Book 3 Part 1 Chapter 18 (Chapter 182 overall)

Chapter Summaries: Dole: July, 1812. The emperor's manifesto. Mass at the Razumovsky chapel. Natasha's conscious beauty. Her prayers. The new invasion prayer.
Maude: She attends Mass, and hears the special prayer for victory
Briggs: At Mass Natasha hears the special prayer for victory.
Pevear and Volokhonsky: Natasha and her mother at a prayer service for the salvation of Russia.

Translation:

XVIII.

In the beginning of July in Moscow spread all more and more disturbing gossip about the course of war: speaking about the proclamation of the sovereign to the people and about the arrival of the sovereign himself from the army in Moscow. And so as to the 11th of July the manifesto and appeal was not received, about them and about the position of Russia went exaggerated gossip. It was said that the sovereign went away because of how the army was in danger, it was said that Smolensk was passed, that Napoleon had a million troops and that only a miracle may save Russia.

On the 11th of July, on Saturday, was received the manifesto, but it was still not printed; and Pierre, arriving at the Rostovs, promised on the next day, on Sunday, to come to dinner and to bring the manifesto and appeal, which he would get at Count Rastopchin’s.

On this Sunday the Rostovs as usual went to mass at the house church of Razumovsky. It was a warm, July day. Now at 10, when the Rostovs exited from the carriages before the church, in the hot air, to the shouts of peddlers, in the bright and jolly summer dressed crowd, in the dusty with leaves woods boulevard, to the sounds of music and white trousers past the mounted battalion, to the thunder of the pavement and bright shine of the roasting sun, was that summer languor, contentment and discontent hereby, which especially abruptly is felt in the clear warm day in the city. At the church of Razumovsky was all known Moscow, all the acquaintances of the Rostovs (in this year, as would be expecting something, many very rich families, usually leaving by the village, stayed in the city). Passing beside her mother, behind a liveried lackey, pushing the crowd, Natasha heard a voice of a young man, too loudly whispering speaking about her:

— This is Rostov, that herself.

— So lost weight, but all the same good! — she heard, or to her it seemed that were mentioned the names of Kuragin and Bolkonsky. However to her this always seemed to be. To her it always seemed that all, looking at her, only thought about what happened with her. Suffering and freezing in her soul, as always in a crowd, Natasha went in her purple, silk, with black lace dress, so, as women are able to walk, — by that calmer and greater, the more painful and more ashamed was her soul. She knew and was not mistaken, in that she was good, but this now did not please her as before. The opposite, this tormented her only more in the latter time, and in particular on this vivid, warm summer day in the city. "It is still a Sunday, still a week," she said to herself, remembering how she was here on that Sunday, "and all that same life without life, and all those same conditions, in which it so easily happened to live before. Good, young, and, I know that now I am good, before I was bad, but now I am good, I know," — she thought, —"but so for nothing, or for whom, pass my best, best years." She had become beside her mother and spilled over with close standing acquaintances. Natasha by habit examined the toilettes given, condemned the manner to hold610 and the indecent way crossed the hand in a small space by one close standing lady, again with annoyance thinking about how she was judged, how she judged, and suddenly, upon hearing the sounds of the service, was terrified by her abominations, terrified to that how former purity was again lost by her.

A handsome, clean old man served with that meek solemnity which so majestically, reassuringly acted on the soul of the praying. The royal door shut, slowly twitched the veil, a secret, quiet voice uttered something from there. Incomprehensible for her tears were standing at the very breast of Natasha, and a joyful and weary feeling worried her.

"Teach me what to do, as I am with my life, as to correct me forever, forever!..." she thought.

The deacon got out to the pulpit, straightened, wide leaving his big finger, his long hair from below the surplice and, placing on his breast the cross, loudly and solemnly began to read the words of the prayers:

—"In peace to the Lord let’s pray."

— In peace, all together, without differences in estates, without hostility, but connected in brotherly love — I will pray," thought Natasha.

—"About the overpowering peace and about the salvation of our souls!"

"About the peace of angels and souls of all disembodied creatures that live above us," prayed Natasha.

When praying for the army, she remembered her brother and Denisov. When praying for the floating and traveling, she remembered Prince Andrey and prayed for him, and prayed so that God forgave her of that evil which she did to him. When praying for those affectionate to us, she prayed about her home: about her father, mother, Sonya, in the first time now understanding all her blame before them and feeling all the force of her love to them. When praying about those hating us, she thought up for herself enemies and hating of them, so that to pray for them. She ranked to enemies the creditors and all those which had business with her father, and any time, in thought about enemies and hating, she remembered Anatole, who did her so many evils, and although he was not hated, she happily prayed for him, as for an enemy. Only in prayer she felt in herself forces to clearly and calmly remember about Prince Andrey and about Anatole, as about people, to which her feeling was destroyed in comparison with her feeling of fear and awe to God. When she prayed for the royal last name and for the synod, she especially lowly bowed and crossed, saying to herself that should she not understand, she may not doubt, and all the same loved the governing synod and prayed for it.

