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Chapter 7 - Pierre and the Petersburg Freemasons
Nearly two years before this, in 1808, Pierre on returning to Petersburg after visiting his estates had involuntarily found himself in a leading position among the Petersburg Freemasons. He arranged dining and funeral lodge1 meetings, enrolled2 new members, and busied himself uniting various lodges3 and acquiring authentic4 charters. He gave money for the erection of temples and supplemented as far as he could the collection of alms, in regard to which the majority of members were stingy and irregular. He supported almost singlehanded a poorhouse the order had founded in Petersburg.
His life meanwhile continued as before, with the same infatuations and dissipations. He liked to dine and drink well, and though he considered it immoral5 and humiliating could not resist the temptations of the bachelor circles in which he moved.
Amid the turmoil6 of his activities and distractions7, however, Pierre at the end of a year began to feel that the more firmly he tried to rest upon it, the more Masonic ground on which he stood gave way under him. At the same time he felt that the deeper the ground sank under him the closer bound he involuntarily became to the order. When he had joined the Freemasons he had experienced the feeling of one who confidently steps onto the smooth surface of a bog8. When he put his foot down it sank in. To make quite sure of the firmness the ground, he put his other foot down and sank deeper still, became stuck in it, and involuntarily waded9 knee-deep in the bog.
Joseph Alexeevich was not in Petersburg — he had of late stood aside from the affairs of the Petersburg lodges, and lived almost entirely10 in Moscow. All the members of the lodges were men Pierre knew in ordinary life, and it was difficult for him to regard them merely as Brothers in Freemasonry and not as Prince B. or Ivan Vasilevich D., whom he knew in society mostly as weak and insignificant12 men. Under the Masonic aprons13 and insignia he saw the uniforms and decorations at which they aimed in ordinary life. Often after collecting alms, and reckoning up twenty to thirty rubles received for the most part in promises from a dozen members, of whom half were as well able to pay as himself, Pierre remembered the Masonic vow14 in which each Brother promised to devote all his belongings15 to his neighbor, and doubts on which he tried not to dwell arose in his soul.
He divided the Brothers he knew into four categories. In the first he put those who did not take an active part in the affairs of the lodges or in human affairs, but were exclusively occupied with the mystical science of the order: with questions of the threefold designation of God, the three primordial16 elements — sulphur, mercury, and salt — or the meaning of the square and all the various figures of the temple of Solomon. Pierre respected this class of Brothers to which the elder ones chiefly belonged, including, Pierre thought, Joseph Alexeevich himself, but he did not share their interests. His heart was not in the mystical aspect of Freemasonry.
In the second category Pierre reckoned himself and others like him, seeking and vacillating, who had not yet found in Freemasonry a straight and comprehensible path, but hoped to do so.
In the third category he included those Brothers (the majority) who saw nothing in Freemasonry but the external forms and ceremonies, and prized the strict performance of these forms without troubling about their purport17 or significance. Such were Willarski and even the Grand Master of the principal lodge.
Finally, to the fourth category also a great many Brothers belonged, particularly those who had lately joined. These according to Pierre’s observations were men who had no belief in anything, nor desire for anything, but joined the Freemasons merely to associate with the wealthy young Brothers who were influential18 through their connections or rank, and of whom there were very many in the lodge.
Pierre began to feel dissatisfied with what he was doing. Freemasonry, at any rate as he saw it here, sometimes seemed to him based merely on externals. He did not think of doubting Freemasonry itself, but suspected that Russian Masonry11 had taken a wrong path and deviated19 from its original principles. And so toward the end of the year he went abroad to be initiated20 into the higher secrets of the order.
In the summer of 1809 Pierre returned to Petersburg. Our Freemasons knew from correspondence with those abroad that Bezukhov had obtained the confidence of many highly placed persons, had been initiated into many mysteries, had been raised to a higher grade, and was bringing back with him much that might conduce to the advantage of the Masonic cause in Russia. The Petersburg Freemasons all came to see him, tried to ingratiate themselves with him, and it seemed to them all that he was preparing something for them and concealing21 it.
A solemn meeting of the lodge of the second degree was convened22, at which Pierre promised to communicate to the Petersburg Brothers what he had to deliver to them from the highest leaders of their order. The meeting was a full one. After the usual ceremonies Pierre rose and began his address.
“Dear Brothers,” he began, blushing and stammering23, with a written speech in his hand, “it is not sufficient to observe our mysteries in the seclusion24 of our lodge — we must act — act! We are drowsing, but we must act.” Pierre raised his notebook and began to read.
