War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy; Richard Pevear; Larissa Volokhonsky

Author:Leo Tolstoy; Richard Pevear; Larissa Volokhonsky
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical, General
ISBN: 0307266931
Publisher: Vintage; 1 edition
Published: 2009-08-06T04:00:00+00:00

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Writing the words l'empereur Napoléon in this alphabet of numbers, it turns out that the sum of the figures equals 666 and that Napoleon is therefore that beast prophesied in the Apocalypse. Moreover, if the word quarante-deux, that is, the term fixed for the beast “to speak great things and blasphemies,” is written in the same alphabet, the sum of these figures representing quarante-deux again equals 666, from which it follows that the term of Napoleon's power was reached in the year 1812, when the French emperor turned forty-two. Pierre was very struck by this prophecy, and he often posed the question for himself of precisely what would set a limit to the power of the beast, that is, of Napoleon, and on the basis of the same correspondence of word numbers and calculations, he tried to find an answer to his question. In answer to the question, Pierre wrote out: L'empereur Alexandre? La nation russe? He counted up the letters, but the sum of the numbers came out much larger or smaller than 666. Once, taken up with these calculations, he wrote his own name—Comte Pierre Besouhoff; the sum of the numbers was also far from the right one. He changed the orthography, putting z in place of s, added de, added the article le, and still did not get the desired result. Then it occurred to him that, if the answer to the question he was seeking was contained in his name, then the answer would certainly mention his nationality. He wrote Le russe Besuhof md, counting up the numbers, got 671. It was only five too much; five was e, the same e that was dropped from the article in the words L'empereur. Having dropped the e in the same way, albeit incorrectly, Pierre got the sought-for answer: L'russe Besuhof, which equalled 666. This discovery excited him. He did not know how, by what connection he was bound up with that great event which had been predicted in the Apocalypse; but he did not doubt that connection for a moment. His love for Miss Rostov, the Antichrist, Napoleon's invasion, the comet, 666, l'empereur Napoléon and l'russe Besuhof—all that together must ripen, burst, and lead him out of that spellbound, worthless world of Moscow habits in which he felt himself imprisoned, and bring him to a great deed and great happiness.

On the eve of that Sunday when the prayer was read, Pierre had promised the Rostovs that he would bring them from Count Rastopchin, whom he knew well, both the appeal to Russia and the latest news from the army. In the morning, stopping at Count Rastopchin's, Pierre found with him a just-arrived courier from the army.

The courier was an acquaintance of Pierre's from the Moscow ballrooms.

“For God's sake, can't you lighten it for me?” said the courier. “I've got a bag full of letters to parents.”

Among those letters was Nikolai Rostov's letter to his father. Pierre took it. Besides that, Count Rastopchin gave Pierre the sovereign's appeal to Moscow, only just printed, the latest orders to the army, and his own latest bulletin.

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