English society, traditional; German Gesellschaft, traditionelle. Pre-industrial societies, agrarian-type structures, characterized by the predominance of subsistence farming, class hierarchy, structural stability and the method of socio-cult. regulation of all life based on tradition. See AGRICULTURAL COMPANY.
Great definition
Traditional society
pre-industrial society, primitive society) is a concept that focuses in its content a set of ideas about the pre-industrial stage of human development, characteristic of traditional sociology and cultural studies. Unified theory THAT. does not exist. Ideas about T.O. are based, rather, on its understanding as a sociocultural model that is asymmetrical to modern society, rather than on generalization real facts life of peoples not engaged in industrial production. Characteristic of the economy T.O. the dominance of subsistence farming is considered. In this case, commodity relations are either absent altogether or are focused on meeting the needs of a small layer of the social elite. The basic principle of the organization social relations is a rigid hierarchical stratification of society, usually manifested in the division into endogamous castes. At the same time, the main form of organization of social relations for the vast majority of the population is a relatively closed, isolated community. The latter circumstance dictates the dominance of collectivist social ideas, focused on strict adherence to traditional norms of behavior and excluding individual freedom, as well as an understanding of its value. Together with the caste division, this feature almost completely excludes the possibility of social mobility. Political power monopolizes within a separate group (caste, clan, family) and exists primarily in authoritarian forms. Characteristic feature THAT. it is considered either the complete absence of writing, or its existence in the form of a privilege of certain groups (officials, priests). At the same time, writing quite often develops in a language different from the spoken language of the vast majority of the population (Latin in medieval Europe, Arabic- in the Middle East, Chinese writing - in Far East). Therefore, intergenerational transmission of culture is carried out in verbal, folklore form, and the main institution of socialization is the family and community. The consequence of this was extreme variability in the culture of the same ethnic group, manifested in local and dialect differences. Unlike traditional sociology, modern socio-cultural Anthropology does not operate with the concept of T.O. From her perspective, this concept does not reflect real story pre-industrial stage of human development, but characterizes only it last stage. Thus, sociocultural differences between peoples at the stage of development of the “appropriating” economy (hunting and gathering) and those who went through the stage of the “Neolithic revolution” can be no less or even more significant than between “pre-industrial” and “industrial” societies . It is characteristic that in modern theory nation (E. Gelner, B. Anderson, K. Deutsch) to characterize the pre-industrial stage of development, terminology that is more adequate than the concept of “TO” is used - “agrarian”, “agrarian-literate society”, etc. .
Great definition
Incomplete definition ↓
Traditional
 |
Industrial
 |
Post-industrial
 |
| 1.ECONOMY. | ||
| Natural agriculture | The basis is industry, in agriculture - increasing labor productivity. Destruction of natural dependence. | The basis of production is information. The service sector comes to the fore. |
| Primitive crafts | Machinery | Computer technology |
| The predominance of collective forms of ownership. Protection of property of only the upper class of society. Traditional economics. | The basis of the economy is state and private property, a market economy. | Availability different forms property. Mixed economy. |
| The production of goods is limited to a certain type, the list is limited. | Standardization is uniformity in the production and consumption of goods and services. | Individualization of production, up to exclusiveness. |
| Extensive economy | Intensive economy | Increasing the share of small-scale production. |
| Hand tools | Machinery, conveyor production, automation, mass production | The economic sector associated with the production of knowledge, processing and dissemination of information has been developed. |
| Dependence on natural climatic conditions | Independence from natural and climatic conditions | Cooperation with nature, resource-saving, environmentally friendly technologies. |
| Slow introduction of innovations into the economy. | Scientific and technological progress. | Modernization of the economy. |
| The standard of living of the majority of the population is low. | Growing income of the population. Mercantilism consciousness. | High level and quality of life of people. |
| 2. SOCIAL SPHERE. | ||
| Dependence of position on social status. The main units of society are family, community | The emergence of new classes - the bourgeoisie and the industrial proletariat. Urbanization. | Erasing class differences. Increasing share of the middle class. The share of the population engaged in processing and disseminating information over the labor force in agriculture and industry is increasing significantly |
