to the dressing point!

Saying this, Napoleon went farther towards Marshal Lannes, who, by removing his hat, smiling and congratulating on the victory, drove to the emperor.

Prince Andrey did not remember anything further: he lost consciousness against the frightening pain, which was caused by laying him on the stretcher, the tremors in the time of movements and the probing of wounds at the dressing point. He woke up now alone at the end of the day, when he, connecting with other Russian wounded and captive officers, was carried into the hospital. At this movement he felt himself somewhat fresher and could look back and even speak.

The first words that he heard, when he woke up, —were the words of the French escort officer, who hastily spoke:

— You need to stay here: the Emperor will now pass; it will deliver pleasure to him to see these captive gentlemen.

— There are now so many captives, not a little of all the Russian army, that he, probably, will be bored, — said another officer.

— Well, however! This, they say, is the commander throughout the guard of Emperor Aleksandr, — said the first, pointing at a wounded Russian officer in a white cavalry guard uniform.

Bolkonsky found Prince Repnin, whom he met in the world of Petersburg. Nearby him stood a different, 19 year old boy, also a wounded cavalry guard officer.

Bonaparte, driving in a gallop, stopped his horse.

— Who is the older? — he said, seeing the captives.

They called the colonel, Prince Repnin.

— You were commander of the cavalry guard regiment of Emperor Aleksandr? — asked Napoleon.

— I commanded a squadron, — was the response of Repnin.

— You regiment honestly carried out their duty, — said Napoleon.

— Praise of a great commander is the best reward of a soldier, — said Repnin.

— With pleasure I give it back to you, — said Napoleon. — Who is this young person beside you?

Prince Repnin called Lieutenant Suhtelen.

Looking at him, Napoleon said, smiling:

—He is the same young one that poked himself to beat us.393

— Youth does not prevent being brave, — spoke the breaking off voice of Suhtelen.

— A beautiful answer, — said Napoleon; — a young person, a long away you will go!

Prince Andrey, for the completeness of the trophy captives was also exposed forward to the eyes of the emperor, and could not not attract his attention. Napoleon, apparently, remembered that he saw him on the field and, turned to him, using that very name young man — jeune homme, under which Bolkonsky for the first time reflected in his memory.

— Et vous, jeune homme? Well, and you, young person? — he turned to him, — How do you feel yourself, mon (my) brave?

Despite that for five minutes before this Prince Andrey could say a few words to the soldiers, he endured, now, directing his eyes at Napoleon, keeping silent... To him so insignificant seemed at this moment all the interests that Napoleon occupied, so petty seemed his hero to him, with this petty vanity and joy of victory, in comparison with that high, true and kind sky, which he saw and got, — that he could not respond to him.

Yes and all seemed so useless and insignificant in comparison with that strict and majestic building of thought, which called on his weakening forces from the flowing blood, suffering and close expectation of death. Looking at the eyes of Napoleon, Prince Andrey thought about the insignificance of greatness, about the insignificance of life, of which no one could understand the meaning, and still more about the smallness of death, the meaning of which no one could understand and explain from the living.

The emperor, not waiting for an answer, turned away and, driving off, turned to one of his chiefs:

— Take care of these gentlemen and bring them to my bivouac: let my doctor Larrey examine their wounds. Goodbye, Prince Repnin, — and he, touching his horse, galloped farther.

On his face was a shine of complacency and happiness.

The soldiers brought Prince Andrey and removed from him the caught by them golden scapular, hung on her brother by Princess Marya, but seeing the affectionateness with which the emperor approached the captives, hastened to return the scapular.

Prince Andrey did not see, who allotted it to him again, but on his breast and the excess of his uniform suddenly found on himself the scapular on the small golden chain.

"This would be okay, — thought Prince Andrey, looking at this scapular, which with such feeling and reverence was hung on him by his sister, — this would be okay, should all be so clear and simple, as it seems to Princess Marya. How okay would it be to know where to search for assistance in this life and what waits after it, there, behind the coffin! How happy and calm I would be, if I could say now: Lord, have mercy on me!... Yet who can I say this to! Either a power — vague, incomprehensible whom I not only cannot handle, but to whom I cannot express words to, — a great all or nothing, — he spoke to himself, — or is this that God, which here is sewn up, in this palm of Princess Marya? Nothing, nothing is faithful, besides only this nonentity that I understand, and some greatness that is incomprehensible, but the most important!"

The stretcher set off. At each push he again felt unbearable pain; his febrile state intensified, and he started raving. Daydreaming about his father, wife, sister and future son and the tenderness which he felt on the night of the eve of the battle, the figure of the small, worthless Napoleon and above all this high sky, formed the main foundation of his feverish presentations.

The quiet life and calm family happiness at Bald Mountains presented to him. He already enjoyed this happiness, when suddenly little Napoleon with his indifferent, limited and happiness from the misfortunes of other look began doubt, torture, and only the sky promised reassurance. In the morning all the daydreaming mixed up and merged into unconsciousness chaos and the gloom of oblivion, which much more likely, by the opinion of Larrey, the doctor of Napoleon himself, allowed death than recovery.

—This subject is nervous and gall, — said Larrey, —he will not recover.394

Prince Andrey, in the number of other hopeless wounded, were passed into the care of the inhabitants.

