When I write history, I like to be true to reality down to the smallest detail.
L. N. Tolstoy
What is simplicity, truth, kindness? Is a person with all these character traits omnipotent? These questions are often asked by people, but they are not easy to answer. Let's go back to the classics. Let her help you figure it out. The name of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy is familiar to us from early childhood. But here the novel "War and Peace" is read. This great work makes you look at the questions posed differently. How often Tolstoy was reproached for distorting the history of 1812, for distorting the actors of the Patriotic War. According to the great writer, history-science and history-art have differences. Art can penetrate into the most distant eras and convey the essence of past events and the inner world of the people who participated in them. Indeed, history-science focuses on the particulars and details of events, limiting itself only to their external description, while history-art covers and conveys the general course of events, at the same time penetrating into their depth. This must be kept in mind when evaluating the historical events in the novel War and Peace.
Let's open the pages of this work. Salon of Anna Pavlovna Sherer. Here for the first time there is a sharp dispute about Napoleon. It is started by the guests of the salon of a noble lady. This dispute will end only in the epilogue of the novel.
For the author, not only was there nothing attractive in Napoleon, but, on the contrary, Tolstoy always considered him a man whose mind and conscience were darkened, and therefore all his actions “were too contrary to truth and goodness ...”. Not a statesman who can read in the minds and souls of people, but a spoiled, capricious and narcissistic poseur - this is how the emperor of France appears in many scenes of the novel. So, having met the Russian ambassador, he "looked into Balashev's face with his big eyes and immediately began to look past him." Let us linger a little on this detail and conclude that Napoleon was not interested in the personality of Balashev. It was evident that only what was going on in his soul was of interest to him. It seemed to him that everything in the world depends only on his will.
Perhaps it is too early to draw a conclusion from such a particular case as Napoleon's inattention to the Russian ambassador? But this meeting was preceded by other episodes in which this manner of the emperor “look past” people also manifested itself. Let us recall the moment when the Polish uhlans, in order to please Bonaparte, rush into the Viliya River. They were drowning, and Napoleon sat quietly on a log and did other things. Let us recall the scene of the emperor's trip to the Austerlitz battlefield, where he showed complete indifference to the dead, wounded and dying.
The imaginary greatness of Napoleon is denounced with particular force in the scene depicting him on Poklonnaya Hill, from where he admired the wondrous panorama of Moscow. “Here it is, this capital; she lies at my feet, waiting for her fate... One word of mine, one movement of my hand, and this ancient capital perished...” So Napoleon thought, waiting in vain for the deputation of the “boyars” with the keys to the majestic city spread out before his eyes . No. Moscow did not go to him “with a confession”.
Where is this greatness? It is where goodness and justice are, where the spirit of the people is. According to the "thought of the people" and created the image of Tolstoy Kutuzov. Of all the historical figures depicted in "War and Peace", one of his writer calls a truly great man. The source, which gave the commander an extraordinary power of insight into the meaning of the events that took place, “lay in this popular feeling, which he carried in himself in all purity and strength.”
The scene of the military review. Kutuzov walked through the ranks, “occasionally stopping and saying a few kind words to the officers, whom he knew from the Turkish war, and sometimes to the soldiers. Glancing at his shoes, he shook his head sadly several times...” The field marshal recognizes and cordially greets his old colleagues. He enters into a conversation with Timokhin. Meeting with soldiers, the Russian commander knows how to find a common language with them, often uses a funny joke, and even an old man's good-natured curse.
The feeling of love for the Motherland was embedded in the soul of every Russian soldier and in the soul of the old commander in chief. Unlike Bonaparte, the Russian commander did not consider the leadership of military operations a kind of chess game and never ascribed to himself the main role in the successes achieved by his armies. The field marshal, not in a Napoleonic way, but in his own way, led the battles. He was convinced that the “spirit of the army” was of decisive importance in the war, and directed all his efforts to leading it. During the battles, Napoleon behaves nervously, trying to keep in his hands all the threads of controlling the battle. Kutuzov, on the other hand, acts with concentration, trusts the commanders - his combat comrades-in-arms, believes in the courage of his soldiers.
