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When Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov wrote a novel about the Master, he hardly imagined that he was creating the most significant work Russian literature of the twentieth century. Today the work is deservedly included in the lists of the most books read world, while remaining the object of endless debate among literary scholars and philosophers.
And for website“The Master and Margarita” is simply a favorite story, full of mysteries and endless wisdom. What is needed most in our difficult times.
- Who told you that there is no real, true, eternal love? May the liar's vile tongue be cut out!
- We are talking to you in different languages, as always, but the things we talk about don’t change.
- Evil lurks in men who avoid wine, games, the company of lovely women, and table conversation. Such people are either seriously ill or secretly hate those around them.
- There are no evil people in the world, there are only unhappy people.
- These women are difficult people!
- A person without a surprise inside, in his box, is uninteresting.
- Everything will be right, the world is built on this.
- Yes, man is mortal, but that would not be so bad. The bad thing is that he is sometimes suddenly mortal, that's the trick!
- It's nice to hear that you treat your cat so politely. For some reason, cats are usually called “you,” although not a single cat has ever drunk brotherhood with anyone.
- An unhappy person is cruel and callous. And all just because good people mutilated him.
- Do you judge by the suit? Never do this. You can make a mistake, and a very big one at that.
- Never ask for anything! Never and nothing, and especially among those who are stronger than you. They will offer and give everything themselves.
- He who loves must share the fate of the one he loves.
- For mercy... Would I allow myself to pour vodka for the lady? This is pure alcohol!
- The second freshness is nonsense! There is only one freshness - the first, and it is also the last. And if the sturgeon is second freshness, then this means that it is rotten!
- It is easy and pleasant to speak the truth.
- Why pursue in the footsteps of what is already over?
- - Dostoevsky died.
- I protest, Dostoevsky is immortal! - And fact is the most stubborn thing in the world.
- All theories are worth one another. Among them there is one according to which everyone will be given according to their faith. May it come true!
- What country's wine do you prefer at this time of day?
- My drama is that I live with someone I don’t love, but I consider it unworthy to ruin his life.
- - Cowardice is one of the most terrible human vices.
- No, I dare to object to you. Cowardice is the most terrible human vice. - Never be afraid of anything. This is unreasonable.
- The most terrible anger is the anger of powerlessness.
- What would your good do if evil did not exist, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it?
- Understand that the tongue can hide the truth, but the eyes can never!
- People are like people. They love money, but this has always been the case... Humanity loves money, no matter what it is made of, whether leather, paper, bronze or gold. Well, they are frivolous... well, well... and mercy sometimes knocks on their hearts... ordinary people... in general, they resemble the old ones... Housing issue only ruined them.
- No matter what pessimists say, the earth is still absolutely beautiful, and under the moon it is simply unique.
No matter how long humanity exists, it will always be concerned about moral problems: honor, duty, conscience. These are the questions raised by M.A. Bulgakov at his best philosophical novel“The Master and Margarita”, forcing the reader to rethink life and appreciate the importance of the moral aspects of a person, and also to think about what is more important in life - power, might, money or one’s own spiritual freedom, leading to goodness and justice, and a calm conscience. If a person is not free, he is afraid of everything, he has to act contrary to his desires and conscience, that is, the most terrible vice- cowardice. And cowardice leads to immoral acts, for which a person expects the most terrible punishment - pangs of conscience. Such pangs of conscience haunted the main character of the Master’s novel, Pontius Pilate, for almost 2 thousand years.
