Penelope in ancient Greek mythology is the wife of Odysseus, symbolizing fidelity to her husband. He was absent for 20 whole years, and all this time his wife was waiting for him, ignoring the courtship of numerous suitors. The poets of ancient Greece endowed her with an extraordinary mind and prudence. Later, the ancient Romans made Penelope a symbol of a worthy family. She was mentioned by such classical authors as Horace, Ovid, Statius, Plautus and others. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, this woman became the personification of chastity and purity.

She was the daughter of Icarius (brother of the king of Sparta) and the naiad Peribaeus. She had brothers: Foant, Alet, Perileus, Damasippus, Imevsim and sister Meda. Helen the Beautiful, who caused the Trojan War, was her cousin. Icarius decided to give his daughter in marriage to the man who would win the race. Competitions were organized in Sparta. The winner in them was Odysseus, the king of Ithaca.

Penelope with Odysseus on the marriage bed

Icarium did not want to let his beloved daughter go to the other end of Ancient Greece. He suggested that Odysseus live with his wife in Sparta or choose any place in Laconia. But Odysseus refused and left, taking his wife. Icarius rushed off in pursuit, caught up with the married couple and, turning to Penelope, invited her to decide for herself where she would live. She didn't say anything, just covered her face with a veil. By this, she made it clear to her father that she would follow her husband. Icarius had no choice but to agree with his daughter's decision.

Just before the start Trojan War the couple had a boy, who was named Telemachus. When the Trojan War broke out, Odysseus was one of the first to go to it. The wife was left alone and waited for her husband for 20 years. She was told that he had died long ago, but Penelope did not believe it. During this period of time, in total, 108 suitors wooed her, as the woman was beautiful and rich.

In order to somehow protect herself from obsessive men, she began to come up with various ways to help her play for time. For example, she stated that she began to weave a shroud for her father-in-law Laertes, and until she finishes the work, there can be no talk of any marriage. During the day she weaved, and at night she unraveled everything that she had done during the day. Thus, she deceived the suitors for 3 whole years, until one of the maids told everyone about her cunning.

After that, Penelope had nowhere to go. But the woman had an extraordinary mind, and therefore she came up with an extremely difficult test for the suitors. In the house there was a bow with a very tight string. Only Odysseus could pull it on. And the woman told the suitors that only the one who pulls the string and shoots an arrow from a bow will become her husband.

At this time, after long wanderings and adventures, Odysseus returns to Ithaca. But he appears before people in the form of a beggar, and no one recognizes him. However, Odysseus is on hand. He quickly learns that all these years his wife has been faithful to him, but now she has announced a competition to choose a new husband from numerous suitors. When the competition begins, none of the men can pull the string and shoot from the bow. And then an unknown beggar comes, who easily pulls the ill-fated bowstring and shoots an arrow from a bow.

Odysseus kills Penelope's suitors

After that, Odysseus kills all applicants for his wife's hand with his bow, but Penelope doubts that her husband has finally appeared. She thinks that one of the gods has taken his form. Such mistrust stems from the case of Alcmene. She was the daughter of the Mycenaean king Electryon and spent the night with Zeus, who took the form of her husband Amphitryon.

Therefore, the wife, faithful to her husband, orders the servants to move the bed on which she once slept with Odysseus to another room. This is impossible to do as one of the legs of the bed is a living olive tree. Standing nearby, Odysseus hears Penelope's order and says that the bed cannot be moved. After that, the woman is completely convinced that her husband is in front of her, and not some rogue god who decided to feast on her charms for free.

According to Homer, Penelope lived with Odysseus after his return a long and happy life. She, her husband and son Telemachus wisely ruled their kingdom and earned the sincere respect of the people.

Such Penelope is represented in the cinema

However, for the sake of objectivity, it should be noted that Penelope in ancient Greek mythology was not idealized by all ancient authors. For example, the ancient Greek writer Pausanias claimed that a woman exalted by all cheated on her husband, and he, after returning, exiled her to Arcadia. But the historian Duris, who lived in the III century BC. e., interpreted a clean and bright image in even darker colors. In his opinion, Penelope slept with all 108 suitors and gave birth to a son, Pan, from one of them.