| Stability of the social structure, stable boundaries between social communities, adherence to a strict social hierarchy. Estate. | The mobility of the social structure is great, the possibilities of social movement are not limited. The emergence of classes. | Eliminating social polarization. Blurring class differences. |
| 3. POLITICS. | ||
| Dominance of the Church and the Army | The role of the state is increasing. | Political pluralism |
| Power is hereditary, the source of power is the will of God. | The dominance of law and law (though, more often on paper) Equality before the law. Individual rights and freedoms are legally established. The main regulator of relations is the rule of law. | Civil society. Relations between the individual and society are built on the principle of mutual responsibility. |
| Monarchical forms of government, no political freedoms, power above the law, absorption of the individual by the collective, despotic state The state subjugates society, society is outside the state and its control does not exist. | Providing political freedoms, the republican form of government prevails. Active person subject of politics. Democratic transformations | Law, right - not on paper, but in practice. Democracy. Consensus democracy. Political pluralism. |
| 4. SPIRITUAL SPHERE. | ||
| Norms, customs, beliefs. | Continuing education. | |
| Providentialism consciousness, fanatical attitude towards religion. | Secularization consciousness. The emergence of atheists. | Freedom of conscience and religion. |
| Individualism and individual identity were not encouraged; collective consciousness prevailed over the individual. | Individualism, rationalism, utilitarianism of consciousness. | The desire to prove oneself, to achieve success in life. |
| There are few educated people, the role of science is not great. The education is elite. | The role of knowledge and education is great. Mainly secondary education. | The role of science, education, and the information age is great. Higher education. A global telecommunications network—the Internet—is being formed. |
| The predominance of oral information over written information. | The dominance of mass culture. | Availability different types culture |
| TARGET. | ||
| Adaptation to nature. | Liberation of man from direct dependence on nature, partial subordination of it to himself. The emergence of environmental problems. | Anthropogenic civilization, i.e. in the center is a person, his individuality, interests. solving environmental problems. |
Conclusions
Types of society.
Traditional society- a type of society based on subsistence agriculture, a monarchical system of government and the predominance of religious values and worldview.
Industrial society- type of society based on industrial development, market economy, implementation scientific achievements in economics, emergence democratic form board, on high level development of knowledge, on scientific and technological progress, secularization of consciousness.
Post-industrial society– modern type society, based on the dominance of information (computer technology) in production, development of the service sector, lifelong education, freedom of conscience, consensus democracy, and the formation of civil society.
TYPES OF SOCIETY
1.By degree of openness:
— closed society – characterized by a static social structure, limited mobility, traditionalism, very slow introduction of innovations or their absence, and authoritarian ideology.
— open society – characterized by a dynamic social structure, high social mobility, the ability to innovate, pluralism, and the absence of state ideology.
- By availability of writing:
— preliterate
—written (knowing the alphabet or symbolic writing)
3.According to the degree of social differentiation (or stratification):
— simple — pre-state formations, there are no managers and subordinates)
— complex – several levels of management, layers of the population.
Explanation of terms
| Terms, concepts | Definitions |
| individualism of consciousness | a person’s desire for self-realization, manifestation of his personality, self-development. |
| mercantilism | goal - accumulation of wealth, achievement material well-being, money issues come first. |
| providentialism | a fanatical attitude towards religion, complete subordination to it of the life of both an individual and the entire society, a religious worldview. |
| rationalism | the predominance of reason in human actions and actions, rather than emotions, an approach to resolving issues from the point of view of reasonableness - unreasonableness. |
| secularization | the process of liberation of all spheres public life, as well as the consciousness of people from under the control and influence of religion |
| urbanization | growth of cities and urban populations |
Material prepared by: Melnikova Vera Aleksandrovna
Traditional, industrial and post-industrial. Traditional society is the first form of organization of human relations in terms of historical development. This social structure is at the first stage of development and is characterized by a number of the following features.
