War And Peace

37 ‘From your Héloïse?’: An ironical reference to the heroine of Rousseau’s novel, Julie, ou La Nouvelle Héloïse, which the prince regards as romantic nonsense. The ensuing correspondence between Princess Marya and Julie Karagin is based on ‘a whole volume’ of similar letters exchanged between two friends, M. A. Volkova and V. I. Lanskaya, which Tolstoy read in manuscript in 1863.

38 a new book with uncut pages: The book has come from the publisher with the folded leaves untrimmed. Thus the first reader uses a page-knife to slit them open.

39 A Key to the Mystery: K. Eckartshausen’s mystical work, A Key to the Mysteries of Nature, was popular in Russia at the time, and widely read by freemasons.

40 the Great Century: The French term ‘Le Grand Siècle’ meant the age of Louis XIV (1638—1715), King of France (1643—1715). Here it is loosely applied by the Russians to the age of Catherine the Great.

41 it is easier for a camel . . . kingdom of God: Quoted from Matthew 19:24 and Mark 10:25.

42 a Dussek sonata: Jan Ladislav Dussek, born in Bohemia in 1760 and died near Paris in 1812, enjoyed great popularity in Europe as a first-rate pianist and composer of piano pieces.

43 Mikhelson’s army, and Tolstoy’s: The old prince refers to a plan for attacking the French from three sides at once, Generals Mikhelson and Tolstoy commanding two of the armies involved.

44 Marlborough . . . God knows when we’ll see him: A French comic song that became popular early in the eighteenth century, when the Duke of Marlborough led the English army in several campaigns against the French.

45 Rurik: A Scandinavian prince, who, according to legend, came down to Novgorod in the ninth century and founded the Russian state.

46 Potyomkins: G. A. Potyomkin (1739 – 91) was a famous Russian army commander of the late eighteenth century.

47 Hofs-kriegs-wurst-schnapps-rath: Court-war-sausage-schnapps-council (German). This is the prince’s ironical version of the name bestowed on the Austrian War Council.

48 Ochakov: A fortress, at the mouth of the Dnieper, successfully stormed by General Suvorov during the Russo-Turkish war of 1787 – 91.

49 Zubov . . . false teeth: There is an easy pun here on the Russian word zub, which means tooth.

PART II

1 11th of October 1805: Until 1918 Russia used the Julian Calendar, as opposed to the Gregorian Calendar universally accepted today. At this period Julian (or ‘Old Style’) dates lagged behind Gregorian (or ‘New Style’) dates by a difference of twelve days. The dates used throughout War and Peace are predominantly Old Style.

2 Tsaritsyn Field: Tsar’s Field, soon to be renamed ‘The Field of Mars’, was in Petersburg.

3 Bacchus: The Roman god of wine.

4 leg-bands: Soldiers, like peasants, did not wear socks; they were issued with strips of cloth for use as foot-bindings.

5 Got a move on then, didn’t we?: Neither the Russian nor the Austrian army had hurried into position, believing Napoleon to be busy with preparations for the invasion of England. When the news came through that Napoleon was already at the Rhine it was essential to speed up the movement of the Russians, so they were supplied with carts, which doubled the rate of their advance.

6 doppel-kümmel: A strong liqueur flavoured with cumin and caraway seeds (German).

7 shakos: Tall, nearly cylindrical military caps with plumes.

8 sabretache: Flat ornamental bag slung from a cavalry officer’s sword belt.

9 Campo Formio: The little town where the French and the Austrians signed the peace treaty (17 October 1797) which ended Napoleon’s successful campaign in Italy.

10 Demosthenes . . . golden mouth: According to legend the Greek orator Demosthenes (383 – 322 BC) corrected a speech impediment by practising oratory with a pebble in his mouth.

11 all three are Gascons: The Gascons were renowned for their clever talk and boasting.

12 Napoleon rose from obscurity at Toulon: During the siege of Toulon, a royalist stronghold, in 1793, Napoleon commanded the republican artillery with distinction and gained his first significant promotion to brigadier-general, at the age of twenty-four.

13 Chasseurs: Cavalry.

PART III

1 state councillor: The Russian civil service was divided into eleven ranks, the top eight of which conferred hereditary nobility. A state councillor occupied the fifth rank and was entitled to be addressed as ‘your Worship’.