In a word, how many people, so many opinions. It is impossible to find the truth in this matter, since the image in question is mythological and does not have a specific historical prototype. And so you can invent everything, focusing on your imagination and worldview.

Penelope, suitors and veil. For twenty whole years Odysseus was not at home: ten of them he fought under the walls of Troy and ten wandered the seas and lived with the nymph Calypso. What happened in Ithaca in his absence? During this time, his son Telemachus grew up, became a strong and beautiful twenty-year-old youth; Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, patiently waited for the return of her husband, but the trouble is that her suitors tortured her. Thinking that Odysseus would not return from the campaign, that he was no longer alive, they came to the palace of Penelope and began to demand that she make a choice and take one of them as her husband. There were a lot of them, they came from the best families of Ithaca and the nearby islands, persistently sought an answer. But not only love for the beautiful Penelope led them; by marrying her, they hoped to obtain royal power in Ithaca. At first, Penelope refused everyone, saying that Odysseus was alive and a reliable oracle predicted his return. Later, when the suitors became very insistent, she told them: “Good! I will make my choice, but first I will finish weaving the veil that I have already begun to work on.” The grooms agreed to wait. And for several years Penelope wove a veil during the day, and dismissed the work in the evening. All this time, the suitors lived in the palace of Odysseus, drank his wine, ate his pigs, sheep, cows, disposed of his property and slaves as if they were their own.

Telemachus tries to find out about his father. Meanwhile, Telemachus grew up; he does not like this behavior of intruders in his father's house, but what could he do? For many years there was no news from Odysseus. And then Telemachus decided to find his former associates and at least find out something about his father. He equipped a fast ship, gathered a fearless team and went to sea. His path lay in the sandy Pylos, where the wise old man Nestor ruled. The Pylos king received him with honor; he was glad to see the son of his comrade, but he knew nothing about the fate of Odysseus. “Don't despair! Nestor said. “The gods will help you find out where your father is now. Go to Menelaus. He returned home later than the others, maybe he knows something.” After spending the night with Nestor, Telemachus went to Menelaus. And, indeed, rumors reached Menelaus that Odysseus was languishing on the island of the nymph Calypso. Telemachus thanked Menelaus for this news and set off on his return journey.

Return of Odysseus. Council of Athena. Odysseus woke up - and did not recognize Ithaca; everything around was covered with thick fog. In desperation, he thought that the Phaeacians had deceived him and landed him on some unknown shore. But then he saw a beautiful young man walking along the seashore. “What land am I in?” Odysseus asked and heard in response that he was in Ithaca. Odysseus was delighted, and the young man suddenly changed his image: Athena herself stood in front of him. “So you returned home, Odysseus,” she said. But don't rush to tell people who you are. Look around a bit, I'll help you now." With these words, she turned Odysseus into a wretched beggar so that no one could recognize him, and ordered him to go to the dwelling of the swineherd Eumeus.

Slave Eumeus does not recognize Odysseus. Eumeus was a slave who served Odysseus for a long time and faithfully, but even he did not recognize his master - so Athena changed his appearance. Eumeus fed him and gave him a drink, and then began to ask about the lands that the wanderer happened to visit. Odysseus composed a whole story about himself, and ended with the words: “I also heard about your king. They say that he returns to his homeland with rich gifts. Eumeus did not immediately believe him, but Odysseus said: “If this is not so, if Odysseus does not return to his homeland, you can throw me down from the top of the cliff so that from now on it would be disrespectful for various vagabonds to spread rumors.”