First of all, a traditional society is a society whose life is based on agricultural (subsistence) farming using extensive technologies and primitive crafts. Typical for the period of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages. It is believed that almost any society that existed during the period from the primitive community to the beginning is traditional.
The tools used during this period were manual. Their improvement and modernization occurred at a very slow, almost imperceptible pace of natural forced evolution. The economic system was based on the use of subsistence farming, extractive industries, construction, trade.
The social system of this type of society is class-corporate, it is stable and motionless for centuries. There are several classes that do not change for a long time, maintaining a static and unchanged character of life. In many traditional societies, commodity relations are not characteristic at all or are so poorly developed that they are focused only on meeting the needs of a small layer of the social elite.
A traditional society has the following characteristics. It is characterized by the complete dominance of religion in Human life is considered the implementation of divine providence. The most important quality of a person is collectivism, a sense of belonging to his class, a close connection with the land where he was born. Individualism is not yet characteristic of people. At this time, spiritual life was more significant for a person compared to material life.
The rules of life in a team, coexistence with neighbors, and attitude towards authority were determined by traditions. A person acquired status at birth. was interpreted exclusively from the point of view of religion, therefore the attitude towards power was ensured by an explanation of the divine purpose of the government to fulfill its role in society. enjoyed undisputed authority and played a primary role in the life of society. Such a society is not characterized by mobility.
Examples of traditional societies today are the ways of life in most countries of Northern and Northeastern Africa (Ethiopia, Algeria) and Southeast Asia (Vietnam).
In Russia society of this type lasted until the mid-19th century. Despite this, by the beginning of the century it was one of the largest and most influential countries in the world and had the status of a great power.
The main spiritual values that a traditional society has are traditions and the culture of their ancestors. Cultural life was focused primarily on the past: respect for ancestors, admiration for cultural monuments and works of previous eras. The culture is characterized by homogeneity, orientation towards its own traditions and a rather categorical rejection of alternative cultures of other peoples.
Many researchers believe that traditional society is characterized by a culture of no choice. The worldview dominant in society and stable traditions provide a person with ready-made clear and spiritual guidelines. Therefore, the world around us is understandable to humans and does not raise unnecessary questions.
The development of society is a step-by-step process, representing an upward movement from the simplest economy to a more efficient, advanced one. In the 20th century, famous political scientists and sociologists put forward a theory according to which society overcomes three stages of its development: agricultural, industrial and post-industrial. Let us dwell in more detail on the agrarian society.
Agrarian society by types, features, characteristics, characteristics
An agrarian, traditional or pre-industrial society is based on traditional values humanity. This type of society sees the main goal of preserving the traditional way of life, does not accept any changes and does not strive for development.
An agricultural society is characterized traditional economy, which is characterized by redistribution, and the manifestation of market relations and exchange is strictly suppressed. In a traditional society, there is a priority of attention of the state and the ruling elite over the individual’s own interests. All politics is based on an authoritarian type of power.
A person's status in society is determined by his birth. The whole society is divided into classes, movement between which is impossible. The class hierarchy is again based on the traditional way of life.
Agrarian society is characterized by high mortality and birth rates. And at the same time low life expectancy. Very strong family ties.
The pre-industrial type of society persisted for a long time in many Eastern countries.
Economic features of agrarian civilization and culture
Warp traditional society- agriculture, the main components of which are farming, cattle breeding or fishing in coastal areas. Priority certain type farming depends on climatic conditions and geographical location places of settlement. Agrarian society itself is completely dependent on nature and its conditions, while man does not make changes to these forces, without in any way trying to tame them. For a long time, subsistence farming predominated in pre-industrial society.