Not Napoleon, but the Russian commander-in-chief takes full responsibility on his shoulders when the situation calls for the heaviest sacrifices. It is difficult to forget the alarming scene of the military council in Fili. Kutuzov announced his decision to leave Moscow without a fight and retreat into the depths of Russia! In those terrible hours, the question arose before him: “Is it really I who allowed Napoleon to Moscow? And when did I do it? It is difficult and painful for him to think about this, but he gathered all his mental and physical strength and did not succumb to despair. The Russian commander-in-chief retains confidence in victory over the enemy, in the rightness of his cause to the end. He inspires this confidence in everyone - from the general to the soldier. Only one Kutuzov could have imagined the Battle of Borodino. Only he alone could give Moscow to the enemy for the sake of saving Russia, for the sake of saving the army, in order to win the war. All the actions of the commander are subordinated to one goal - to defeat the enemy, to expel him from the Russian land. And only when the war is won, Kutuzov ceases his activities as commander in chief.
The most important aspect of the image of the Russian commander is a living connection with the people, a penetrating understanding of their moods and thoughts. In the ability to take into account the mood of the masses - the wisdom and greatness of the commander in chief.
Napoleon and Kutuzov are two commanders, two historical figures with different essence, purpose and purpose in life. The "Kutuzov" beginning as a symbol of the people is opposed to the "Napoleonic", anti-people, inhuman. That is why Tolstoy leads all his beloved heroes away from “Napoleonic” principles and puts them on the path of rapprochement with the people. Truly "there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth."
Essays on Literature: There is no greatness where there is no simplicity"War and Peace" is a Russian national epic, in which the character of a great people was reflected at the moment when its historical destinies were being decided. Tolstoy, trying to cover everything that he knew and felt at that time, gave in the novel a code of life, customs, spiritual culture, beliefs and ideals of the people. That is, Tolstoy's main task was to reveal the "character of the Russian people and troops", for which he used the images of Kutuzov (a spokesman for the ideas of the masses) and Napoleon (a person who personifies anti-people interests). L. N. Tolstoy in the novel portrays really great people, whose names are remembered now and will be remembered in the future. Tolstoy had his own view of the role of the individual in history. Every person has two lives: personal and spontaneous. Tolstoy said that a person consciously lives for himself, but serves as an unconscious tool for achieving universal goals. The role of the individual in history is negligible.
Even the most brilliant person cannot direct the movement of history at will. It is created by the masses, the people, and not by an individual who has risen above the people. But Lev Nikolayevich does not deny the role of man in history, he recognizes the obligation to act within the limits of the possible for everyone. In his opinion, the name of a genius deserves one of the people who is gifted with the ability to penetrate the course of historical events, to comprehend their general meaning. Such units. Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov belongs to them.
He is the spokesman for the patriotic spirit and moral strength of the Russian army. This is a talented and, when necessary, an energetic commander. Tolstoy emphasizes that Kutuzov is a folk hero. In the novel, he appears as a truly Russian person, alien to pretense, a wise historical figure. The main thing for Leo Tolstoy in goodies is connection with the people. Napoleon, who is opposed to Kutuzov, is subjected to devastating exposure, because he has chosen for himself the role of the "executioner of the peoples"; Kutuzov, on the other hand, is exalted as a commander who knows how to subordinate all his thoughts and actions to the people's feelings. People's Thought opposes Napoleon's aggressive wars and blesses the liberation struggle. In 1812, the people and the army gave Kutuzov confidence, which he justified. The Russian commander stands clearly above Napoleon.
He did not leave his army, appeared in the troops at all the most important moments of the war. And here we can talk about the unity of the spirit of Kutuzov and the army, about their deep connection. The patriotism of the commander, his confidence in the strength and courage of the Russian soldier, was transferred to the army, which, in turn, felt a close connection with Kutuzov. He speaks to the soldiers in plain Russian. Even lofty words in his mouth sound casual and oppose the false tinsel of Napoleon's phrases.
