n his day, the uninvited defenders of the law of necessity use the law of necessity as a weapon against religion, though in fact - like the law of Copernicus in astronomy - the law of necessity in history, far from destroying the foundations on which political and ecclesiastical institutions are constructed, actually strengthens them.
As with astronomy in days gone by, so today in matters of history the conflict of opinion depends on the recognition or non-recognition of an absolute entity for the measurement of visible phenomena. In astronomy it was the earth's immobility; in history it is personal independence, or free will.
Just as in astronomy the problem of recognizing the earth's motion lay in the difficulty of getting away from a direct sensation of the earth's immobility and a similar sensation of the planets' motion, so in history the problem of recognizing the dependence of personality on the laws of space, time and causation lies in the difficulty of getting away from the direct sensation of one's own personal independence. But just as in astronomy the new attitude was, 'No, we cannot feel the earth's movement, but if we accept its immobility we are reduced to absurdity, whereas if we accept the movement that we cannot feel we arrive at laws,' so in history the new attitude is, 'No, we cannot feel our dependence, but if we accept free will we are reduced to absurdity, whereas if we accept dependence on the external world, time and causation we arrive at laws.'
In the first case, we had to get away from a false sensation of immobility in space and accept movement that we could not feel. In the present case it is no less essential to get away from a false sensation of freedom and accept a dependence that we cannot feel.
Appendix 1:
Summary by Chapters
VOLUME I
Part I (July--August 1805)
1. Anna Scherer's soiree in Moscow. Prince Vasily negotiates.
2. Pierre Bezukhov arrives.
3. Andrey Bolkonsky arrives to rejoin his pregnant wife, Lise.
4. Pierre's faux pas in conversation.
5. Pierre's indecision over choosing a career.
6. Pierre visits Andrey and goes on to Anatole Kuragin's. Dolokhov's bet.
7. A double name-day celebration at the Rostovs'.
8. Natasha.
9. Nikolay has joined the army.
10. Nikolay's relationship with Sonya.
11. Natasha and Boris. Boris's mother, Anna Mikhaylovna.
12. She takes her son to visit the dying Count Kirill Bezukhov.
13. Boris visits Pierre.
14. Countess Rostov gives Anna Mikhaylovna money for her son's uniform.
15. Dinner at the Rostovs'.
16. Talk of war. Natasha misbehaves.
17. Sonya's distress. Natasha dances with Pierre. The 'Daniel Cooper' dance.
18. Prince Vasily Kuragin's machinations over the dying count's inheritance.
19. Anna Mikhaylovna takes Pierre to see his dying father.
20. The count does not recognize anyone. Pierre's discomfort.
21. Death of the count.
22. Bald Hills. Old Prince Nikolay Bolkonsky and his daughter, Princess Marya.
23. Prince Andrey arrives with Lise.
24. The old prince discusses Napoleon's merits with his son.
25. Andrey leaves for the army. Lise is unhappy and frightened about giving birth.
Part II (October--November 1805)