Industry is either absent or insignificant. Craft labor is poorly developed. All work is aimed at satisfying basic human needs; society does not even try to strive for more. Extra hours labor is recognized by society as punishment.
A person inherits a profession and occupation from his parents. The lower classes are overly devoted to the higher ones, hence this system state power like a monarchy.
All values and culture as a whole are dominated by traditions.
Traditional agrarian society
As already mentioned, an agrarian society is based on simple crafts and agriculture. The time frame for the existence of a given society is Ancient world and the Middle Ages.
At that time, the economy was based on the use natural resources without any changes to the latter. Hence the low development of labor tools, which remain hand-held for a very long time.
The economic sphere of society is dominated by:
- construction;
- extractive industries;
- subsistence farming.
There is trade, but it is insignificantly developed, and the development of the market is not encouraged by the authorities.
Traditions give a person an already established value system, the main role in which is played by religion and the undeniable authority of the head of state. Culture is based on traditional reverence for one's own history.
The process of transformation of traditional agrarian civilization
An agricultural society is quite resistant to any changes, since its basis is traditions and an established way of life. The transformations are so slow that they are invisible to an individual. Transformations are much easier for states that are not fully traditional. As a rule, this is a society with developed market relations - Greek policies, trading cities of England and Holland, Ancient Rome.
The impetus for the irreversible transformation of agrarian civilization was the industrial revolution of the 18th century.
Any transformations in such a society are very painful for a person, especially if religion was the foundation for a traditional society. A person loses guidelines and values. At this time, the authoritarian regime is strengthening. All changes in society are completed by the demographic transition, in which psychology younger generation is changing.
Industrial and post-industrial agrarian society
Industrial society is characterized by a sharp leap in the development of industry. A sharp increase in economic growth rates. This society is characterized by the “optimism of modernizers” - an unshakable confidence in science, with the help of which it is possible to solve any problems that arise, including social ones.
In this society, there is a purely consumerist attitude towards nature - maximum development of available resources, pollution of nature. Industrial society lives one day at a time, striving to satisfy social and everyday needs to the full here and now.
Post-industrial society is just beginning its development path.
In a post-industrial society, the following come first:
- high technology;
- information;
- knowledge.
Industry is giving way to the service sector. Knowledge and information have become the main commodity in the market. Science is no longer recognized as omnipotent. Humanity is finally starting to realize everything negative consequences, which befell nature after the development of industry. Social values are changing. Environmental conservation and nature protection come to the fore.
The main factor and sphere of production of an agricultural society
The main factor of production for an agrarian society is land. That is why an agrarian society practically excludes mobility, since it is completely dependent on the place of residence.
The main sphere of production is agriculture. All production is based on the procurement of raw materials and food. All members of society, first of all, strive to satisfy everyday needs. The basis of the economy is family farming. Such a sphere may not always satisfy all human needs, but certainly most of them.
Agrarian state and agricultural fund
The Agrarian Fund is a state apparatus that provides the country with adequate food. Its main task is to support the development of agricultural business in the country. The fund is responsible for the import and export of agricultural goods and distributes products within the country.
Human civilization needs high-quality food products, which can only be provided by developed agriculture. It is important to take into account that agriculture has never been highly profitable production. Entrepreneurs abandon this type of business as soon as they encounter difficulties and lose profits. IN in this case agricultural policy The state helps agricultural production by allocating the necessary funds to compensate for possible losses.
IN developed countries The rural way of life and family farming are becoming increasingly popular.
Agrarian modernization
Agrarian modernization is based on increasing the rate of development of agricultural production and sets itself the following tasks:
- creation of a new model of economic growth in agriculture;
- creation of favorable economic trends for agricultural business;
- improving rural infrastructure;
- attracting the younger generation to the village to live and work;
- assistance in solving problems with land;
- environmental protection.
The main assistant of the state in modernization is private business. Therefore, the state is obliged to meet the needs of agricultural business and help its development in every possible way.