388. De beaux hommes! (Beautiful men!)
389. Les munitions des pièces de position sont épuisées, sire (The ammunition of the position pieces is exhausted, sir)
390. Faites avancer celles de la réserve, (Make an advance of those of the reserve,)
391. Voilà une belle mort, (Here is a beautiful death,)
392. Sire (Sir)
393.  Il est venu bien jeune se frotter à nous. (He came very young to rub us.)
394. C’est un sujet nerveux et bilieux, —  il n’en rechappera pas. (He is a nervous and bilious subject - he will not escape.)

Time: toward evening

Locations: Pratzen heights, hospital
Mentioned: dam of Auhest (Augest dam in Garnett, Dole, (who uses dyke) and Dunnigan. Augesd dam in Mandelker.), Russian, French, St. Petersburg, Lysyya Gory

Pevear and Volkhonsky Notes: The Napoleon and Andrei incident. Napoleon calls the dead Russians fine men. The French have taken the standard as a trophy. Andrei can’t enjoy the moment of being so complimented. “He knew that it was Napoleon--his hero--but at that moment, Napoleon seemed to him such a small, insignificant man compared with what was now happening between his soul and this lofty, infinite sky with clouds racing across it.” He “wished that those people would help him and bring him back to life, which seemed so beautiful to him, because he now understood it differently.” And they do help him. Napoleon is even generous (though perhaps importantly, because Andrei was heroic, not because he achieved a new understanding in life).
Napoleon’s conversation with the captured Russians again shows generosity and politeness, but is covered in platitudes. Andrei: “To him at that moment all the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant, his hero himself
seemed so petty to him, with his petty vanity and joy in victory, compared with that lofty, just, and kindly sky…Andrei thought about the insignificance of grandeur, about the insignificance of life, the meaning of which no one could
understand, and about the still greater insignificance of death, the meaning of which no one among the living could understand or explain.”
Napoleon’s kindness does motivate the soldier who took Andrei’s icon he got from his sister to give it back to him.
Napoleon’s doctor doesn’t believe Andrei will pull through as, this time not in inner monologue, but in narration, his mind feverishly flips through topics in a stream of consciousness fashion.


Characters (characters who do not appear, but are mentioned are placed in italics. First appearances are in Bold. First mentions are underlined. Final appearance denoted by *):

Prince Andrei Bolkonsky

Napoleon Bonaparte (also “emperor”)

Marshal Lannes

Emperor Alexander (mentioned in reference to his guards)

Colonel Prince Repnin

Lieutenant Sukhtelen (as in Dole, Maude, and Dunnigan. A nineteen year old officer of the cavalier guard that is wounded. “...Suhtelen” in Edmonds.)

Doctor Larrey

Princess Mariya

Nikolai Bolkonsky (just "father")

The little Princess (just “wife”)


(of course, many undifferentiated soldiers, like Napoleon’s aides, the dead Russian grenadier, French officers that have a conversation.)


Abridged Versions: Dunnigan, Mandelker, and Edmonds: end of book one.
End of volume one for Wiener and volume five of his complete works of Tolstoy translation.
End of book three for Maude.
End of volume 1 in Briggs and Dole.
End of part three for Garnett. End of chapter 11 for Bell.
Gibian: End of Book Three.
Fuller: Chapter is basically preserved, end of Part 3.
Komroff: Chapter is cut.
Kropotkin: Chapter 14: chapter is preserved, end of part third.
Bromfield: Chapter 17: preserved
Simmons: Chapter is preserved. End of Book Three.
Edmundson: Act One Scene 24: A short scene where Andrei sees Napoleon and then imagines Maria and wants to go home.
Additional Notes:
Garnett: Prince Nikolay Grigorevitch Repnin
Count Pavel Petrovitch Suhtelen
Baron Dominique-Jean Larrey

Garnett points out the inconsistency in how the icon is described.

Roberts: Page 388: “Rapp arrived, with a broken sabre and a sword wound to the head, and presented to the Emperor the flags they had captured along with the prisoner, Prince Nikolai Repnin-Volkonsky, commander of a squadron of the Russian Guard...When Francois Gerard painted the battle, Napoleon asked him to depict that moment of Rapp’s arrival.”

File:Austerlitz-baron-Pascal.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Speirs: Page 31: It is only after Austerlitz that the great Tolstoy is in full command. What can possibly come now? Asks the reader, looking at the vast bulk of what is to follow….Andrew is given the distinction of being tended
by Napoleon’s personal doctor, Larrey...so ends Book Three...If one sees the first three books, ending with Austerlitz, as introduction, then the next five books, ending at the moment Napoleon enters Russia, for the first
half of the novel proper.”

Paul Johnson: Page 63: “Bonaparte enjoyed the services of a military scientist of genius in the shape of Domenique-Jean Larrey, who devoted his life to military medicine and was with Bonaparte on some of his most arduous campaigns. It was Larrey who invented the Flying Ambulance, the first effective vehicle for getting the wounded rapidly off the field. This was part of a system Larrey designed for ensuring that as many casualties as possible received proper medical treatment as quickly as possible. It undoubtedly worked, and saved innumerable lives. Moreover, Larrey deprecated the atrocious habit of military surgeons of sawing off arms and legs on the slightest pretext, usually because a bullet, in entering the limb, had carried with it a portion of clothing so that the wound became infected. He thought that limbs could usually be saved, and proved it in many cases.”

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