Graduating the litany, the deacon crossed around his breast the oration and uttered:

—"Ourselves and our lives to our Christ God we hand over."

"Ourselves to God we hand over" repeated in her soul Natasha. “My God, hand over myself to your will," she thought. “Nothing I want, I do not want; teach me what to do, as I consume your free will! Yes take me already, take me!" from being touched impatiently in the soul said Natasha, not crossing, lowering her subtle hand and as if expecting that here invisible power would take her and relieve her from herself from her regrets, desires, reproaches, hopes and vices.

The countess a few times in the time of the service looked around at the touched, with brilliant eyes, face of her daughter and prayed to God so he would help her.

Suddenly, in the mid and not in the alright service, which Natasha knew well, the sexton carried out a bench, that very one on which were read kneeling prayers on Troitsyn (Trinity) day, and put it before the royal doors. The priest got out in his lilac, velvet skufia, straightened his hair and with effort became on a knee. All did that same, and with disbelief looked at each other. This was the prayer that was only received from the synod, the prayer about the salvation of Russia from enemy invasions.

—"Lord my God’s forces. My God our safety" — started the priest by that clear, unsaturated and meek voice, which read only spiritual Slavic readers and which so irresistibly acts on the Russian heart.

"Lord my God’s forces. My God our safety! Support now in favors and bounty to the humble people of yours, and humanely hear, have mercy, and have mercy on us. Behold the enemy embarrasses the land of yours and at least puts the universe at all empty, rise in us: behold the people of lawlessness gathering, who ruin the property of yours, ruin the honest Jerusalem of yours, the sweetheart of your Russia: desecrate the temples of yours, excavate the altars and cursе the Shrine of ours. Until, Lord, until sinners will be praised? Until the consumed have lawless power?

"Lord Lord! Hear us praying to you: strengthened by the force of your most pious, autocratic great sovereign our emperor Aleksandr Pavlovich; remember the truth of him and meekness, repay him by his goodness, by it the same keep us, your beloved Israel. Bless his advice, undertakings and affairs; approve by the omnipotence of your right hand his kingdom, and give him victory to the enemy: like again Moses to Amalek, Gideon to Midian and David to Goliath. Protect his army, place a bow of copper muscles in the name of your arms, and girded by their force to abuse. Accept weapons and shield, and revolt in our help, and be ashamed and put to shame the thinking we are evil, and before the face of the faithful armies, like ash before the face of the wind, and your strong angel strong will insult and chase them; and they will come into a net, which does not reduce, catch them who are concealed, and embrace them; and fall before the feet as your slaves in a trampling howl of our will. Lord! It is not exhausting for you to save many and early; you are God, and there is not an opposition against your person.

"My God our father! Remember the bounty of your mercy even from the crux of the centuries; do not reject us from your face, lower the abhor of our unworthiness, but by your great mercy and by your many bounties, despise our lawlessness and sins. A pure heart create in us, and the spirit rightly renew in our womb; all of us are strengthened by faith in You, approved hope, animated to each other in true love, arm with unanimity in the righteous defense of the obsession which you gave us our father, and do not ascend the rod of the wicked on the lot of the consecrated.

"Lord our God, in him again we believe and in him again is hope. Do not shame us from aspirations of Your mercy, and create an omen of good, and like seeing the hating of us and our Orthodox Faith, put to shame and kill; and see all the country, like the name of you Lord, and we are your people. Reveal to us, Lord, now your mercy and your salvation to give to us; cheer up the heart of your slaves about your mercy; smite our enemies, and smash them under the legs of your faithful soon. You for your intercession, help and victory trusting in You, and your glory send the father and son and holy spirit now, and ever, and in the centuries and centuries. Amen."

In this condition of openness of soul, in which was found Natasha, this prayer strongly acted on her. She listened to each word about the victory of Moses to Amalek, Gideon to Midian, and David to Goliath, and about the ruin of your Jerusalem, and requested God with that tenderness and softness, which was crowded in her heart; but she did not understand very well about what she requested God in this prayer. She with all her soul participated in the petition about the right spirit, about the strengthening of her heart by faith, hope and about the enthusiasm of her love. Yet she could not pray about the trampling under the legs of her enemies, when she for some minutes before this only wanted to have them more, so that to love them and pray for them. Yet she also could not doubt in the correctness of the read kneeling prayers. She felt in her soul a reverent and quivering horror before punishment, comprehended people for their sins and in particular for their sins, and requested God for him to forgive them all and her, and would have given them all her calmness and happiness in life.