Modernization will bring agricultural and agricultural production to the proper level in the country, improve the quality of food, create additional jobs in the countryside and increase the standard of living of the population of the entire country as a whole.
] The social structure in it is characterized by a rigid class hierarchy, the existence of stable social communities (especially in Eastern countries), and a special way of regulating the life of society, based on traditions and customs. This organization society actually strives to preserve unchanged the socio-cultural foundations of life that have developed in it.
General characteristics
A traditional society is characterized by:
- traditional economy, or the predominance of the agricultural way of life (agrarian society),
- structural stability,
- estate organization,
- low mobility,
A traditional person perceives the world and the established order of life as something inextricably integral, holistic, sacred and not subject to change. A person's place in society and his status are determined by tradition and social origin.
According to the formula formulated in 1910–1920. According to L. Lévy-Bruhl's concept, people of traditional societies are characterized by prelogical (“prelogique”) thinking, incapable of discerning the inconsistency of phenomena and processes and controlled by mystical experiences of participation (“participation”).
In a traditional society, collectivist attitudes predominate, individualism is not encouraged (since freedom of individual action can lead to a violation of the established order, time-tested). In general, traditional societies are characterized by the predominance of collective interests over private ones, including the primacy of the interests of existing hierarchical structures (states, etc.). What is valued is not so much individual capacity as the place in the hierarchy (official, class, clan, etc.) that a person occupies. As noted, Emile Durkheim in his work “On the Division of Social Labor” showed that in societies of mechanical solidarity (primitive, traditional), individual consciousness is entirely outside the “I”.
In a traditional society, as a rule, relations of redistribution, rather than market exchange, prevail, but elements market economy are strictly regulated. This is due to the fact that free market relations increase social mobility and change social structure societies (in particular, they destroy class); the redistribution system may be regulated by tradition, but market prices are not; forced redistribution prevents “unauthorized” enrichment/impoverishment of both individuals and classes. The pursuit of economic gain in traditional society is often morally condemned and opposed to selfless help.
In a traditional society, most people live their entire lives in a local community (for example, a village), and connections with the “big society” are rather weak. At the same time, family ties, on the contrary, are very strong.
The worldview (ideology) of a traditional society is determined by tradition and authority.
“For tens of thousands of years, the life of the overwhelming majority of adults was subordinated to the tasks of survival and therefore left even less room for creativity and non-utilitarian cognition than for play. Life was based on tradition, hostile to any innovations; any serious deviation from the given norms of behavior was a threat to everything to the team,” writes L. Ya. Zhmud.
Transformation of traditional society
Traditional society appears to be extremely stable. As the famous demographer and sociologist Anatoly Vishnevsky writes, “everything in it is interconnected and it is very difficult to remove or change any one element.”
In ancient times, changes in traditional society occurred extremely slowly - over generations, almost imperceptibly for an individual. Periods of accelerated development also occurred in traditional societies ( shining example- changes in the territory of Eurasia in the 1st millennium BC. BC), but even during such periods, change was slow by modern standards, and upon its completion, society again returned to a relatively static state with a predominance of cyclical dynamics.
At the same time, since ancient times there have been societies that cannot be called completely traditional. The departure from traditional society was associated, as a rule, with the development of trade. This category includes Greek city-states, medieval self-governing trading cities, England and Holland of the 16th-17th centuries. Ancient Rome (before the 3rd century AD) with its civil society stands apart.
The rapid and irreversible transformation of traditional society began to occur only in the 18th century as a result of the industrial revolution. By now, this process has captured almost the entire world.
Rapid changes and departure from traditions can be experienced by a traditional person as a collapse of guidelines and values, loss of the meaning of life, etc. Since adaptation to new conditions and a change in the nature of activity are not included in the strategy of a traditional person, the transformation of society often leads to the marginalization of part of the population.
The most painful transformation of traditional society occurs in cases where the dismantled traditions have a religious justification. At the same time, resistance to change can take the form of religious fundamentalism.