So, for example, Kutuzov says to Bagration: "I bless you for a great feat." And Napoleon, before the Battle of Shengraben, addresses his troops with a long warlike speech, promising them inexhaustible glory. Kutuzov is the same as the soldiers. One can compare him when, in a field situation, he calls an ordinary soldier a darling, addresses the army with simple words of gratitude, and he, extinct and indifferent, at a formal meeting with the king. He believed in victory over the enemy, and this belief was transferred to the army, which contributed to the rise in the mood of soldiers and officers. Drawing the unity of Kutuzov and the army, Tolstoy leads the reader to the idea that the victorious outcome of the war was determined primarily by the high morale of the troops and people, which the French army did not have.
Napoleon did not support his troops in difficult times. During the battle of Borodino, he was so far away that (as it turned out later) not a single order of his during the battle could be executed. Napoleon is a brazen and cruel conqueror whose actions cannot be justified either by the logic of history or by the needs of the French people. If Kutuzov embodies folk wisdom, then Napoleon is the spokesman for false wisdom. According to Tolstoy, he believed in himself, and the whole world believed in him. This is a person for whom only what was happening in his soul is interesting, and the rest did not matter. As much as Kutuzov expresses the interests of the people, so Napoleon is pathetic in his egoism.
He opposes his "I" to history and thereby dooms himself to inevitable collapse. A distinctive feature of Napoleon's character was also posturing. He is narcissistic, arrogant, intoxicated with success. Kutuzov, on the contrary, is very modest: he never boasted of his exploits.
The Russian commander is deprived of any kind of panache, boasting, which is one of the features of the Russian national character. Napoleon started a war, cruel and bloody, without caring about the people who die as a result of this struggle. His army is an army of robbers and marauders. It captures Moscow, where for several months it destroys food supplies, cultural values ... But still, the Russian people win.
In a collision with this mass, which rose to defend the Motherland, Napoleon turns from an arrogant conqueror into a cowardly fugitive. War is replaced by peace, and "a sense of insult and revenge" is replaced by "contempt and pity" among Russian soldiers. The appearance of our heroes is also opposed. In the image of Tolstoy, Kutuzov has an expressive figure, gait, gestures, facial expressions, sometimes an affectionate, sometimes a mocking look. He writes: "... a simple, modest, and therefore a truly majestic figure could not lie down in that deceitful form of a European hero, allegedly controlling people, which they invented."
Napoleon is depicted downright satirical. Tolstoy depicts him as a little man with an unpleasantly feigned smile (whereas he writes about Kutuzov: "His face became brighter and brighter from an senile meek smile, wrinkling stars in the corners of his lips and eyes"), with a fat chest, a round belly, fat thighs of short legs. Kutuzov and Napoleon are antipodes, but at the same time both are great people. However, if we follow Tolstoy's theory, only Kutuzov can be called a true genius of these two famous historical figures. This is confirmed by the words of the writer: "There is no greatness where there is no simplicity." Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy truthfully portrayed the Russian and French commanders, and also created a vivid picture of Russian reality in the first half of the 19th century. Tolstoy himself highly appreciated his work, comparing it with the Iliad.
Indeed, "War and Peace" is one of the most significant works of not only Russian but also world literature. One Dutch writer said: “If the Lord wanted to write a novel, he could not do it without taking War and Peace as a model.” I think one cannot but agree with this thought.
The main idea of the epic novel "War and Peace"- the affirmation of communication and unity of people and the denial of separation, separation.
In the novel, two camps of the then Russia turned out to be sharply opposed: popular and anti-people. Tolstoy considered the people the main, decisive force of history. According to the writer, the leading role in the national liberation movement is played not by the nobility, but by the masses. The proximity of this or that hero of the novel "War and Peace" to the people's camp is his moral criterion.
The opposition between Kutuzov and Napoleon plays an important role in the novel. Kutuzov is a true people's leader, nominated by the people. Unlike historical figures such as Alexander I and Napoleon, who think only about glory and power, Kutuzov is not only able to understand a simple person, but he himself is a simple person by nature.
In the guise of Kutuzov, Tolstoy is primarily distinguished by his simplicity. “There is nothing from the ruler in that plump, flabby old man, in his diving gait and stooped figure. But how much kindness, innocence and wisdom are in him!”