M.A. Bulgakov takes the reader to ancient Yershalaim to the palace of the fifth procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, to whom they brought a defendant from Galilee, arrested for inciting the destruction of the Yershalaim temple. His face was broken and his hands were tied. Despite the headache that tormented the procurator, as a man exposed to power, he was forced to interrogate the criminal. Pontius Pilate, a powerful, formidable and domineering man who did not tolerate objections and was accustomed to the submissive obedience of his subordinates and slaves, was outraged by the prisoner’s address to him: “ kind man, trust me!" Summoning Mark Krysoboy (the head of the special kunturia), he ordered the defendant to be taught a lesson. No wonder the procurator himself called himself a “fierce monster.” After the punishment, Pontius Pilate continued the interrogation and found out that the arrested person named Yeshua Ha-Nozri was a literate person who knew Greek, and spoke to him in Greek. Pontius Pilate becomes interested in the wandering philosopher; he understands that he has encountered not a hypocrite, but an intelligent and wise man who also has the miraculous property of relieving headaches. The procurator also makes sure that the spiritual position of Ha-Nozri: “ evil people not in the world”, sincere and aware that Yeshua lives according to his own laws, the laws of goodness and justice. Therefore, he believes that all people are free and equal. Even with the procurator he behaves like an independent person: “Some new thoughts came to my mind that might, I believe, seem interesting to you, and I would be happy to share them with you, especially since you make a very impressive impression.” smart person " The procurator is surprised at how simply and directly Yeshua objects to him, the master, and is not indignant. And the arrested person continued: “The trouble is... that you are too closed and have completely lost faith in people. You can’t, you see, put all your affection into a dog. Your life is meager, hegemon...” Pilate felt that the condemned man was absolutely right in something important and his spiritual conviction was so strong that even the tax collector, Matthew Levi, despising money, followed his Teacher everywhere. The procurator had a desire to save the innocent doctor and philosopher: he would declare Ga-Notsri mentally ill and send him to the island in the Mediterranean Sea, where his residence is located. But this was not destined to come true, because in the case of Yeshua there is a denunciation of Judas from Kiriath, which reports that the philosopher told “a kind and inquisitive man” that “all power is violence over people and that the time will come when there will be no the power of neither the Caesars nor any other power. Man will move into the kingdom of truth and justice, where no power will be needed at all.” Thus, having offended the authority of Caesar, Yeshua signed his own death warrant. Even to save his life, he does not renounce his beliefs, does not try to lie or hide something, since telling the truth is “easy and pleasant” for him. Yeshua was led to execution, and from that moment Pontius Pilate lost peace because he sent an innocent man to execution. It seemed to him vaguely “that he didn’t say something to the convict, or maybe he didn’t listen to something.” He felt that there would be no forgiveness for his action, and he hated everyone who contributed to the condemnation of the philosopher, and first of all himself, since he quite consciously made a deal with his conscience, afraid of the inner desire to restore justice. He, an intelligent politician and a skilled diplomat, long ago realized that, living in a totalitarian state, one cannot remain oneself, that the need for hypocrisy deprived him of faith in people and made his life meager and meaningless, which Yeshua noticed. Ha-Notsri's unshakable moral position helped Pilate realize his weakness and insignificance. To alleviate his suffering and somehow clear his conscience, Pilate orders the death of Judas, who betrayed Yeshua. But the pangs of conscience do not let him go, therefore, in a dream in which the procurator saw that he had not sent the wandering philosopher to execution, he cried and laughed with joy. And in reality he executed himself because he was afraid to take Yeshua’s side and save him, because to have mercy on Ha-Nozri meant to put himself at risk. If there had not been an interrogation protocol, he might have released the wandering philosopher. But career and fear of Caesar turned out to be stronger than my inner voice.
If Pilate had been at peace with himself and his concept of morality, his conscience would not have tormented him. But he, having authorized the execution of Yeshua, acted contrary to “his will and his desires, out of cowardice alone...”, which turns into a two-thousand-year torment of repentance for the procurator. According to Bulgakov, people with double morality, like Pontius Pilate, are very dangerous, because because of their cowardice and cowardice they commit meanness and evil. Thus, the novel indisputably proves the statement of the bearer of goodness and justice, Yeshua, that “cowardice is the most terrible vice.”
It is stunning in its depth and comprehensiveness. Satirical chapters in which Woland's retinue fools Moscow townsfolk are mixed into the novel with lyrical chapters, dedicated to the Master and Margarita. The fantastic in the novel peeks out from behind the everyday, evil spirits walk the streets of Moscow, the beautiful Margarita turns into a witch, and the administrator of the Variety Show becomes a vampire. The composition of “The Master and Margarita” is also unusual: the book consists of two novels: the actual novel about tragic fate The Master and four chapters from the Master's novel about Pontius Pilate.