During the period of transformation of a traditional society, authoritarianism may increase in it (either in order to preserve traditions, or in order to overcome resistance to change).
The transformation of traditional society ends with the demographic transition. The generation that grew up in small families has a psychology that differs from the psychology of a traditional person.
Opinions about the need (and extent) of transformation of traditional society differ significantly. For example, the philosopher A. Dugin considers it necessary to abandon the principles of modern society and return to the “golden age” of traditionalism. Sociologist and demographer A. Vishnevsky argues that traditional society “has no chance,” although it “fiercely resists.” According to the calculations of Professor A. Nazaretyan, in order to completely abandon development and return society to a static state, the number of humanity must be reduced by several hundred times.
See also
Write a review about the article "Traditional Society"
Notes
Literature
- (chapter “Historical dynamics of culture: features of the culture of traditional and modern societies. Modernization")
- Nazaretyan A.P. // Social sciences and modernity. 1996. No. 2. P. 145-152.
|
||||||||||||||
An excerpt characterizing Traditional Society
– It was a terrible sight, children were abandoned, some were on fire... In front of me they pulled out a child... women, from whom they pulled things off, tore out earrings...Pierre blushed and hesitated.
“Then a patrol arrived, and all those who were not robbed, all the men were taken away. And me.
– You probably don’t tell everything; “You must have done something…” Natasha said and paused, “good.”
Pierre continued to talk further. When he talked about the execution, he wanted to avoid the terrible details; but Natasha demanded that he not miss anything.
Pierre started to talk about Karataev (he had already gotten up from the table and was walking around, Natasha was watching him with her eyes) and stopped.
- No, you cannot understand what I learned from this illiterate man - a fool.
“No, no, speak up,” said Natasha. - Where is he?
“He was killed almost in front of me.” - And Pierre began to tell lately their retreats, Karataev’s illness (his voice trembled incessantly) and his death.
Pierre told his adventures as he had never told them to anyone before, as he had never recalled them to himself. He now saw, as it were, a new meaning in everything that he had experienced. Now, when he was telling all this to Natasha, he experienced that rare pleasure that women give when listening to a man - not smart women who, while listening, try to either remember what they are told in order to enrich their mind and, on occasion, retell the same or adapt what is being told to their own and quickly communicate their clever speeches developed in their small mental economy; but the pleasure that real women give, gifted with the ability to select and absorb into themselves all the best that exists in the manifestations of a man. Natasha, without knowing it herself, was all attention: she did not miss a word, a hesitation in her voice, a glance, a twitch of a facial muscle, or a gesture from Pierre. She caught the unspoken word on the fly and brought it directly into her open heart, guessing the secret meaning of all Pierre’s spiritual work.
Princess Marya understood the story, sympathized with it, but now she saw something else that absorbed all her attention; she saw the possibility of love and happiness between Natasha and Pierre. And for the first time this thought came to her, filling her soul with joy.
It was three o'clock in the morning. Waiters with sad and stern faces came to change the candles, but no one noticed them.
Pierre finished his story. Natasha, with sparkling, animated eyes, continued to look persistently and attentively at Pierre, as if wanting to understand something else that he might not have expressed. Pierre, in bashful and happy embarrassment, occasionally glanced at her and thought of what to say now in order to shift the conversation to another subject. Princess Marya was silent. It didn’t occur to anyone that it was three o’clock in the morning and that it was time to sleep.
“They say: misfortune, suffering,” said Pierre. - Yes, if now, this minute they told me: do you want to remain what you were before captivity, or first go through all this? For God's sake, once again captivity and horse meat. We think how we will be thrown out of our usual path, that everything is lost; and here something new and good is just beginning. As long as there is life, there is happiness. There is a lot, a lot ahead. “I’m telling you this,” he said, turning to Natasha.
“Yes, yes,” she said, answering something completely different, “and I would like nothing more than to go through everything all over again.”