Meeting with Telemachus. Odysseus spent the night in the hut of Eumeus, and in the morning Telemachus, who returned from his wanderings, came there, as Athena told him. Telemachus sent Eumeus to the city to inform his mother of his return and to find out what was going on in the palace. When they remained in the hut together with Odysseus, Athena returned to his father Telemachus his true image, beautiful and majestic. Telemachus was frightened: he thought that one of the immortal gods had appeared, but Odysseus reassured him; he told Telemachus about his adventures, and himself asked him about everything that was happening in Ithaca. When Odysseus heard about the atrocities of the suitors, his heart was filled with anger. Odysseus decided to take revenge on them. “It's impossible, father! exclaimed Telemachus. “There are more than a hundred of them, and there are only two of us!” “That’s all right, my son,” answered Odysseus, “but we have assistants with whom mortals are unable to fight — the Thunderer Zeus himself and his daughter, Pallas Athena.” They agreed that Telemachus would go to the city alone in the morning, and later Odysseus would come there along with Eumeus. After that, Athena again turned Odysseus into a miserable beggar.

Odysseus disguised as a wanderer. Leaning on a stick, Odysseus slowly walked towards his palace. He walked over and sat at the very entrance, leaning against the door. Telemachus saw him and sent him bread and meat. Odysseus ate, and then approached the suitors and began to beg. Everyone gave him something, only the cruel and rude Antinous refused the beggar and even beat him. Penelope saw this and was indignant: after all, in her house the stranger was treated so rudely. “I believe that Odysseus will cruelly avenge this on the suitors when he returns!” - she exclaimed. As soon as she uttered such words, Telemachus sneezed loudly. Penelope was delighted: she thought it was a good omen that sooner or later her husband would return home. Until evening, Odysseus stayed at the feast, receiving leftovers from the table and watching the drunken grooms rage; more and more his heart was inflamed with anger, but he restrained himself, obeying the will of Athena. The impudent grooms had no idea how close their death was.

Conversation with Penelope. In the evening, when the suitors fell asleep, Odysseus and Telemachus removed all the weapons from the banquet hall, took it to the pantry and locked it there. Odysseus wanted to go to bed, but then Penelope entered the hall with her maids. She sat down to Odysseus and began to ask if he had met her husband during his wanderings. Odysseus answered her: “He was once a guest in my house; and then I heard that he was already on the way to the house. Believe me, mistress, before the end of the year, he will be here.

Penelope was glad to believe him, but she could not: after all, she had been waiting for his return for so many years ... Penelope ordered the maids to prepare a soft bed for the wanderer, and Eurycleia, the old nanny of Odysseus, brought water in a copper basin to wash his feet.

"My dear child": the nanny recognizes Odysseus. Eurycleia bent down and began to wash the guest's feet. And suddenly I noticed a scar on my leg. His old nanny knew him well, once a boar wounded Odysseus while hunting. From excitement, Eurycleia overturned a basin of water; tears flowed from her eyes, she asked in a trembling voice: “Is it you, Odysseus, my dear child? How did I not recognize you right away!

She wanted to call Penelope, but Odysseus covered her mouth and whispered: “Yes, it's me, Odysseus, whom you nursed! But do not betray my secret to anyone, otherwise you will destroy me!” Eurycleia swore to be silent, but Penelope did not notice what happened - Athena distracted her attention. After talking with the wanderer, Penelope went to her chambers. Odysseus fell asleep; but he did not sleep long - a loud cry woke him up; it was Penelope weeping and praying to the gods to bring her husband home as soon as possible.

Penelope announces the decision. Morning has come. The grooms again appeared in the banquet hall. They sat down at the tables, and the feast began. Odysseus was also in the hall under the guise of a wanderer, again his suitors subjected him to insults. The frantic cries of the feasting suitors reached even Penelope's chambers.

But then Penelope entered the hall. She held the bow of Odysseus in her hands. "Listen to me! - she said. I have decided to make my choice. Whoever draws this bow and shoots an arrow so that it passes through twelve rings, I will marry him!” She knew that only Odysseus could handle this bow. Having said this, Penelope retired to her chambers.