The “Yershalaim” chapters represent the substantive and philosophical center of the novel. The novel about Pilate refers the reader to the text of Holy Scripture, but at the same time creatively rethinks the Gospel. There are important differences between his hero Yeshua Ha-Nozri and the Jesus of the Gospels: Yeshua has no followers except the former tax collector Levi Matthew, a man "with a goat's parchment" who records Ha-Nozri's speeches, but "writes it down incorrectly." Yeshua, when interrogated by Pilate, denies that he entered the city on a donkey, and the crowd greeted him with shouts. The crowd most likely beat up the wandering philosopher - he comes to interrogation with his face already disfigured. Moreover, Yeshua is not the main character of the Master’s novel, although his preaching of love and truth is undoubtedly important for the philosophy of the novel. The main character of the “Yershalaim” chapters is the fifth procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate.
The main moral issues of the novel are associated with the image of Pontius Pilate, such as the problem of conscience and power, cowardice and mercy. A meeting with Yeshua changes the procurator's life forever. In the interrogation scene, he is almost motionless, but the external static character further emphasizes his excitement, dynamism and freedom of thought, tense internal struggle with the principles and laws familiar to him. Pilate understands that the “wandering philosopher” is innocent, he passionately wants to talk with him longer. He sees in Yeshua an intelligent and truthful interlocutor, is carried away by the conversation with him, for a moment forgetting that he is conducting an interrogation, and Pilate’s secretary drops the parchment in horror, hearing the conversation between the two free people. The revolution in Pilate's soul is symbolized by the swallow that flies into the hall during the conversation between the procurator and Yeshua; her fast and easy flight symbolizes freedom, in particular freedom of conscience. It was during her flight that the decision to justify the “wandering philosopher” arises in Pilate’s head. When the “law of lese majeste” intervenes in the matter, Pilate “with a wild gaze” sees off the same swallow, realizing the illusory nature of his freedom.
Pilate's internal torment stems from the fact that his power, practically unlimited in Judea, now becomes his weak point. Cowardly and vile laws, like the law of insulting Caesar, order him to sentence the philosopher to execution. But his heart, his conscience tells him about Yeshua’s innocence. The concept of conscience is closely connected in the novel with the concept of power. Pilate cannot sacrifice his career in order to save the “fool” Yeshua. So it turns out that the outwardly omnipotent procurator, who inspires horror in his servants, turns out to be powerless when it comes to the laws of conscience, and not the state. Pilate is afraid to protect Yeshua. A scary ghost the image of the Roman emperor appears before the procurator in the semi-darkness of the palace: “...a rare-toothed crown sat on his bald head; there was a round ulcer on the forehead, corroding the skin and covered with ointment; a sunken, toothless mouth with a drooping, capricious lower lip.” For the sake of such an emperor, Pilate has to condemn Yeshua. The procurator feels almost physical torment when, standing on the platform, he announces the beginning of the execution of criminals, everyone except Bar-Rabban: “A green fire flared up under his eyelids, his brain caught fire...”. It seems to him that everything around him has died, after which he himself experiences real spiritual death: “... it seemed to him that the sun, ringing, burst above him and filled his ears with fire. Roars, squeals, groans, laughter and whistles raged in this fire.”
After the execution of the criminals took place, Pilate learns from the faithful Afranius that during the execution Ha-Nozri was laconic and said only that “among human vices, he considers cowardice to be one of the most important.” The procurator understands that Yeshua read his last sermon for him; his excitement is revealed by a “suddenly cracked voice.” The Horseman Golden Spear cannot be called a coward - several years ago he saved the giant Ratkiller by rushing to his aid in the midst of the Germans. But spiritual cowardice, fear for one’s position in society, fear of public ridicule and the wrath of the Roman emperor are stronger than fear in battle. Too late, Pilate overcomes his fear. He dreams that he is walking next to the philosopher on a moonbeam, arguing, and they “do not agree with each other on anything,” which makes their argument especially interesting. And when the philosopher tells Pilate that cowardice is one of the most terrible vices, the procurator objects to him: “this is the most terrible vice.” In a dream, the procurator realizes that he now agrees to “ruin his career” for the sake of “an innocent, crazy dreamer and doctor.”
Having called cowardice “the most terrible vice,” the procurator decides his fate. Punishment for Pontius Pilate becomes immortality and “unheard-of glory.” And 2000 years later, people will still remember and repeat his name as the name of the man who condemned the “wandering philosopher” to execution. And the procurator himself sits on a stone platform and sleeps for about two thousand years, and only on a full moon is he tormented by insomnia. His dog Bunga shares his punishment for "an eternity." As Woland will explain this to Margarita: “... whoever loves must share the fate of the one he loves.”
