Book 2 Part 3 Chapter 5 (Chapter 108 Overall)

Chapter Summaries: Dole: Prince Andrei in society The reception at Count Kotchubey's. Prince Andrei's emancipation scheme discussed. Prince Andrei introduced to Speransky. Montesquieu's maxims.
Briggs: Andrey is more impressed by Speransky, admiring his self-assurance.

Translation:

V.

Expecting notifications about the enrollment of his membership in the committee, Prince Andrey renewed old acquaintances, especially with those faces that he knew were in strength and could be needed by him. He felt now in Petersburg the feeling that tested him on the eve of a battle, when he was tormented by anxiety, curiosity and was irresistibly pulled into the higher spheres there, where the future was prepared, from which the fates of millions depended. He felt the bitterness of old people, the curiosity of the uninitiated, the restraint of the dedicated, the haste of the concerns of all, the countless number of committees, commissions, the existence of which he again found out every day, that now in the year of 1809, prepared here in Petersburg, that huge civil battle, whose commander in chief was unknown to him, the mysterious and presented to him as ingenious, the face — Speransky. And to him the very vague famous business of transformations, and Speransky — the main activist, began so passionately to interest him that the business of military regulations very soon had become secondary in the place of his consciousness.

Prince Andrey was found in one of the most profitable provisions so that it was okay to be adopted into all the most diverse and higher circles of the then Petersburg society. The party of reformers welcomely accepted and lured him, first because of how he had the reputation of a big mind and was well-read, second because of how he gave absolution to his peasants by free will and now had himself the reputation as a liberal. The party of old people were dissatisfied, all as a father to their son turning to him for empathy, condemning the transformations. The female society welcomed him into their world because of how he was a groom, rich, noble, and almost a new face with a halo of romantic history about his imagination in the death and tragic demise of his wife. Besides this, the common voice about him of all that knew him before was that he had much changed for the better in these five years, softened, matured, and that there was not in him the former pretense, pride and mockery, and there was that calmness which was acquired in those years. About him they began talking, interested and all wanted to see him.

On the next day, after the visit of Count Arakcheev, Prince Andrey was at Count Kochubey’s evening. He told the count of his appointment with the forcible Andreich (Kochubey so called Arakcheev with that same uncertain about something mockery, which Prince Andrey saw in the reception of the military minister).

— My dear,480 even in this case you will not pass Mihail Mihailovich. This is a general businessman.481 I told him. He promised to come tonight...

— What again is the business of Speransky to military regulations? — asked Prince Andrey.

Kochubey, smiling, shook his head, as if wondering at the naivety of Bolkonsky.

— We were talking about you the other day, — continued Kochubey, — about your free farmers...

— Yes, this is you, prince, that let go of their peasants? — said a Catherinian old man, contemptuously turning around to Bolkonsky.

— A small estate that did not bring income, — was the response of Bolkonsky, so that to in vain not provoke the old man, trying to soften before him his act.

— Afraid to be late,482 — said the old man, looking at Kochubey.

— I alone do not understand, — continued the old man, — who will plow the land, if they are given free will? It is easy to write laws, but to manage is difficult. You do not care as now, I ask you, count, who will be the head of the house, when to all exams are kept?

— Those who withstand the exams, I think, — was the response of Kochubey, throwing leg on leg and looking back.

— Here at mine serves Pryanichnikov, a nice person, a golden person, but he is 60 years-old, won’t he go to exams?..

— Yes, this is difficult, in the lower formation quite little is distributed, but... — Count Kochubey did not finish talking, he rose and, taking behind the arm of Prince Andrey, went towards an incoming tall, bald, and blond person, forty years-old, with a big open forehead and an extraordinary, strange, white and oblong face. On who entered was a blue tailcoat, a cross on his neck and a star on the left side of his breast. This was Speransky. Prince Andrey immediately found him and in his soul something trembled, as this is in the important minutes of life. Whether this was respect, envy, or expectation — he did not know. All of the figure of Speransky had a special type, by which he could know him. And in this society in which lived Prince Andrey, he had not seen this calmness and self-confident clumsy and dull movements, and he had not seen such a solid and altogether soft sight of a semi-closed and somewhat wet eye, had not seen such hardness in a not insignificant smile, such a thin, even, and quiet voice, and, the main thing, such a tender white face and especially his hands, somewhat broad, but unusually plump, gentle and white. Such whiteness and tenderness of face Prince Andrey had seen only in a soldier, long staying in a hospital. This was Speransky, state secretary, speaker of the sovereign and his traveller in Erfurt, where he not just once saw and spoke with Napoleon.