The suitors began to approach the bow one by one, but no one even managed to bend it. Then Odysseus asked: "Let me try my hand." The suitors got angry: “You are completely out of your mind, tramp! It's not enough for you to feast in our society and listen to our conversations. Sit down and don't dare to compete with the young!" Odysseus would not have received the bow, but Telemachus called Eumeus and ordered him to give the weapon to the wanderer. Eumeus already knew who this wanderer was, and therefore he took the bow and offered it to his master.

Odysseus takes revenge on uninvited suitors. Odysseus took a bow in his hands and carefully examined it, as a musician, preparing to start a chant, examines his instrument; then, lightly, with one movement, he bent the bow and pulled the bowstring. A terrible weapon was in the hands of Odysseus; the bowstring rang menacingly, and, echoing it, a peal of thunder burst from the sky: it was the Thunderer Zeus himself who gave a good sign to Odysseus. The grooms turned pale, and Odysseus took an arrow from his quiver and, without getting up, shot it at the target; an arrow flew through all twelve rings. “I did not shame you, Telemachus, your guest! exclaimed Odysseus. He threw off his rags, poured arrows from his quiver onto the floor and turned to the suitors: “Ah, despicable dogs! Did you think I wouldn't come back? That you will rob my house with impunity? Not! Doom awaits you all for this!”

The suitors rushed to the weapons, but he was not in the banquet hall. They swept from side to side: Athena sent terror on them. They died from the arrows sent by Odysseus, Telemachus exterminated them with his spear, Eumeus and another faithful slave, Philotios, helped him. None of the suitors survived; Odysseus spared only the singer, who amused the suitors against his will. So the suitors were punished for all the atrocities.

Doubts of Penelope. While Odysseus was greeted by the servants who fled into the hall after the murder of the suitors, the old faithful nanny ran to Penelope's chambers and announced her husband's return. Penelope did not believe it, she thought that Eurycleia was laughing at her. For a long time she doubted the story of her maid; she could not believe that the wanderer was her long-awaited husband. Finally, she went out into the hall, went up to Odysseus and began to peer into him; it seemed to Penelope that she recognized her husband, then suddenly doubts again crept into her heart ...

Even Telemachus could not resist. “Do you really have a stone in your chest instead of a heart? he exclaimed. “Your husband has returned, and you stand and don’t even utter a word!” Is there another wife in the whole world who greets her husband so unfriendly after a long separation? - "For excitement I can not utter a word," Penelope answered him. “But if this wanderer is really Odysseus, then there is one secret that he can easily unravel.”

The mystery of the bed. She called Eurycleia here and ordered: “Make a bed for us, but not in the bedroom that Odysseus built; pull out the bed from there into another room.” “Oh, queen! said Odysseus. “Who can move that bed from its place?” After all, it was made from a stump, which was left from a huge tree that once grew in this place. I myself cut it down and made a bed; its roots grow into the ground. Unless, in my absence, they sawed off the stump and put in a new bed? Penelope's eyes shone, the last shadow of doubt melted in them: only Odysseus could know the secret of their bedroom. She sobbed and threw herself into the arms of Odysseus; crying, he pressed his faithful wife to his heart, covered her with kisses, just like a swimmer who escaped a storm and was thrown ashore kisses the earth. Embracing each other, Odysseus and Penelope cried for a long time with happy tears; the morning would have found them if Athena had not lengthened the night and forbade the goddess of dawn, the beautiful Eos, to redden in the sky. The whole palace fell into sleep; Only Odysseus and Penelope did not sleep. Odysseus told about his wanderings, faithfully and tenderly listened to him faithful Penelope.

Great love stories. 100 stories about a great feeling Mudrova Irina Anatolyevna

Odysseus and Penelope

Odysseus and Penelope

Odysseus was the son of Laertes and Anticlea. Laertes was king on the small island of Ithaca, located in the Ionian Sea. Ithaca was a poor kingdom, but Laertes kept it in order and peace. When Odysseus reached the required age, the government passed to him. It was Odysseus who was destined to become famous in history and bring fame to his small homeland. From his youth he was famous for his dexterity, speed and resourcefulness, but his mind and cunning brought him the greatest fame. These qualities of Odysseus more than once helped his compatriots and rescued him from dangerous situations. However, the sharp mind and impudent language of the hero were the cause of his arrogance and insolence, and in relation not only to people, but also to the gods. The latter often aroused the wrath of the Olympians.