“For the dissemination25 of pure truth and to secure the triumph of virtue26,” he read, “we must cleanse27 men from prejudice, diffuse28 principles in harmony with the spirit of the times, undertake the education of the young, unite ourselves in indissoluble bonds with the wisest men, boldly yet prudently29 overcome superstitions30, infidelity, and folly31, and form of those devoted32 to us a body linked together by unity33 of purpose and possessed34 of authority and power.
“To attain35 this end we must secure a preponderance of virtue over vice36 and must endeavor to secure that the honest man may, even in this world, receive a lasting37 reward for his virtue. But in these great endeavors we are gravely hampered38 by the political institutions of today. What is to be done in these circumstances? To favor revolutions, overthrow39 everything, repel40 force by force? . . . No! We are very far from that. Every violent reform deserves censure41, for it quite fails to remedy evil while men remain what they are, and also because wisdom needs no violence.
“The whole plan of our order should be based on the idea of preparing men of firmness and virtue bound together by unity of conviction — aiming at the punishment of vice and folly, and patronizing talent and virtue: raising worthy42 men from the dust and attaching them to our Brotherhood43. Only then will our order have the power unobtrusively to bind44 the hands of the protectors of disorder45 and to control them without their being aware of it. In a word, we must found a form of government holding universal sway, which should be diffused46 over the whole world without destroying the bonds of citizenship47, and beside which all other governments can continue in their custoMarya course and do everything except what impedes48 the great aim of our order, which is to obtain for virtue the victory over vice. This aim was that of Christianity itself. It taught men to be wise and good and for their own benefit to follow the example and instruction of the best and wisest men.
“At that time, when everything was plunged49 in darkness, preaching alone was of course sufficient. The novelty of Truth endowed her with special strength, but now we need much more powerful methods. It is now necessary that man, governed by his senses, should find in virtue a charm palpable to those senses. It is impossible to eradicate50 the passions; but we must strive to direct them to a noble aim, and it is therefore necessary that everyone should be able to satisfy his passions within the limits of virtue. Our order should provide means to that end.
“As soon as we have a certain number of worthy men in every state, each of them again training two others and all being closely united, everything will be possible for our order, which has already in secret accomplished51 much for the welfare of mankind.”
This speech not only made a strong impression, but created excitement in the lodge. The majority of the Brothers, seeing in it dangerous designs of Illuminism,* met it with a coldness that surprised Pierre. The Grand Master began answering him, and Pierre began developing his views with more and more warmth. It was long since there had been so stormy a meeting. Parties were formed, some accusing Pierre of Illuminism, others supporting him. At that meeting he was struck for the first time by the endless variety of men’s minds, which prevents a truth from ever presenting itself identically to two persons. Even those members who seemed to be on his side understood him in their own way with limitations and alterations52 he could not agree to, as what he always wanted most was to convey his thought to others just as he himself understood it.
[ * The Illuminati sought to substitute republican for monarchical53 institutions.]
At the end of the meeting the Grand Master with irony54 and ill-will reproved Bezukhov for his vehemence55 and said it was not love of virtue alone, but also a love of strife56 that had moved him in the dispute. Pierre did not answer him and asked briefly57 whether his proposal would be accepted. He was told that it would not, and without waiting for the usual formalities he left the lodge and went home.
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1
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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2
enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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3
lodges
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| v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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4
authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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5
immoral
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| adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的 | |
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6
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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7
distractions
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| n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱 | |
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bog
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| n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖 | |
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9
waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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12
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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13
aprons
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| 围裙( apron的名词复数 )； 停机坪，台口（舞台幕前的部份） | |
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14
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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15
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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16
primordial
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| adj.原始的；最初的 | |
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17
purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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18
influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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19
deviated
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| v.偏离，越轨( deviate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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21
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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22
convened
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| 召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合 | |
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23
stammering
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的现在分词 ) | |
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24
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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25
dissemination
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| 传播,宣传,传染(病毒) | |
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26
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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27
cleanse
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| vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗 | |
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28
diffuse
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| v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的 | |
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29
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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30
superstitions
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| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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31
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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32
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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33
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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34
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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35
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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36
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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37
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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38
hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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40
repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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41
censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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42
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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43
brotherhood
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| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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44
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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45
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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46
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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47
citizenship
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| n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份) | |
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48
impedes
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| 阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的第三人称单数 ) | |
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49
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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50
eradicate
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| v.根除，消灭，杜绝 | |
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51
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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52
alterations
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| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
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53
monarchical
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| adj. 国王的，帝王的，君主的，拥护君主制的 =monarchic | |
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54
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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55
vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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56
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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57
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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