1. The Russian army prepares for an inspection at Braunau.
2. The inspection takes place. Zherkov and Dolokhov.
3. Kutuzov and an Austrian general. The 'unfortunate General Mack'.
4. The Pavolgrad hussars. Nikolay Rostov, Telyanin and the stolen purse.
5. Nikolay is encouraged to apologize to his commanding officer.
6. Crossing the Enns.
7. Incidents on the crowded bridge.
8. The burning of the bridge. Nikolay's undistinguished baptism of fire.
9. Andrey is sent with dispatches to the Austrian court. The war minister.
10. Andrey stays with Bilibin.
11. Bilibin's guests, 'our people', including Hippolyte Kuragin.
12. Andrey meets the Emperor Francis. Bilibin's story of the Tabor bridge.
13. Andrey returns to Kutuzov.
14. Bagration is sent to Hollabrunn. Napoleon writes to Murat.
15. Andrey reports to Bagration. Captain Tushin. Soldiers at the front.
16. Andrey surveys the position. The first shot.
17. The battle of Schongrabern. Captain Tushin sets fire to the village.
18. Battle scenes. Bagration in the thick of things.
19. Two Russian commanders at loggerheads. Nikolay is injured.
20. Panic. Dolokhov's moment of glory. Relief for the battling Tushin.
21. Retreat. Nikolay cadges a lift. Andrey defends Tushin.
Part III (November 1805)
1. Prince Vasily and Pierre. Pierre is manoeuvered close to Helene.
2. Pierre is trapped into a fashionable but loveless marriage.
3. Prince Vasily takes Anatole to Bald Hills - a match for Princess Marya?
4. Anatole impresses the ladies, but not the old prince.
5. The old prince's opposition. Marya catches Anatole kissing Mlle Bourienne.
6. A letter from Nikolay. Sonya and Natasha.
7. Nikolay visits Boris and Berg, and meets Prince Andrey.
8. Nikolay is inspired by a close view of the Emperor inspecting the troops.
9. Boris visits Andrey at Olmutz. Prince Dolgorukov.
10. Nikolay remains ecstatically inspired by the Emperor.
11. Dolgorukov tells of his meeting with Napoleon. Kutuzov is pessimistic.
12. Kutuzov sleeps through a council of war. Andrey thinks things over.
13. Nikolay at the front. Visit of Bagration and Dolgorukov.
14. The battle of Austerlitz begins. The Russians' tactical ineptitude.
15. Kutuzov at loggerheads with the Emperor.
16. Andrey halts the Russian retreat, but is then badly wounded.
17. Nikolay meets the wounded Boris. He cannot believe how bad things are.
18. Nikolay misses a chance to assist the Emperor. Disaster on a frozen dam.
19. Andrey, despite medical treatment, seems likely to die, and is left behind.
VOLUME II
Part I (1805--6)
1. Nikolay brings Denisov home on leave.
2. Count Ilya Rostov prepares a grand dinner in honour of Bagration.
3. The dinner at the English Club, Count Rostov's finest hour.
4. Insulted by Dolokhov, Pierre challenges him to a duel.
5. Pierre wounds Dolokhov and emerges unscathed.
6. Pierre and Helene have a furious argument. He sends her away.
7. At Bald Hills Andrey is presumed dead, but the news is kept from Lise.
8. Lise is about to give birth. Andrey returns.
9. A baby son is born, but Lise dies in childbirth.
10. Denisov and Dolokhov at the Rostovs'. Love is in the air.
11. Dolokhov proposes to Sonya and is turned down.
12. Iogel's ball. Denisov's impressive mazurka.
13. Dolokhov goads Nikolay into gambling, and losing.
14. Nikolay ends up owing 43,000 roubles.
15. Nikolay returns home. Natasha enchants the company with her singing.
16. Nikolay tells his father about his losses. Denisov proposes to Natasha.
Part II (1807)