Penelope was the daughter of the Spartan Icarius and the nymph Periboea. Icarius was the brother of the Spartan king Tyndareus, and Penelope herself was the cousin of the famous Helen the Beautiful, because of whom the Trojan War began at one time.

Appearing in Sparta among the contenders for the hand of Helen, Odysseus chose to marry her cousin Penelope. The wise Odysseus did not have high hopes that he - the king of a small and poor Ithaca - would be given as a wife the Spartan princess Helen, the fame of whose beauty thundered throughout Greece. She was strikingly different from her famous cousin Penelope. A sense of dignity and at the same time the absence of arrogance. Icarius did not immediately give consent to Odysseus to marry his daughter. According to one version, Elena's father Tyndareus persuaded Icarius to accept the matchmaking of Odysseus, who helped him with important advice in choosing a husband for Elena. According to another version, Odysseus received Penelope as his wife as a reward for winning the race.

Be that as it may, the hero took his young wife to Ithaca. After some time, their son Telemachus was born. But happiness did not last long. Soon after Penelope and Odysseus had a son, trouble came. An embassy from Troy arrived in Sparta, headed by Prince Paris. The beautiful Helen, who almost ten years ago chose the hero Menelaus as her husband, left home and family and fled with Paris. Even when her matchmaking took place, Tyndareus, on the advice of Odysseus, took a solemn oath from all suitors that they would always protect Elena and her husband. Now, in obedience to this promise, and even more to the desire to fight with Troy, the former rival suitors began to gather troops for the campaign. Even if someone didn't want to, others had to force him.

Upon learning of the upcoming separation, Penelope fell into despair, because Odysseus promised her to always take care of her and future children! The King of Ithaca also did not relish the prospect of leaving home for several years. The war with distant Troy did not give him anything. Menelaus' victory over the Trojans brought Helen back. The overthrow of the mighty Troy promised political and economic advantages to King Agamemnon, the commander-in-chief of the Greek army. Other commanders expected to receive rich booty, glory, and a military career in the campaign. But the war with Troy promised Odysseus only a long separation from his homeland and family. The cunning hero did not pursue world fame, did not crave booty from the ruin of the Trojan lands, the pursuit of military honors was alien to him. Like his father, King Laertes, he wanted to rule peacefully in his quiet Ithaca, and he wanted to become famous only for his mind, as well as taking part in sports that the ancient Greeks loved so much.

But an oath is an oath. Messengers from Menelaus and his older brother Agamemnon sailed to Ithaca. Odysseus decided to trick them into leaving: the hero pretended to be insane. He went into the field, harnessed the oxen to the plow and began to drive them around the field without interruption in an imaginary fit of rage, leaving behind him deep furrows in the earth. But his deceit was exposed. One of the ambassadors, the hero Palamedes, carried the infant Telemachus out of the house and placed him in the path of the rushing bulls. If Odysseus really has lost his memory, he won't be deterred by the sight of a crying baby! And the hero gave up. He had to leave Ithaca for twenty long years. The Trojan War lasted ten years, and the hero spent ten years traveling home. How many dangers and troubles he had to endure, but all of them did not break his desire to return home. Only twice did the hero linger on his journey. First, he was bewitched by the insidious sorceress Circe, depriving him of his memory and forcing him to marry herself. And then the nymph Calypso tried to tie him to her by deceit and leave him on an enchanted island. But in both cases, the fortune tellers could not overcome Odysseus' love for his wife left at home, both of them had to let the hero go. Later, the name Odysseus became a household name, and the word "Odyssey" began to refer to any long journey.

