'For what purpose have you come to this place?' The newcomer's words were directed at Pierre, who had stirred with a slight rustling noise. 'For what purpose have you, who believe not in the truth of the light and who cannot see the light, for what have you come here? What do you seek from us? Wisdom, virtue, enlightenment?'
The moment the door had opened and the unknown person had come in, Pierre had experienced a sensation of awe and reverence the like of which he used to feel at confession in childhood; here he was face to face with a man who, according to the circumstances of everyday life, was a complete stranger, yet he was also a close neighbour through the brotherhood of men. Pierre's heart was beating so fast that he could hardly breathe as he turned to the 'tyler' (a masonic term for a brother who prepares a 'seeker' for entry into the fraternity). As he got nearer to the tyler, Pierre realized that he knew him - his name was Smolyaninov - and he felt mortified to discover that the newcomer was someone he knew; when he had entered he had been nothing but a brother and mentor along the path of virtue. For a long while Pierre could not get any words out, so the tyler had to repeat his question.
'Yes. I . . . I . . . seek regeneration.' Pierre was forcing the words out.
'Very good,' said Smolyaninov, and went on at once.
'Do you have any concept of the means by which our sacred order will assist you in achieving your goal? . . .' asked the tyler calmly but rapidly.
'I, er . . . hope for . . . guidance . . . er, help . . . in regeneration,' Pierre stammered, his voice quavering partly from emotion but also from not being accustomed to using Russian for abstract subjects.
'What concept do you have of freemasonry?'
'I presume that freemasonry means fraternity and the equality of men with virtuous aims,' said Pierre, embarrassed even as he spoke by the discrepancy between what he was saying and the solemnity of the occasion. 'I presume . . .'
'Very good,' said the tyler hastily, evidently happy with this response. 'Have you sought the means of achieving your goal in religion?'
'No. I regarded that as untrue and I have not followed it,' said Pierre, so quietly that the tyler could not hear, and asked what he was saying. 'I have been an atheist,' answered Pierre.
'You seek the truth in order to follow its laws in life, and therefore you seek wisdom and virtue, do you not?' asked the tyler after a moment's pause.
'Yes, yes,' Pierre agreed.
The tyler cleared his throat, folded his gloved hands across his chest and launched forth.
'I am about to reveal to you the main aim of our order,' he said, 'and if that aim coincides with yours, you shall enter our brotherhood with advantage. The first and principal aim and also the very basis of our order, on which it is established and which no human force can overturn, is the preservation and handing down to posterity of a certain solemn mystery . . . that has come down to us from the most ancient times, even from the first man, a mystery upon which depends, perhaps, the destiny of the human race. But since this mystery is such that no one can know it and profit from it without being prepared by prolonged and assiduous self-purification, not everyone can hope to acquire it rapidly. Thus we have a secondary aim, which consists in preparing our members as far as possible to reform their hearts, to purify and enlighten their minds by those means which have been revealed to us through tradition by men who have laboured to attain this mystery, and thereby to make them proper for reception of the same. Through the purification and regeneration of our members we endeavour, in the third place, to reform the whole human race by offering to it in our members models of piety and virtue, and thereby we commit all our strength to combat the evil that reigns throughout the world. Think on these things, and I shall come to you again.' This said, he left the room.
'To combat the evil that reigns throughout the world,' Pierre repeated, and he could see before him his future activity in that domain. He could see men such as he had been only two weeks before, and he began to address them in his mind as teacher and mentor. He imagined people who were sinful and unhappy but who could be helped in word and in deed, and also oppressors whose victims could be rescued. Of the three aims set out by the tyler it was the last one - the reformation of the human race - that particularly appealed to Pierre. The solemn mystery which the tyler had spoken of may have excited his curiosity, but it didn't strike him as really substantial, while the second aim, self-purification and personal regeneration, held little interest because at that moment he was relishing a sense of having completely renounced all his former vices and standing ready for nothing but goodness.