And to her it seemed that God heard her prayer.

610 tenue (outfit)

Time: beginning of July, Saturday 11th of July, Sunday, ten o'clock
Mentioned: the Sunday before, Whitsunday (Trinity Sunday in Briggs, Mandelker, and Maude. Trinity Day in Garnett.), a few minutes before

Locations: Moscow, Razumovski church
Mentioned: Russia (and Russian), Smolensk, Jerusalem, Israel

Pevear and Volokhonsky Notes: We end up staying with the Rostovs and Pierre visiting the Rostovs, but we start with a political update, with rumors swirling around about what is going on.

An aside “that year, as if expecting something, many wealthy families, who usually went off to their country estates, stayed in town”.

Natasha feels that her best years are going by and that she is judging people while she is being judged. The church service really makes her feel something and during the prayers (which includes a prayer for the military
forces) she remembers all of those close to her and how she has affected them. There is a long prayer that contains comparisons of Russia and ancient Israel, Alexander with Old Testament Bible characters, and pleas
for the Russian army to be helped by God to defeat the French.

Natasha has an aversion to this prayer. “She could not pray about trampling her enemies under her feet, when a few moments before she had wished to have more of them, so as to love them and pray for them.”

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 *):

Emperor Alexander Pavlovitch (also “our most devout autocrat and ruler, our great sovereign”.)

Napoleon

Pierre

Count Rostopchin

Razumovsky (as a family name where the Rostofs go.)

Natasha Rostova

Countess Rostova (“mother”)

Nikolai (“brother”)

Denisof

Prince Andrei Bolkonsky

Count Rostof (“father”)

Sonya

Anatol Kuragin

(many ladies, including those who talk about Natasha, but specifically one who crosses herself hastily that Natasha judges, then feels bad about judging. Also the deacon and the priest.)

Abridged Versions: End of Chapter 8 in Bell.
Gibian: Chapter 18.

Fuller: Entire chapter is cut.

Komroff: Natasha’s inner thoughts and reaction to the people around the service is removed, getting to the priest and service quicker. Otherwise, the chapter seems preserved and is followed by a line break.

Kropotkin: Only the details about the manifesto are kept, the rest of the chapter removed, with no break again.
Simmons: Chapter 18: a little bit of detail and the prayer itself is removed.

Additional Notes: Resurrection Chapter 41: "Policemen, with the yellow cords of their pistols, stood on their beats, on the look-out for a scrimmage which might help to dispel the boredom that oppressed them." When Nekhlyudov takes a cab to the prison and then waits outside with other people waiting for the service to end so visiting hours will begin. There is an important moment where someone slaps him on the back and

that makes him uncomfortable and angry until he remembers why he is there.

He sees a picture of the cross and wonders why it is here "his mind involuntarily connecting the image of Christ with liberation and not with captivity." The people are described as "like flies settled on sugar".

Three Deaths Chapter 3: "A deacon sat alone in that big room reading the Psalms of David through his nose in a monotonous voice."

"The deacon without understanding the words read on monotonously and in the quiet room the words sounded strangely and died away."

Confession: Page 20: “Religious doctrine is professed in some other realm, at a distance from life and independent of it. If we encounter it, it is only as an external phenomenon, disconnected from life...Nowadays, as before, the public declaration and confession of Orthodoxy is usually encountered among dullwitted, cruel and immoral people who tend to consider themselves very important. Whereas intelligence, honesty, straightforwardness, good-naturedness and morality are qualities usually found among people who claim to be non-believers...Thus today, just as in earlier times, religious teaching, which is accepted on trust and sustained by external pressure, gradually weakens under the influence of knowledge and experience of life that stands in opposition to the religious doctrines...These words indicated that the place where he had thought faith to be had long been empty and that the words he spoke, the signs of the cross and genuflections he made in prayer, were essentially meaningless (page 21) actions. Having recognized their meaninglessness he could not longer continue doing them. Thus it has happened and still happens, I believe, with the great majority of people….People of our upbringing find themselves in a situation where the light of knowledge and of life have melted away an artificial edifice, and they have either failed to notice this and swept it away completely, or have simply failed to notice it as yet...I no longer believed in what I had been taught as a child; but I did believe in something, without being able to say what it was. I believed in God, or rather I did not deny God, but what kind of God I could not have said; neither did I reject Christ or his teachings, but what I understood by the teachings again I could not have said...