Speransky did not run across his eyes from one face to another, as is unwittingly done in entrance to great society, and did not hurry to speak. He spoke quietly, with the certainty that he will be listened to, and watched only that face with which he spoke.

Prince Andrey especially carefully watched for every word and movement of Speransky. As this is with people, especially with those which are strictly judged by their neighbors, Prince Andrey, meeting with the new face, especially with such as Speransky, whom he knew by reputation, was always waiting to find in him the complete perfection of human merits.

Speransky said to Kochubey that it was a pity that he could not come earlier, because of how he was detained at the palace. He did not say that he was detained by the sovereign. And this affectation of modesty was seen by Prince Andrey. When Kochubey called Prince Andrey to him, Speransky slowly led across his eyes to Bolkonsky with that same smile and silently began to look at him.

— I am very glad to become acquainted with you, and I heard about you, as have all, — he said.

Kochubey said a few words about the reception of Bolkonsky to Arakcheev. Speransky smiled more.

— The director of the commission of military regulations is my good buddy — Sir Magnitsky, — he said, finishing every syllable and each word while talking, — and if you wish this, I can lead you to him. (He was silent at this point.) I hope that you will find in him empathy and the wish to promote all that is reasonable.

About Speransky was immediately the same put together club and that old man, who spoke about his official, Pryanichnikov, also with the issue turned to Speransky.

Prince Andrey, not marching into conversation, watched all the movements of Speransky, this man, recently a worthless seminarian and now in his hands, — these white, plump hands, had the fate of Russia, so thought Bolkonsky. Prince Andrey was struck by the extraordinary, contemptuous calm, with which Speransky responded to the old man. He, it seemed, with immeasurable heights turned him to his condescending words. When the old man began to speak too loudly, Speransky smiled and said that he may not judge the benefits or disadvantages of anything that was done by the sovereign.

Talking some time in the overall circle, Speransky got up and, coming up to Prince Andrey, withdrew him with himself to a different end of the room. It was seen that he counted it fit to do this with Bolkonsky.

— I did not have time to talk from you, prince, among this animate conversation, in which I was involved with by this respectable old man, — he said, meekly and contemptuously smiling and in this smile recognizing that he together with Prince Andrey understood the insignificance of those people with which he had only spoken. This appeal flattered Prince Andrey. — I have known of you for a long time: first, by your business about your peasants, this is our first example, to which it would be so advisable for more to follow; but second, because that you are one of those chamberlains which have not found yourself offended by the new decree about the courtiers ranks, defiant of such talk and gossip.

— Yes, — said Prince Andrey, — my father did not want for me to employ this right; I started service from the lower ranks.

— Your father, a person of the old century, is obviously worth higher than our contemporaries, which so condemn this measure, restorating only natural justice.

— I think however, that there is a foundation in these convictions, — said Prince Andrey, trying to fight with the influence of Speransky, which he started to feel. It was unpleasant for him to agree with all of him: he wanted to contradict him. Prince Andrey, usually speaking easily and well, felt now it was difficult to express, talking with Speransky. He was too occupied by the security above the personality of the significant man.

— A foundation for personal ambition maybe, — Speransky quietly inserted his word.

— In part and for the state, — said Prince Andrey.

— As you understand?... — said Speransky, quietly lowering his eyes.

— I am an admirer of Montesquieu, — said Prince Andrey. — and his idea about how in the foundation of monarchies there is honor, to me it seems undoubtable. Some rights and advantages of the nobility presents for me the means for the maintaining of this feeling.483

The smile disappeared on the white face of Speransky and his physiognomy was much won from this. Probably the idea of Prince Andrey seemed to him entertaining.