Half an hour later the tyler returned to instruct the seeker in the seven virtues, corresponding to the seven steps of the temple of Solomon, which every freemason must cultivate in himself. These were: 1 Discretion (safeguarding the secrets of the Order). 2 Obedience (to the higher authorities of the Order). 3 Morality. 4 Love for mankind. 5 Courage. 6 Generosity. 7 The love of death.
'And in the seventh place, strive,' said the tyler, 'through constant contemplation of death to bring yourself to think of it not as a dreaded enemy but as a friend . . . who delivers the soul grown weary in the labours of virtue from this life of torment and leads it to a place of recompense and peace.'
'Yes, that's as it should be,' thought Pierre as the tyler spoke these words and once again left him alone for contemplation. 'That's as it should be, but I'm so weak that I still love this life, and its meaning is only now being gradually revealed to me.' Pierre could remember five of the other virtues and as he counted them out on his fingers he felt he already possessed them in his soul: courage and generosity, morality and love for mankind, and most of all, obedience, which seemed to him more of a pleasure than a virtue. (He was utterly delighted at this time to be escaping from the arbitrary workings of his own nature and submitting his own will to those who had knowledge of the absolute truth.) Pierre had forgotten what the seventh virtue was and he simply couldn't bring it to mind.
The third time the tyler came back more quickly, and asked Pierre whether he was still determined to proceed and ready to submit to anything that might be demanded of him.
'I am ready for anything,' said Pierre.
'I must further inform you,' said the tyler, 'that our order conveys its teaching not by word alone but by other means that may be seen to work upon the true seeker after wisdom and virtue more powerfully than mere words. This temple and all that you see therein should already have suggested to your heart, if it be sincere, more than words can say, and it may be that in your coming initiation you will see further enlightenment of this kind. Our order reflects the practice of ancient societies which revealed their teaching in hieroglyphs. The word "hieroglyph",' said the tyler, 'is a term used to denote something beyond the senses that possesses qualities similar to the thing that it symbolizes.'
Pierre knew full well what a hieroglyph was but he dared not speak. He listened to the tyler in silence and what he heard made him think that his ordeal was about to begin.
'If you are fully resolved, I must proceed to your initiation,' said the tyler, coming closer to Pierre. 'As a sign of your generosity I now ask you to give me everything you have that is of value.'
'But I have nothing on me,' said Pierre, imagining he was being asked to give up everything he owned.
'Anything you have on you: your watch, money, rings . . .'
Pierre quickly took out his purse and his watch, taking ages to get the wedding ring off his fat finger. This done, the freemason said, 'As a sign of your obedience I now ask you to undress.' Pierre took off his coat, waistcoat and left boot as instructed by the tyler. The mason pulled Pierre's shirt open over his left breast and pulled his left trouser-leg up above the knee. Pierre made as if to remove his right boot and tuck both trouser-legs up to save this stranger the trouble, but the mason told him it wasn't necessary and gave him a slipper for his left foot. With a childlike grin of embarrassment tinged with doubt and self-mockery spreading over his face in spite of himself, Pierre
stood there with his legs wide apart and his arms dangling down, facing the tyler and waiting for further instructions.
'And finally, as a sign of your sincerity, I ask you to reveal to me your chief temptation,' he said.
'Temptation! I used to have so many,' said Pierre.
'That temptation which more than any other has caused you to stumble on the path of virtue,' said the freemason.
Pierre paused, searching for a response.
'Wine? Gluttony? Frivolity? Sloth? Bad temper? Malevolence? Women?' He ran through his vices, weighing them in the balance and not knowing which one should have priority.
'Women,' said Pierre in a low voice, scarcely audible. The mason neither moved nor spoke for some time after this response. Eventually he walked up to Pierre, picked up the scarf lying on the table, and blindfolded him with it again.
'For the last time I say to you: turn all your attention in upon yourself, fetter your feelings and look for bliss not in your passions but in your heart. The source of all bliss is not without, it is within us . . .'
Pierre was beginning to sense this quickening source of all bliss welling up within him and flooding his soul with joyous emotion.