Separated from Odysseus, who went immediately after the birth of his son Telemachus under Troy, Penelope patiently waited for his return for twenty years, now despairing, then again believing that he would return. To evade a new marriage (as custom demanded), Penelope promised the suitors that she would make a choice only after she had finished weaving the burial shroud for her father-in-law Laertes. So she managed to deceive suitors for three years. Penelope unraveled what was woven during the day at night, until the grooms found out about it. Then Penelope resorted to a new trick. She promised to marry the one who could pull the huge bow of Odysseus. Nobody could do it. At this time it was time for Odysseus to return home. Twenty years have passed since he left his beloved wife and home. Returning secretly under the guise of a beggar wanderer, Odysseus asked permission to participate in the competition. The suitors, seeing only a weak wanderer in front of them, began to mock him. But Penelope, obeying the law of hospitality, agreed to his request. Odysseus pulled his bow and killed all the suitors with the help of his son Telemachus.

The subsequent legends tell the story of Telegon, the son of Odysseus and the sorceress Circe, in whom Odysseus spent a whole year in captivity. Telegon, sent by his mother in search of his father, arrived in Ithaca. Having landed on the shore, Telegon began to ravage the island and steal sheep from the herd, mistaking it for a neighboring one. Odysseus and his Telemachus were forced to confront him with weapons. In the ensuing fight, Telegon did not recognize his father and wounded him to death with the bristles of a sea urchin, which instead of a metal tip was equipped with a spear. The wounded Odysseus died some time later.

Further history has several options. Some time after the death of Odysseus, after waiting for the necessary time, Telegon married Penelope and took her to the island of Eia, to Italy, where his mother, the sorceress Circe, lived. Circe brought them to Elysium. The Greeks, not wanting to part with Penelope, claimed that her grave was in Arcadia, in the city of Mantinea.

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Penelope, along with beauty and other virtues - Homer calls her "a goddess among women", - stands out from all of them with "mind", "prudence", "reasonable mind". Prof. R. Buxton notes that she is absolutely equal to her husband in quick wit and courage.

As M. Korsha's Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities conveys: "Father promised to give her in marriage to the winner in the run; when Odysseus turned out to be the winner, her father began to persuade her to stay at home. Odysseus gave her a free choice between herself and her father, and Penelope covered her flushed face his veil as a sign that he chooses Odysseus as his husband.

Odysseus, who went to the Trojan War, has been missing for about twenty years, he is considered dead, and numerous suitors gather in his house to Penelope - more than a hundred in number. However, "sometimes despairing, then again believing that he will return" (according to ESBE), she remains faithful to Odysseus: "The worst grief fell to my lot. Having lost such a husband, I cannot forget about the deceased ...". Penelope rejects the proposals of the suitors and announced that she would marry again only when she finished weaving the shroud for her father-in-law, Laertes of Ithaca. But every night she unraveled everything woven during the day - so she managed to deceive them for three years, until she was betrayed by a maid. At the suggestion of Athena, Penelope promises to become the wife of the winner in archery Odysseus. Just at this time, he himself finally returns and kills all the suitors from the indicated bow.

After the death of Odysseus, she married Telegonus.

Image reception

The protagonist of the tragedy of Aeschylus "Penelope" (fr. 187 Radt) and Philokles the Elder "Penelope", the comedy Theopompus "Penelope". Ovid composed Penelope's letter to Odysseus (Heroid I).

Of the latest works of art on this subject, one can name Rolf Liebermann's opera Penelope (1954) and Margaret Atwood's novel Penelopiade (2005).

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Links

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Myths of the peoples of the world. M., 1991-92. In 2 vols. T. 2. S. 299-300.

