第217章

第217章“lifewon’tleaveyouinpeaceevenso.ishouldbegladtodonothing,buthereyouseeononeside,thelocalnobilityhavedonemethehonourofelectingmeamarshal;itwasallicoulddotogetoutofit.theycouldnotunderstandthatihaven’twhat’sneeded,haven’tthatgood-natured,fussyvulgarityweallknowsowell,that’sneededforit.thenthere’sthishousehere,whichhadtobebuiltthatimighthaveanookofmyownwhereicouldbequiet.nowthere’sthemilitia.”

“whyaren’tyouservinginthearmy？”

“afterausterlitz！”saidprinceandreygloomily.“no,thankyou;isworetomyselfthatiwouldneverserveintherussianarmyagain.andiwillnot,ifbonapartewerestationedhereatsmolensk,threateningbleakhills！eventheniwouldn’tserveintherussianarmy.well,soiwassaying,”princeandreywenton,regaininghiscomposure.“now,there’sthemilitia;myfather’scommander-in-chiefofthethirdcircuit,andtheonlymeansformetoescapefromactiveserviceistoserveunderhim.”

“soyouareintheservice,then？”

“yes.”hewassilentforawhile.

“thenwhydoyouserve？”

“i’lltellyouwhy.myfatherisoneofthemostremarkablemenofhistime.buthe’sgrownold,andhe’snotcruelexactly,buthe’softooenergeticacharacter.he’sterriblefromhishabitofunlimitedpower,andnowwiththisauthoritygivenhimbytheemperorasacommander-in-chiefinthemilitia.ifihadbeentwohourslaterafortnightago,hewouldhavehangedtheregister-clerkatyuhnovo,”saidprinceandreywithasmile.“soiserveunderhimnowbecausenooneexceptmehasanyinfluenceovermyfather,andisometimessavehimfromanactwhichwouldbeasourceofmiserytohimafterwards.”

“ah,thereyousee！”

“yes,itisnotasyouthink,”princeandreycontinued.“ididn’t,andidon’twishwellintheslightesttothatscoundrellyregister-clerkwhohadstolenbootsorsomethingfromthemilitiamen;indeed,iwouldhavebeenverygladtoseehimhanged,butifeelformyfather,thatisagainmyself.”

princeandreygrewmoreandmoreeager.hiseyesglitteredfeverishly,ashetriedtoprovetopierrethattherewasnevertheslightestdesiretodogoodtohisneighbourinhisactions.

“well,youwanttoliberateyourserfs,too,”hepursued;“that’saverygoodthing,butnotforyou—iexpectyouhaveneveredamannorsentonetosiberia—andstilllessforyourpeasants.ifapeasantisbeaten,ed,senttosiberia,idaresayhe’snotabittheworseforit.insiberiahecanleadthesamebruteexistence;thestripesonthebodyheal,andhe’sashappyasbefore.butit’sneededforthepeoplewhoareruinedmorally,whoaredevouredbyremorse,whostiflethatremorseandgrowcallousfrombeingabletoinflictpunishmentallroundthem.perhapsyouhavenotseenit,butihaveseengoodmen,broughtupinthetraditionsofunlimitedpowerwithyears,astheygrewmoreirritable,becomecruelandbrutal,consciousofit,andunabletocontrolthemselves,andgrowingmoreandmoremiserable.”

princeandreyspokewithsuchearnestnessthatpierrecouldnothelpthinkingthoseideaswereestedtohimbyhisfather.hemadehimnoreply.

“sothat’swhatigrievefor—forhumandignity,forpeaceofconscience,forpurity,andnotfortheirbacksortheirheads,whichalwaysremainjustthesamebacksandheads,howeveryouthrashorshavethem.”

“no,no,athousandtimesno！ishallneveragreewithyou,”saidpierre.