According to the Master's novel, Pilate tries to atone for Yeshua by ordering the death of Judas. But murder, even under the guise of just revenge, contradicts Yeshua’s entire life philosophy. Perhaps Pilate’s thousand-year punishment is connected not only with his betrayal of Ha-Nozri, but also with the fact that he “did not listen to the end” of the philosopher, did not fully understand him.
At the end of the novel, the Master lets his hero run along the moonbeam to Yeshua, who, according to Woland, read the novel.
How is the motive of cowardice transformed in the “Moscow” chapters of the novel? One can hardly accuse the Master of cowardice, who burned his novel, abandoned everything and voluntarily went to a mental hospital. This is a tragedy of fatigue, unwillingness to live and create. “I have nowhere to escape,” the Master answers Ivan, who suggested that it would be easy to escape from the hospital, possessing, like the Master, a bunch of all the hospital keys. Perhaps Moscow writers can be accused of cowardice, because the literary situation in Moscow in the 30s of the 20th century was such that a writer could only create things pleasing to the state, or not write at all. But this motive appears in the novel only as a hint, a guess of the Master. He admits to Ivan that he critical articles in his address it was clear that “the authors of these articles are not saying what they want to say, and that their rage is caused by precisely this.”
Thus, the motive of cowardice is embodied mainly in the novel about Pontius Pilate. The fact that the Master's novel evokes associations with the biblical text gives the novel a universal significance and imbues it with cultural and historical associations. The novel's problematics endlessly expand, incorporating all human experience, forcing every reader to think about why cowardice turns out to be “the worst vice.”
In the novel M.A. Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita are two plots. The Moscow chapters depict contemporary to the writer reality of the thirties of the twentieth century. The novel was created in the era totalitarian state, during the period of Stalinist repressions. During this terrible time, people disappeared from their apartments without a trace and never returned there. Fear constrained people, and they were afraid to have their own opinion, to openly express their thoughts. Society was gripped by a mass psychosis of spy mania. Atheism became part of state policy, and denunciation was elevated to the rank of virtue. Evil and violence, meanness and betrayal triumphed. The humanist writer believed in the power of good and was confident that evil must be punished.
Therefore, in Moscow in the thirties, with the power of his imagination, he places the devil, who in the novel bears the name Woland. Bulgakov's Satan differs from the traditional image of the devil that exists in religious consciousness. He does not at all persuade people to sin, does not tempt them with temptations. He exposes already existing vices and punishes sinners, bringing just retribution and thus serving the cause of good.
The second plot is presented as a master's novel about Pontius Pilate. To affirm eternal spiritual values, the writer turns to gospel images.
Christian motifs are associated with the images of Yeshua, Pontius Pilate, Levi Matthew and Judas.
Pontius Pilate appears on the pages of the novel in all the majesty of a man with enormous power - “in a white cloak with a bloody lining, a shuffling cavalry gait,” he goes out into the covered colonnade between the two wings of the palace of Herod the Great.
The Roman governor is the fifth procurator of Judea. He has the right to sign death warrants. And at the same time, M. Bulgakov endows his hero with physical weakness - a painful headache - “hemicrania,” in which half his head hurts. He suffers terribly from an “invincible” disease for which there is no cure, no salvation. In such a painful state, Pontius Pilate begins the interrogation of the “person under investigation from Galilee.” The procurator must approve the death sentence of the Sanhedrin.
The image of Pontius Pilate in the novel is the most complex and contradictory. The name of this hero is associated with the problem of conscience, posed very acutely. Using the example of the image of an all-powerful procurator, the idea is affirmed that “cowardice is the most terrible vice.”
Pontius Pilate is a brave and courageous man, he bravely fought in battle “near Idistavizo, in the Valley of the Virgins.” “The infantry maniple fell into the bag, and if the cavalry tour had not cut in from the flank, and I commanded it, you, philosopher, would not have had to talk to the Rat Slayer,” he says to Yeshua. In battle, the procurator is not afraid of death and is ready to come to the rescue of his comrade. This man is endowed with enormous power, he approves death sentences, the lives of those convicted are in his hands. But, nevertheless, Pontius Pilate admits weakness and shows cowardice, condemning to death a man whose innocence he did not doubt for a minute.