— If you see the business with this point of view,484 — he started, with obvious difficulty and embarrassment in French spoke more slowly than in Russian, yet completely calmly. He said that honor, l’honneur, may not support benefits or harms for the passage of service, that honor, l’honneur, is: a negative concept doing no reprehensible deeds, or known to spring competition for receiving endorsement and awards, expressing it.

His arguments were condensed, simple, and clear.

— An institute supporting this honor, springing competition is an institute similar to the Legion of Honor485 of the great Emperor Napoleon, not harmful, but facilitating to the success of service, not estate or courtier advantage.

— I cannot argue, but it cannot be denied that courtier advantage has reached those same goals, — said Prince Andrey: — Any court considers itself obliged to suitably carry out its position.

— Yet you would not like them to benefit from it, prince, — said Speransky, with a smile showing that he, in this awkward for his interlocutor dispute, wished to stop in courtesy. — Should you do me the honor to welcome me on Wednesday, — he added, — then I, talking with Magnitsky, will inform you that what may be an interest to you, and besides this will have the pleasure to converse more details with you. — he, closing his eyes, bowed, and, in the French manner,486 not saying goodbye, trying to be unnoticed, got out of the hall.

480 Mon cher, (My dear,)

481 C’est le grand faiseur. (He is the great maker.)

482 Vous craignez d’être en retard, (You are afraid of being late,)

483 le principe des monarchies est l’honneur, me paraît incontestable. Certains droits et privilèges de la noblesse me paraissent être des moyens de soutenir ce sentiment. (the principle of monarchies is honor, seems to me incontestable. Certain rights and privileges of the nobility seem to me to be means of sustaining this feeling.)

484 Si vous envisagez la question sous ce point de vue, (If you look at the question from this point of view,)

485 Légion d’honneur (Legion of Honor)

486 à la française (the French)

Time: 1809

Mentioned: The times of Catherine, the past generation (bygone generation in Dole. last century in Maude and Mandelker. old days in Pevear and Volkhonsky. old regime in Briggs. older generation in Garnett and Dunnigan.), Wednesday

Locations: St. Petersburg.
Mentioned: Erfurt, Russia, Francaise (French in Briggs)

Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes:

Andrei "now experienced in Petersburg a feeling similar to what he had experienced on the eve of battle, when he had fretted with anxious curiosity and was irresistibly drawn to the higher spheres". Also, notably, he tries to
renew acquaintances with people he think he will be useful to him, a Boris-like action. Andrei quickly loses interest in military regulations and starts to follow the cult of Speransky like he did Napoleon at the start of the novel.

"the general opinion of him among all who had known him before was that he had changed greatly for the better in those five years, had softened and matured".

The conservative versus liberal battle rages in a conversation between an old man and Count Kochubey in a discussion about the examinations and freed serfs.

More importantly, Andrei sees Speransky. Tolstoy devotes a lot of description to how Speransky handles himself, or more properly, how Andrei perceives Speransky handling himself. The key words are calm and assured.

"Prince Andrei, trying to fight against Speransky's influence, which he was beginning to feel. He disliked agreeing with him in everything: he wanted to contradict." So Andrei insincerely quotes Montesquieu and defends the
nobles.

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

Mikhail Speransky (Edmonds, Dunnigan, and Garnett do not use the first name early in the chapter, Dole being the alternative reading, most likely to make the connection when the first two names are used later in the
chapter. Dole spells it "Mikhail Mikhailovitch." Maude chooses to use all three names "Michael Mikhaylovich Speranski" to make it clearer. Mandelker does the same thing: "Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky", as well as
Edmonds: "Mihail Mihailovich Speransky" (noticeably, since Andrei uses Speransky in the next line, it shouldn't be difficult to figure out who is being spoken of). Briggs uses "Mikhail Mikhaylovich." Dunnigan "Mikhail
Mikhailovich." Garnett "Mihail Mihalovitch", Bell "Michael Mikailovitch Speransky" and Wiener "Mikhail Mikhaylovich". Wiener spells his last name "Speranski".)

Nikolai Bolkonsky (just "father")

Count Arakcheyef (also "Sila Andreyitch")

Count Kotchubey

An old man of Catherine's time

Catherine the Great (see above)

Pryanitchnikof (as in Dole, mentioned by the old man. "Pryanichnikov" in Maude, Wiener, Briggs, and Mandelker. "Prianichnikow" in Bell.)

