Book Six: 1808-10 - Chapter VI

by Leo Tolstoy

　　During the first weeks of his stay in Petersburg Prince Andrewfelt the whole trend of thought he had formed during his life ofseclusion quite overshadowed by the trifling cares that engrossedhim in that city.

　　On returning home in the evening he would jot down in his notebookfour or five necessary calls or appointments for certain hours. Themechanism of life, the arrangement of the day so as to be in timeeverywhere, absorbed the greater part of his vital energy. He didnothing, did not even think or find time to think, but only talked,and talked successfully, of what he had thought while in the country.

　　He sometimes noticed with dissatisfaction that he repeated thesame remark on the same day in different circles. But he was so busyfor whole days together that he had no time to notice that he wasthinking of nothing.

　　As he had done on their first meeting at Kochubey's, Speranskiproduced a strong impression on Prince Andrew on the Wednesday, whenhe received him tete-a-tate at his own house and talked to him longand confidentially.

　　To Bolkonski so many people appeared contemptible andinsignificant creatures, and he so longed to find in someone theliving ideal of that perfection toward which he strove, that hereadily believed that in Speranski he had found this ideal of aperfectly rational and virtuous man. Had Speranski sprung from thesame class as himself and possessed the same breeding andtraditions, Bolkonski would soon have discovered his weak, human,unheroic sides; but as it was, Speranski's strange and logical turn ofmind inspired him with respect all the more because he did not quiteunderstand him. Moreover, Speranski, either because he appreciated theother's capacity or because he considered it necessary to win him tohis side, showed off his dispassionate calm reasonableness beforePrince Andrew and flattered him with that subtle flattery which goeshand in hand with self-assurance and consists in a tacit assumptionthat one's companion is the only man besides oneself capable ofunderstanding the folly of the rest of mankind and thereasonableness and profundity of one's own ideas.

　　During their long conversation on Wednesday evening, Speranskimore than once remarked: "We regard everything that is above thecommon level of rooted custom..." or, with a smile: "But we want thewolves to be fed and the sheep to be safe..." or: "They cannotunderstand this..." and all in a way that seemed to say: "We, youand I, understand what they are and who we are."

　　This first long conversation with Speranski only strengthened inPrince Andrew the feeling he had experienced toward him at their firstmeeting. He saw in him a remarkable, clear-thinking man of vastintellect who by his energy and persistence had attained power,which he was using solely for the welfare of Russia. In PrinceAndrew's eyes Speranski was the man he would himself have wished tobe- one who explained all the facts of life reasonably, consideredimportant only what was rational, and was capable of applying thestandard of reason to everything. Everything seemed so simple andclear in Speranski's exposition that Prince Andrew involuntarilyagreed with him about everything. If he replied and argued, it wasonly because he wished to maintain his independence and not submitto Speranski's opinions entirely. Everything was right andeverything was as it should be: only one thing disconcerted PrinceAndrew. This was Speranski's cold, mirrorlike look, which did notallow one to penetrate to his soul, and his delicate white hands,which Prince Andrew involuntarily watched as one does watch thehands of those who possess power. This mirrorlike gaze and thosedelicate hands irritated Prince Andrew, he knew not why. He wasunpleasantly struck, too, by the excessive contempt for others that heobserved in Speranski, and by the diversity of lines of argument heused to support his opinions. He made use of every kind of mentaldevice, except analogy, and passed too boldly, it seemed to PrinceAndrew, from one to another. Now he would take up the position of apractical man and condemn dreamers; now that of a satirist, andlaugh ironically at his opponents; now grow severely logical, orsuddenly rise to the realm of metaphysics. (This last resource was onehe very frequently employed.) He would transfer a question tometaphysical heights, pass on to definitions of space, time, andthought, and, having deduced the refutation he needed, would againdescend to the level of the original discussion.

　　In general the trait of Speranski's mentality which struck PrinceAndrew most was his absolute and unshakable belief in the power andauthority of reason. It was evident that the thought could never occurto him which to Prince Andrew seemed so natural, namely, that it isafter all impossible to express all one thinks; and that he hadnever felt the doubt, "Is not all I think and believe nonsense?" Andit was just this peculiarity of Speranski's mind that particularlyattracted Prince Andrew.

　　During the first period of their acquaintance Bolkonski felt apassionate admiration for him similar to that which he had once feltfor Bonaparte. The fact that Speranski was the son of a villagepriest, and that stupid people might meanly despise him on accountof his humble origin (as in fact many did), caused Prince Andrew tocherish his sentiment for him the more, and unconsciously tostrengthen it.

　　On that first evening Bolkonski spent with him, having mentioned theCommission for the Revision of the Code of Laws, Speranski told himsarcastically that the Commission had existed for a hundred andfifty years, had cost millions, and had done nothing except thatRosenkampf had stuck labels on the corresponding paragraphs of thedifferent codes.

　　"And that is all the state has for the millions it has spent,"said he. "We want to give the Senate new juridical powers, but we haveno laws. That is why it is a sin for men like you, Prince, not toserve in these times!"

　　Prince Andrew said that for that work an education injurisprudence was needed which he did not possess.

　　"But nobody possesses it, so what would you have? It is a viciouscircle from which we must break a way out."

　　A week later Prince Andrew was a member of the Committee on ArmyRegulations and- what he had not at all expected- was chairman of asection of the committee for the revision of the laws. AtSperanski's request he took the first part of the Civil Code thatwas being drawn up and, with the aid of the Code Napoleon and theInstitutes of Justinian, he worked at formulating the section onPersonal Rights.