To understand why the hegemon made such a decision, one should turn to the interrogation scene in Herod's palace. Great.
The interrogation episode can be divided into two parts. In the first part, Pontius Pilate decides to cancel death penalty, since he does not see anything criminal in the actions of the wandering philosopher. Yeshua did not persuade the people to destroy the Yershalaim temple. He spoke figuratively, and the tax collector misunderstood and distorted the philosopher's thought. In the second part of the interrogation, Pontius Pilate stands in front of moral problem conscience, problem moral choice. On a piece of parchment, the procurator reads a denunciation against Yeshua. Judas of Kiriath asked a provocative question about state power. The wandering philosopher replied that all power is violence, that in the future there will be no power, but the kingdom of truth and justice will come.
The procurator is faced with a choice: not to sign the death warrant means breaking the law on lese majeste; To recognize Yeshua as guilty means to save oneself from punishment, but to condemn an innocent person to death.
For Pontius Pilate, this is a painful choice: the voice of conscience tells him that the arrested person is not guilty. When the procurator read the denunciation, it seemed to him that the prisoner’s head floated away somewhere, and instead of it appeared the bald head of Herod with a sparse-toothed golden crown. This vision symbolizes the choice that Pontius Pilate will make. He is trying to somehow save Yeshua by sending “signals” so that he renounces his words about the great Caesar, but the wandering philosopher is used to telling only the truth. The Roman procurator is not internally free, he is afraid of punishment and therefore insincere. “There has never been and never will be a greater and more beautiful power in the world than the power of Emperor Tiberius,” says Pilate and looks with hatred at the secretary and the convoy. He utters words that he does not believe in, fearing the denunciation of witnesses to his interrogation. Pontius Pilate made his choice by approving the death sentence, because he was not ready to take the place of a wandering philosopher, he showed cowardice and cowardice.
The main thing can no longer be changed, and the procurator strives to change at least minor circumstances in order to drown out the pangs of conscience. Showing sympathy for the condemned man, he gives the order to kill Yeshua on the cross so that he does not suffer for a long time. He orders the murder of the informer Judas and the return of the money to the high priest. The procurator is trying to at least somehow make amends for his guilt, to assuage remorse.
An important role in the novel is played by the dream that the Roman procurator saw after the execution of Yeshua. In his dream, he walks accompanied by his dog Banga, the only creature to whom he feels affection. And next to him, along a transparent blue road, a wandering philosopher walks, and they argue about something complex and important, and neither of them can defeat the other. In a dream, the procurator convinces himself that there was no execution. He recalls the words spoken by Yeshua before his execution, which are conveyed by the head of the service, Afaniy: “... among human vices, he considers cowardice to be one of the most important.” In a dream, the procurator objects to the wandering philosopher: “... this is the most terrible vice!” He recalls his courage in battle: “... the current procurator of Judea was not a coward, but the former tribune in the legion, then, in the Valley of the Virgins, when the furious Germans almost killed the Rat Slayer - the Giant.” In a dream, the procurator does right choice. Just this morning he would not have ruined his career because of a man who committed a crime against Caesar. But at night he weighed everything and came to the conclusion that he agreed to destroy himself in order to save “a completely innocent, insane dreamer and doctor” from execution. It is shown here that the procurator repents of his cowardice. He realizes that he has made a terrible mistake. But he is capable of heroism and self-sacrifice. If it were possible to change everything or turn back time, Pontius Pilate would not have signed the death warrant. “We will always be together now,” says Ga-Nozri. We are talking about the same immortality that for some reason the procurator thought about when he read Judas’s denunciation. The immortality of Yeshua lies in the fact that he remained faithful to the preaching of goodness and ascended to the cross for the sake of people. This is a feat of self-sacrifice. Pilate's immortality lies in the fact that he showed cowardice and, out of cowardice, signed the death warrant of an innocent man. No one would want such immortality. At the end of the novel, the procurator claims that “more than anything in the world he hates his immortality and unheard-of glory.” He says that he would willingly exchange his fate with the ragged vagabond Levi Matvey."