Emperor Napoleon

Emperor Alexander ("sovereign" and "emperor")

Mr. Magnitsky (as in Dole and Dunnigan. Edmonds, Mandelker, and Maude (who spells it "Magnitski", as does Wiener, who drops the title before his name) use Monsieur, Garnett and Bell use M. He is the "chairman
of the Commission for Revising the Military Statutes")

(Montesquieu is probably more of a reference than a character)

Abridged Versions: No break in Bell.
Gibian: Line break instead of chapter break.

Fuller: Entire chapter is cut.

Komroff: A lot of the early part of the chapter is cut, getting to Speransky much quicker, eliminating all the conversation that comes before his entrance. After the mention of Magnitsky as someone that can help Andrei,
a line break removes the rest of the chapter, eliminating all the later conversation Andrei has with Speransky.

Kropotkin: Entire chapter is cut.
Simmons: Entire chapter is cut.

Additional Notes:

Dole note on Speransky's name: "his family name possibly Russified by the priests; from the Latin spero: hence, the "Hopeful"'

Maude: "Montesquieu: Charles Louis de secondat, Baron de la Brede (1689-1755), political philosopher perhaps best known for his separation of political power into judicial, legislative, and executive branches. He
was also responsible for conceiving of French society as divided into three political entities, the nobility, the commons, and the monarchy, each with its own privileges and obligations."

Rey: 

Page 213: Born in 1772 in a small village situated in the Vladimir province, the son of a priest, Speransky had been educated at the Vladimir seminary, them at Alexander Nevsky seminary in St. Petersburg, where he graduated in 1791; after 1792 he taught theology there, before being named director in 1795. In 1797 he entered the civil service. He in no way resembled Alexander's old friends in the inner circle. Of extremely modest origins, Speransky owed his extraordinary social ascension to his superior intelligence, his grasp of the interest of the state, and his devotion to work. Speaking fluent French, English, and Russian, reading Greek and Latin, imbued with classical humanism while being open to the contemporary world, Speransky had been supported by Prince Kurakin and entered the imperial chancellery in 1801"

Page 223: "A veritable workhorse, ambitious out of a concern to reform the empire and lead it toward more efficiency and justice, Speransky attracted enmities--of which he was well aware. In February 1811 he confided to
the tsar, complaining humorously of "having been in just one year by turns a Martinist, a Freemason, a defender of liberty, a persecutor of serfdom--and ending as a passionate Illuminato." And even though his probity was
not in doubt, he would soon be accused of being paid by France through the intermediary of Caulaincourt...Alexander was always hesitant by nature "too weak to govern and too strong to be governed," as Speransky would
recklessly declare."

Page 306: "Mikhail Magnitsky...had been Speransky's right-hand man...It was he who orchestrated the clampdown on the universities: he wanted to stamp out European ideas, particularly German ones, which were corrupting Russia, and to return to a national education that celebrated God and the Russian identity."

According to Rowe (Page 48), this is the start of Andrei's third cycle, the first being his opening and Austerlitz, the second being his wife's death, and this and his later love for Natasha is the third of the five cycles.

Durant (Page 687): "When Alexander set out for his second meeting with Napoleon in 1808 he took Speransky with him as “the only clear head in Russia.”...Speransky wanted to end serfdom, but confessed it could not be done in 1809"

Yanov: Page 33: “Montesquieu was a pessimist and a conservative. He was convinced that the days of “moderate government” (as he called European absolute monarchy) were numbered, that the age-old struggle was approaching its political finale--its catastrophe.”

Berlin: Page 40: “Montesquieu had laid it down that human laws should be…’necessary relationships which derive from the nature of things’.”

S. A. Tolstoya: Page 39: “A young professor at the University of Kazan, named Meyer...to Lev Nikolayevich, that he would like someone to undertake a comparison of Catherine II’s Edict and Montesquieu’s Espirit des lois. Lev Nikolayevich threw himself enthusiastically into the task and began to study Montesquieu, then legal philosophy, then philosophy in general, and so abandoned his studies and devoted himself undividedly and with his usual enthusiasm to philosophy.”