1. Pierre meets Osip Bazdeyev, a celebrated freemason.
2. Bazdeyev talks about supreme wisdom and Pierre's unhappy life.
3. Pierre becomes a freemason.
4. At the conclusion of the ceremony Pierre feels like a new man.
5. Prince Vasily, seeking a reconciliation between Pierre and Helene, is violently rejected.
6. At another of Anna Scherer's soiree's Helene invites Boris to visit her.
7. Boris goes to her soiree and Helene urgently invites him to dinner next day.
8. Old Prince Bolkonsky gives Andrey his own estate at Bogucharovo.
9. Bilibin writes caustically about the campaign. The sick baby recovers.
10. Pierre visits his southern estates bent on reform, but he is easily duped.
11. Pierre visits Andrey at Bogucharovo. They argue about methods of reform.
12. A philosophical discussion on the ferry.
13. The 'Servants of God' at Bald Hills.
14. The old prince takes to Pierre.
15. Nikolay rejoins his regiment. Food shortages.
16. Denisov illegally seizes supplies from his own army and is wounded.
17. Nikolay visits Denisov, waiting in a vile hospital for his court martial.
18. Denisov reluctantly agrees to petition the Emperor for a pardon.
19. Nikolay's inopportune visit to Boris at Tilsit.
20. Nikolay manages to get the petition to the Emperor, but it is rejected.
21. Alexander and Napoleon meet. Nikolay is depressed and gets drunk.
Part III 1808--10
1. Andrey empathizes with a moribund oak-tree that refuses to welcome spring.
2. Visiting Otradnoye, Andrey overhears Natasha in a late-night conversation.
3. Andrey revisits the old oak-tree, which is now bursting with new life.
4. Arakcheyev rejects Andrey's memorandum on reform of the military code.
5. Andrey is more impressed by Speransky, admiring his self-assurance.
6. Andrey agrees to work on a committee for the reform of the Legal Code.
7. Pierre, dissatisfied with freemasonry, seeks reassurance from Bazdeyev.
8. Pierre, wanting to do good, agrees to a reconciliation with Helene.
9. Helene, a successful society hostess, now receives Boris regularly.
10. Pierre's diaries and dreams show how disturbed he is.
11. Berg demands a dowry for marrying Count Rostov's eldest daughter, Vera.
12. Natasha and Boris are mutually attracted. Sonya seems to love him too.
13. Following a late-night talk with Natasha, the countess sends Boris away.
14. Natasha is involved in fastidious preparations for her first grand ball.
15. Natasha makes a good impression. Pierre is seen talking to Andrey.
16. Pierre asks Andrey to dance with Natasha. They captivate the company.
17. Andrey decides he must marry Natasha. Pierre feels humiliated by his wife.
18. Andrey visits Speransky and is disillusioned by his vacuous character.
19. Andrey visits the Rostovs and is once more enchanted by Natasha.
20. Berg and Vera, assiduous social-climbers, invite Pierre to dinner.
21. The evening is exactly like all the others - just what the Bergs aspire to.
22. Natasha's head is turned. Pierre tells Andrey to go ahead with the match.
23. The old prince insists on a year's delay for the wedding. Natasha is shocked.
24. The engagement is kept secret. Andrey leaves for western Europe.
25. The old prince's attitude to Marya becomes increasingly cruel.
26. He threatens to marry Mlle Bourienne. Marya would like to run away.
Part IV (1810--11)
1. Nikolay returns home, and has doubts about Natasha's marriage.
2. Nikolay gives Mitenka some rough treatment.
3. Nikolay decides to go hunting.
4. The wolf-hunt begins.
5. A wolf is caught.
6. Ilagin's courtesy. Triumph of 'Uncle's' dog, Rugay.
7. An evening at 'Uncle's'. Balalaika playing. Natasha's Russian dancing.
8. Countess Rostov wants Nikolay to marry Julie Karagin. She nags Sonya.
9. Chistmas at Otradnoye. Natasha is bored and depressed.
10. The Rostov children reminisce. Mummers. A troika ride to the Melyukovs'.
11. At Melyukovka. Sonya tries her fortune outside, at the barn.
12. Nikolay and Sonya in love. Natasha and Sonya try their fate with mirrors.
13. Nikolay's marriage to Sonya is opposed. Nikolay rejoins the regiment.
Part V (1811--12)
1. Moscow. Pierre ruminates over what to do with himself.
2. Marya teaches little Nikolay. Prince Bolkonsky and Mlle Bourienne.
3. Prince Bolkonsky treats Dr Metivier as a spy. Congenial conversation.
4. Pierre and Marya discuss Boris Drubetskoy and Natasha.
5. Boris empathizes with Julie in her 'melancholy'. His proposal is accepted.
6. Count Ilya, Sonya and Natasha stay with Marya Dimitrievna in Moscow.
7. The Rostovs call on the Bolkonskys. Disastrous relationships.
8. The Rostovs at the opera. Helene is in the next box.
9. The opera. Anatole and Pierre. Natasha meets Helene. Dancing of Duport.
10. Natasha meets the seductive Anatole and falls under his spell.
11. Anatole and Dolokhov in Moscow.
12. Helene tells Natasha Anatole is in love with her.
13. Mme Georges' recitation at Helene's. Natasha is bemused by Anatole's persistent wooing.
14. Marya's letter to Natasha. Anatole writes a letter to Natasha.
15. Natasha renounces Andrey. A note from Anatole. Sonya is suspicious.
16. Anatole rejects Dolokhov's dissuasion as he prepares to abduct Natasha.
17. The abduction begins but is frustrated by a footman.
18. Marya Dimitrievna is furious with Natasha. Count Ilya is not told.
19. Pierre sees Natasha and confirms that Anatole is already married.
20. Pierre sees Anatole, and vents his fury on him. Anatole leaves town.
21. Natasha takes poison. Andrey is now back. Pierre goes to see him.
22. Pierre assures Natasha of his devotion. The great comet of 1812.
VOLUME III
Part I (May--July 1812)