CHAPTER 4
Shortly after this someone came into the dark temple to fetch Pierre, not the tyler but his sponsor Willarski, whose voice he recognized. In response to further inquiries about the firmness of his resolve, Pierre answered, 'Yes, yes, I agree,' and with a beaming, boyish smile he walked forward, stepping cautiously and unsteadily in one boot and one slipper while Willarski held a sword against his bare breast. He was led out of the room and down several corridors, turning this way and that, until eventually he was brought to the doors of the lodge. Willarski gave a cough and was answered by a rapping of masonic gavels, after which the door opened before them. A bass voice (Pierre was still blindfolded) asked who he was, where and when he had been born, and further questions of that kind. Then he was led away again still blindfolded, and as he walked along they explained the allegorical meaning of his arduous journey, speaking of sacred friendship, the Great Architect of the Universe, the courage he would need in order to endure toil and peril. As the journey progressed Pierre noticed he was referred to in different ways, sometimes as 'the seeker', sometimes 'the sufferer' and sometimes 'the postulant', and various tapping sounds were made with gavels and with swords. As he was being led up to one object he sensed a certain amount of hesitation and uncertainty among his guides. He heard a whispered argument among the people around him, and one of them kept insisting that he must be made to walk on a particular carpet. After this they took his right hand and placed it on something, giving him a pair of compasses in his left hand to hold against his left breast, while they told him to listen to someone reading aloud and repeat an oath of fidelity to the laws of the Order. Then the candles were put out, a spirit-lamp was lit - Pierre could tell from the smell - and he was told that he would now see the lesser light. The blindfold was removed and in the dim glow of the burning spirit Pierre saw what looked like a dream-world, with several persons facing him, all dressed in aprons like the tyler's and pointing swords at his breast. Among them stood a man wearing a white bloodstained shirt. Seeing all this, Pierre thrust his chest forward towards the swords, wanting to be stabbed. But the swords were withdrawn and he was quickly blindfolded again.
'Now thou hast seen the lesser light,' said a voice. Then the candles were relit and he was told that he must now see the full light. Again the blindfold was taken off and a dozen voices suddenly chanted, 'Sic transit gloria mundi.'5
Pierre gradually began to collect himself and look around at the room and the people in it. A dozen men, all dressed in the same garments that he had seen before, sat round a long table covered in black. Several of them were known to Pierre from Petersburg society. In the chairman's place sat a young man with a peculiar cross hanging from his neck; Pierre did not know who he was. To his right sat the Italian abbe whom Pierre had seen two years before at Anna Pavlovna's. The others included a very important dignitary and a Swiss tutor who had once been with the Kuragin family. All maintained a solemn silence as they listened to the Worshipful Master, who was holding a gavel. A blazing star had been cut into the wall; running along one side of the table was a narrow carpet depicting various figures, and on the other side stood something that looked like an altar with the gospel and skull on it. Round the table stood seven big church-like candlesticks. Two of the brothers led Pierre to the altar, placed his feet at right angles and told him to lie down prostrate before the gates of the temple.
'He ought to receive the trowel first,' whispered one of the brothers.
'Sh! Please be quiet,' said another.
Before complying Pierre squinted about short-sightedly, uneasy and suddenly assailed by doubt. 'Where am I? What am I doing? Aren't they laughing at me? Shall I be embarrassed to look back on this?' But the misgivings were short-lived. Pierre examined the serious faces of the people surrounding him, thought of everything he had just gone through and realized he couldn't stop half-way. He was horrified by his doubt and in a new attempt to evoke his earlier feeling of devotion he prostrated himself at the gates of the temple. And then the devotional feeling really did sweep over him, more strongly than ever. After lying there for some time he was told to get up and a white leather apron like everyone else's was put around him, and a trowel and three pairs of gloves were placed in his hands. And then the Grand Master addressed him. He told him he must try never to stain the whiteness of that apron, which stood as a symbol of strength and purity. Then he spoke of the unexplained trowel, saying that he must labour with it to scour all vice from his heart and to smooth the hearts of his fellow men with good grace. Then he turned to the first pair of gloves, a man's, and told him he could not know their significance, but must safeguard them; the second pair were to be put on at meetings, and as to the third pair, they were women's gloves, and he said of them, 'Dear brother, these woman's gloves are yours too. Give them to the woman whom you shall honour beyond all others. This gift will serve as a token of your purity of heart for the one woman you shall take unto yourself as a worthy helpmeet within masonry.' After a brief pause he added, 'But take care, dear brother, that these gloves never adorn hands that are unclean.'