An excerpt characterizing Penelope

On the banks, on the dam, in the pond, everywhere there was white, healthy, muscular meat. Officer Timokhin, with a red nose, wiped himself on the dam and felt ashamed when he saw the prince, but decided to turn to him:
- That's good, your excellency, you would please! - he said.
“Dirty,” said Prince Andrei, frowning.
We'll clean it up for you. - And Timokhin, not yet dressed, ran to clean.
The prince wants.
- Which? Our prince? - voices began to speak, and everyone hurried so that Prince Andrei managed to calm them down. He thought it better to pour himself in the shed.
“Meat, body, chair a canon [cannon fodder]! - he thought, looking at his naked body, and shuddering not so much from the cold, but from disgust and horror incomprehensible to him at the sight of this huge number of bodies basking in a dirty pond.
On August 7, Prince Bagration wrote the following in his camp at Mikhailovka on the Smolensk road:
“Dear sir, Count Alexei Andreevich.
(He wrote to Arakcheev, but he knew that his letter would be read by the sovereign, and therefore, as far as he was capable of doing so, he considered his every word.)
I think that the Minister has already reported on leaving Smolensk to the enemy. It hurts, sadly, and the whole army is in despair that the most important place was abandoned in vain. I, for my part, asked him personally in the most convincing way, and finally wrote; but nothing agreed with him. I swear to you on my honor that Napoleon was in such a bag as never before, and he could lose half the army, but not take Smolensk. Our troops have fought and are fighting like never before. I held on with 15,000 for over 35 hours and beat them; but he did not want to stay even 14 hours. It's a shame and a stain on our army; and he himself, it seems to me, should not live in the world. If he conveys that the loss is great, it is not true; maybe about 4 thousand, no more, but not even that. At least ten, how to be, war! But the enemy lost the abyss ...
What was it worth to stay two more days? At least they would have left; for they had no water to drink for men and horses. He gave me his word that he would not retreat, but suddenly sent a disposition that he was leaving into the night. Thus, it is impossible to fight, and we can soon bring the enemy to Moscow ...
Rumor has it that you think about the world. To reconcile, God forbid! After all the donations and after such extravagant retreats, make up your mind: you will turn the whole of Russia against you, and each of us, out of shame, will make him wear a uniform. If it has already gone like this - we must fight while Russia can and while people are on their feet ...
You have to lead one, not two. Your minister may be good in the ministry; but the general is not only bad, but trashy, and he was given the fate of our entire Fatherland ... I, really, go crazy with annoyance; Forgive me for writing boldly. It can be seen that he does not love the sovereign and wishes the death of all of us who advise to make peace and command the army to the minister. So, I am writing you the truth: prepare the militia. For the minister in the most skillful way leads the guest to the capital. Adjutant Wolzogen is giving the whole army a big suspicion. He, they say, is more Napoleonic than ours, and he advises everything to the minister. I am not only courteous against him, but I obey like a corporal, although older than him. It hurts; but, loving my benefactor and sovereign, I obey. Only it is a pity for the sovereign that he entrusts such a glorious army. Imagine that with our retreat we lost people from fatigue and more than 15 thousand in hospitals; and if they had attacked, it would not have happened. Say for God's sake that our Russia - our mother - will say that we are so afraid and why we give such a good and zealous Fatherland to bastards and instill hatred and shame in every subject. What to be afraid of and who to be afraid of?. It's not my fault that the minister is indecisive, a coward, stupid, slow and everything has bad qualities. The whole army is crying completely and scolding him to death ... "

Among the innumerable subdivisions that can be made in the phenomena of life, one can subdivide them all into those in which the content predominates, others in which the form predominates. Among these, in contrast to rural, zemstvo, provincial, even Moscow life, can be attributed life in St. Petersburg, especially salon life. This life is unchangeable.
Since 1805, we have been reconciling and quarreling with Bonaparte, we have made constitutions and butchered them, and the salon of Anna Pavlovna and the salon of Helene were exactly the same as they were one seven years, the other five years ago. In the same way, Anna Pavlovna spoke with bewilderment about the successes of Bonaparte and saw, both in his successes and in the indulgence of European sovereigns, a malicious conspiracy, with the sole purpose of unpleasantness and anxiety of that court circle, of which Anna Pavlovna was a representative. In the same way, with Helen, whom Rumyantsev himself honored with his visit and considered a remarkably intelligent woman, just as in 1808, so in 1812, they spoke with enthusiasm about a great nation and a great person and looked with regret at the break with France, which, according to the people who gathered in the salon Helen, should have ended in peace.