1. For all their illusion of self-will 'great leaders' are directed by history.
2. Napoleon crosses the Niemen. Polish uhlans are drowned in the Viliya.
3. Alexander at Vilna. Boris eavesdrops. Alexander writes to Napoleon.
4. Balashev is sent to Napoleon, and meets Murat, 'King of Naples'.
5. Balashev, treated badly by Davout, is finally brought to Napoleon.
6. Balashev's meeting with Napoleon.
7. Balashev dines with Napoleon.
8. Kutuzov sends Andrey to Barclay's army. He calls in at Bald Hills.
9. Andrey at Drissa. His ideas on the three armies and eight parties.
10. Andrey meets Pfuel, a conceited theorist and military 'expert'.
11. An informal council-of-war. Pfuel's ludicrous dogmatism.
12. Nikolay writes to Sonya. He and Ilyin get caught in a storm.
13. Marya Genrikhovna. The officers and the doctor.
14. Nikolay controls his fear as he goes into action at Ostrovna.
15. Nikolay, with his huntsman's eye, excels in battle.
16. Natasha's illness. The absurd and expensive ministrations of doctors.
17. Natasha and Pierre. She takes Communion. A slight improvement.
18. At Mass Natasha hears the special prayer for victory.
19. Pierre, haunted by the number 666, sees that he must destroy Napoleon.
20. Petya is keen on the army. Pierre decides to stop visiting Natasha.
21. Petya is crushed at the Kremlin, but overwhelmed by seeing the Emperor.
22. Assembly of nobility, including Pierre, and merchants at Sloboda palace.
23. The Emperor speaks. Pierre offers to fund a thousand men.
Part II (August 1812)
1. The events of 1812, despite the 'planning', were unforeseen and fortuitous.
2. Prince Bolkonsky's mind is going. Julie writes to Marya
3. Alpatych is sent to Smolensk.
4. Smolensk is under fire. Alpatych meets Andrey, who tells them to leave.
5. Prince Andrey visits Bald Hills. The bathing soldiers - cannon-fodder.
6. Matter v. form. Anna Pavlovna's and Helene's competing salons.
7. Napoleon orders the advance on Moscow. An encounter with Lavrushka.
8. Prince Bolkonsky has a stroke, and then dies, nursed by Princess Marya.
9. The truculent peasantry. Alpatych speaks to Dron.
10. Princess Marya speaks to Dron.
11. She addresses the suspicious peasants, who refuse to leave Bogucharovo.
12. Princess Marya recalls her father's death.
13. Nikolay and Ilyin arrive at Bogucharovo, willing to help Marya.
14. Nikolay brings the peasants into line. Marya falls in love with him.
15. Andrey meets Denisov, who wants to develop guerrilla resistance.
16. Andrey trusts Kutuzov and his motto: 'Patience and Time'.
17. Moscow. Rostopchin's broadsheets. Pierre hears of Marya's arrival.
18. A public flogging. Pierre leaves for the front.
19. Borodino - a senseless struggle wrongly interpreted by historians.
20. Pierre arrives in the theatre of war and seeks out the army's position.
21. The Icon of Smolensk is deeply revered by the soldiers and Kutuzov.
22. Kutuzov notices Pierre. Dolokhov wants Pierre to be reconciled.
23. Bennigsen explains the army position; it is all beyond Pierre.
24. Andrey reflects on life and death. Pierre visits him.
25. The spirit of the army. What is war? Andrey thinks of Natasha.
26. De Beausset brings Napoleon his son's portrait. Napoleon's proclamation.
27. Napoleon's dispositions, and how they failed to materialize.
28. Napoleon's cold. The reasons behind the battle.
29. Napoleon talks to De Beausset and Rapp. The game begins.
30. Pierre watches the battlefield from a mound at Gorki.
31. Pierre sees violent action in and around the Rayevsky redoubt.
32. The redoubt is taken and retaken. Pierre tackles a French officer.
33. The battle proceeds in its own way despite the many orders issued.
34. Expected successes are not achieved. Massive, useless slaughter.
35. Kutuzov. An order to renew the attack tomorrow. The spirit of the army.
36. Andrey is hit by a bursting shell. The dressing-station.
37. Andrey undergoes an operation on his thigh. Anatole's leg is amputated.
38. Napoleon's dark mood, though he believes few Frenchmen fell in Russia.
39. Moral victory for the Russians, but everyone doubts the value of it all.
Part III (September 1812)