As the Grand Master was pronouncing these last words, Pierre sensed embarrassment in him. He felt even more embarrassed himself, blushing like a child, on the point of tears, looking about him uneasily, and an awkward silence ensued.
The silence was broken by one of the brothers, who took Pierre over to the carpet and began reading from a note-book to interpret all the figures depicted on it: the sun, the moon, the gavel, the plumb-line, the trowel, the rough stone and the squared stone, the pillar, the three windows, and so on. Then Pierre was shown his assigned place and the signs of the lodge, told the password, and at long last allowed to sit down. The Grand Master began reading the statutes. These were very drawn out and Pierre in his joy, exhilaration and embarrassment was hardly in a state to take in what was being read. He managed to concentrate on just the last words of the statutes and these stuck in his memory.
'In our temples we acknowledge no degrees,' read the Grand Master, 'other than that between virtue and vice. Beware of making any distinction that may infringe equality. Fly to assist any brother whoever he may be, exhort him that goeth astray, raise him up that falleth and foster no malice or hatred towards any brother. Be thou kindly and courteous. In all hearts kindle the fire of virtue. Share thy happiness with thy neighbour, and allow no envy to mar the purity of that bliss. Forgive thine enemy, seek not to avenge thyself on him but by doing him good. By this fulfilment of the highest law thou shalt recover some traces of the ancient dignity thou hast lost.' When he had finished, he rose, took Pierre in an embrace and kissed him.
Pierre looked around with tears of joy in his eyes, not knowing how to respond to the congratulations and greetings coming from old acquaintances who now surrounded him. He recognized no on
e as an acquaintance; in all of these men he saw only brothers, and he burnt with impatience to start working with them. The Grand Master then rapped with his gavel, all of them sat down in their places and one brother began reading an exhortation on the need for humility.
The Grand Master proposed that the last duty be performed, and the important dignitary who bore the title 'Collector of Alms' began to go round all the brotherhood. Pierre felt like signing away all the money he possessed, but he thought that might look like pride, so he subscribed the same amount as everyone else.
The session was over, and Pierre, when he got back home, had a sense of returning from a long journey which had lasted dozens of years. He was a different man, who had renounced his old habits and his former way of life.
CHAPTER 5
The day after his initiation into the lodge Pierre was sitting at home reading a book and trying to fathom the significance of a square whose four sides symbolized God, morality, the physical world and unity through combination. Now and again he turned away from the book and the symbolic square to work out a new life plan in his imagination. The previous day he had been told at the lodge that word of his duel had reached the Emperor's ears, and it would be more sensible for him to leave Petersburg for a while. Pierre was thinking of going down to his southern estates and doing something for his serfs. He was dreaming blissfully of this new life when in walked Prince Vasily.
'My dear fellow, what have you been up to in Moscow? What's all this falling out with Helene, dear boy? You've been getting it all wrong,' said Prince Vasily, as he came into the room. 'I've heard about it. I can assure you that Helene is as blameless towards you as Christ was before the Jews.'
Pierre was about to respond but he went on.
'Now why didn't you just come and talk to me, treat me like a friend? I know all about it. I know what's going on,' he said. 'You have behaved quite properly for a man of honour, a bit hastily perhaps, but we won't go into that. There's one thing you must think about, though - where does this leave her and me in the eyes of society - and even the court?' he added, lowering his voice. 'She's down in Moscow and you're up here. Things have gone far enough, dear boy.' He drew him down by the arm. 'This is just a little misunderstanding, I'm sure you agree. Now why don't we sit down and write a letter, and she'll come up here, we can have things out and all the gossip will stop . . . Otherwise, my dear boy, to be quite candid, you might live to regret it.'