Pierre looked at her carefully.
“Yes, and nothing more,” Natasha confirmed.
“It’s not true, it’s not true,” Pierre shouted. – It’s not my fault that I’m alive and want to live; and you too.
Suddenly Natasha dropped her head into her hands and began to cry.
- What are you saying, Natasha? - said Princess Marya.
- Nothing, nothing. – She smiled through her tears at Pierre. - Goodbye, time to sleep.
Pierre stood up and said goodbye.
Princess Marya and Natasha, as always, met in the bedroom. They talked about what Pierre had told. Princess Marya did not speak her opinion about Pierre. Natasha didn't talk about him either.
“Well, goodbye, Marie,” Natasha said. – You know, I’m often afraid that we don’t talk about him (Prince Andrei), as if we are afraid to humiliate our feelings and forget.
Princess Marya sighed heavily and with this sigh acknowledged the truth of Natasha’s words; but in words she did not agree with her.
- Is it possible to forget? - she said.
“It felt so good to tell everything today; and hard, and painful, and good. “Very good,” said Natasha, “I’m sure he really loved him.” That's why I told him... nothing, what did I tell him? – suddenly blushing, she asked.
- Pierre? Oh no! How wonderful he is,” said Princess Marya.
“You know, Marie,” Natasha suddenly said with a playful smile that Princess Marya had not seen on her face for a long time. - He became somehow clean, smooth, fresh; definitely from the bathhouse, do you understand? - morally from the bathhouse. Is it true?
“Yes,” said Princess Marya, “he won a lot.”
- And a short frock coat, and cropped hair; definitely, well, definitely from the bathhouse... dad, it used to be...
“I understand that he (Prince Andrei) did not love anyone as much as he did,” said Princess Marya.
– Yes, and it’s special from him. They say that men are friends only when they are very special. It must be true. Is it true that he doesn't resemble him at all?
- Yes, and wonderful.
“Well, goodbye,” Natasha answered. And the same playful smile, as if forgotten, remained on her face for a long time.
Pierre could not fall asleep for a long time that day; He walked back and forth around the room, now frowning, pondering something difficult, suddenly shrugging his shoulders and shuddering, now smiling happily.
He thought about Prince Andrei, about Natasha, about their love, and was either jealous of her past, then reproached her, then forgave himself for it. It was already six o'clock in the morning, and he was still walking around the room.
“Well, what can we do? If you can’t do without it! What to do! So, this is how it should be,” he said to himself and, hastily undressed, went to bed, happy and excited, but without doubts and indecisions.
“We must, strange as it may be, no matter how impossible this happiness is, we must do everything in order to be husband and wife with her,” he said to himself.
Pierre, a few days before, had set Friday as the day of his departure for St. Petersburg. When he woke up on Thursday, Savelich came to him for orders about packing his things for the road.
“How about St. Petersburg? What is St. Petersburg? Who's in St. Petersburg? – he asked involuntarily, although to himself. “Yes, something like that a long time ago, long ago, even before this happened, I was planning to go to St. Petersburg for some reason,” he recalled. - Why? I'll go, maybe. How kind and attentive he is, how he remembers everything! - he thought, looking at Savelich’s old face. “And what a pleasant smile!” - he thought.
- Well, don’t you want to go free, Savelich? asked Pierre.
- Why do I need freedom, Your Excellency? We lived under the late count, the kingdom of heaven, and we see no resentment under you.
- Well, what about the children?
“And the children will live, your Excellency: you can live with such gentlemen.”
- Well, what about my heirs? - said Pierre. “What if I get married... It could happen,” he added with an involuntary smile.
“And I dare to report: a good deed, your Excellency.”
“How easy he thinks it is,” thought Pierre. “He doesn’t know how scary it is, how dangerous it is.” Too early or too late... Scary!
- How would you like to order? Would you like to go tomorrow? – Savelich asked.