Describing Napoleon, the writer emphasizes the coldness, complacency, feigned profundity in Napoleon's facial expression. One of his features stands out most sharply - posturing. Napoleon behaves like an actor on stage, he is convinced that everything he says and does "is a story."
For Tolstoy, Kutuzov is the ideal of a historical figure, the ideal of a person. Tolstoy wrote about the goal to which Kutuzov devoted himself: "it is difficult to imagine a goal more worthy and more in line with the will of the whole people." Contrasting Kutuzov with Napoleon, the writer notices that Kutuzov did not say anything at all about himself, did not play any role, always seemed to be the simplest and most ordinary person and said the most simple and ordinary things. All Kutuzov's activities were not aimed at exalting his person, but at defeating and driving the enemy out of Russia, alleviating, as far as possible, the disasters of the people and troops.
In the opposition between Napoleon and Kutuzov, which is the core of the novel, it is proved that the winner is the one who acts in accordance with the course of historical events, the one “whose personality most fully shows the general”.
Tolstovsky Kutuzov is constantly in the very center of military events. Kutuzov always sees his army, thinks and feels with every soldier and officer, in his soul there is everything that is in the soul of every soldier.
Tolstoy constantly emphasizes in his Kutuzov humanity, which, according to the writer, could justify the power of Kutuzov. Humanity, combined with power, represented "that human height from which he directed all his forces not to kill people, but to save and pity them." For Kutuzov, the life of every soldier is a treasure.
When Napoleon went around the battlefield after the battle, we see on his face "the radiance of complacency and happiness." The ruined lives, the misfortunes of people, the very sight of the dead and wounded are the basis of Napoleon's happiness. Kutuzov's "highest human height" finds expression in his speech to the Preobrazhensky Regiment, in which he says that as long as the French "were strong, we did not feel sorry for them, but now you can feel sorry for them. They are people too."
One cannot speak of Tolstoy's complete denial of the role and significance of the individual in history, in the movement of the masses. Tolstoy persistently emphasized that Kutuzov alone felt the true meaning of events. How could this man so correctly guess the meaning of the folk meaning of events? The source of this extraordinary power of insight lay in the "popular feeling" that Kutuzov carried in himself in all its purity and strength.
Kutuzov for Tolstoy - the true leader of the people chosen by the people. The image of Kutuzov in the novel is the image of national unity, the image of the people's war itself. Napoleon, on the other hand, appears in the novel as the main, "concentrated expression of the very spirit of separation." The strength and greatness of Kutuzov is precisely in unity with the army and the people. A characteristic feature of Napoleon, as the writer notes, is that the French commander placed himself outside of people and above people and therefore could not understand either goodness, beauty, truth or simplicity.
Tolstoy wrote that where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth, there can be no true greatness. The greatness of Kutuzov is the greatness of kindness, simplicity and truth. The main argument that the writer puts up against those who considered Napoleon great is the following: "There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth." In assessing the deeds of a historical personality, Tolstoy applies a moral criterion. Following Pushkin, Tolstoy argues that "genius and villainy are two incompatible things."
Tolstoy not only does not deny, he affirms a great personality, a great man with his whole novel, because he affirms the greatness people. For the first time in world literature, these concepts have merged into a single whole. Tolstoy was the first to state that the more fully a person embodies folk traits, the more and more great he is.
Hello)
I even specifically entered this quote into the search engine in order to know which work of Tolstoy it refers to. I discovered with pleasure that this work is "War and Peace", and the phrase was used to denounce the egocentrism of the famous Napoleon Bonaparte. we all know what an idol Napoleon was during his lifetime. he was great. and what? after several major defeats and the loss of the army and the most devoted comrades-in-arms, all his greatness crumbled to dust. why did this happen? now let's leave alone Napoleon and discuss in general terms.
It's no secret that in order to become a significant figure, to rise from the bottom and reach the heights, you need to make a lot of effort. a lot of great people started theirs from the lowest rung. but now the man has reached the top, so to speak, he is on a horse, on the crest of glory. and here comes a very important moment, at which many of the greats have made and are making mistakes. I already once said that being famous is a very serious test. so, more than once it happened that glory and greatness literally stupefied people who reached them. they forgot about who they were, about whose direct or indirect support they reached these heights, about the fact that life is changeable and nothing lasts forever. they imagined themselves as deities to whom everyone should bow. surround themselves with luxury. went to any lie, to any atrocity in relation to those who tried to reason with them or resist their arrogance. they exalted themselves above people and ceased to understand their problems, feel their needs and empathize with them. so we end up with self-centered greatness. which is artificially exaggerated by the bearer of this greatness and his sycophants, sing-alongs. this does not mean that such a person does not do anything useful for other people. does. but the trouble is, at the same time he exalts himself so much that his useful undertakings cause not respect, but rejection. such greatness is very shaky, it lasts as long as there is a force supporting it (army, influence, authority, power, money, etc.); if this strength disappears, then greatness itself crumbles. because it was founded on the wrong foundation. and the former owner of greatness himself becomes useless and despised by everyone. Or even lose your life.
however, there were also those who, despite the heights and successes achieved, did not forget that they were once, roughly speaking, in a bucket, that there were those who helped them achieve such achievements. they were aware of their connection with "mere mortals", clearly understood their needs and aspirations, tried to help and support them, communicated as equals, and were ready to give their lives for their well-being. they did all their good and useful deeds without any self-exaltation and self-praise. and this greatness is more enduring. it does not require brute force to maintain it. it lives for a long time, including after the death of such a person. a good memory of him will be preserved for centuries. this is true greatness.
wow, how much nonsense he wrote, yeah)
"There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth". According to JI. N. Tolstoy, the decisive force in history is the people. And the main criterion in assessing the personality, in his opinion, is the attitude towards the people. Tolstoy denied in history the role of the individual who put his own interests above those of the people. In his epic novel "War and Peace", he contrasts Kutuzov, the commander of the people's war, and Napoleon, "the most insignificant instrument of history", "a man with a clouded conscience."
Kutuzov appears before us as a majestic commander, a true leader of the people. He is not interested in either fame or wealth - he, along with Russian soldiers, is fighting for the freedom of his homeland. With simplicity, kindness and sincerity, he managed to achieve unlimited trust and love from his army, they listen to him, believe him and unquestioningly obey: “... by an irresistible mysterious connection that maintains the same mood throughout the army, called the spirit of the army and constituting the main nerve war, the words of Kutuzov, his order for battle for tomorrow, were transmitted simultaneously to all parts of the army. This is an extremely experienced and skillful commander who, with wise orders, helps the soldiers to believe in themselves, in their strength, strengthens the military spirit: he knew that it was not the orders of the commander-in-chief, not the place on which the troops stood, not the number of guns and killed people, but that elusive force called the spirit of the army, that decide the fate of the battle, and he followed this force and led it, as far as it was in his power ".
Kutuzov is the same person as everyone else, and he treats the captured French with sympathy and humanity: “They are worse than the last beggars. While they were strong, we did not feel sorry for ourselves, and now you can feel sorry for them. They are people too." And he read the same sympathy for the prisoners, according to Tolstoy, in all the looks fixed on him. In Kutuzov there is nothing ostentatious, nothing heroic, he is close to the soldiers, who feel in him a dear person. Outwardly, this is an ordinary old man, fat and overweight, but it is in these details that the “simplicity, kindness and truth” of the great commander shine through.
Napoleon is the exact opposite of Kutuzov. This is a man obsessed with megalomania, commanding an army of marauders, robbers and murderers who are seized by a thirst for profit and enrichment. According to the author, “it was a crowd of marauders, each of whom carried and carried with him a bunch of things that seemed valuable and necessary to him. The goal of each of these people when leaving Moscow ... was ... to keep what they had acquired. Napoleon is characterized by hypocrisy, falsehood, posturing, admiring himself, he is indifferent to the fate of people, because he is only interested in fame and money. However, the scene of the shameful flight of the “great emperor from the heroic army” becomes the most disgusting and repulsive scene. "The last degree of meanness" the author calls this betrayal in relation to the French army. Napoleon's appearance is also described in satirical colors: "fat shoulders and thighs, a round belly, colorless eyes repel this person from us even more." Denying the greatness of Napoleon, Tolstoy thereby also denies war, showing the inhumanity of conquests for the sake of glory.
