War and Peace

by Leo Tolstoy

“No, to kill a man is bad—wrong.” “Why is it wrong?” urged Prince Andrew. “It is not given to man to know what is right and what is wrong. Men always did and always will err and in nothing more than in what they consider right and wrong.” “What does harm to another is wrong,” said Pierre, feeling with pleasure that for the first time since his arrival Prince Andrew was roused, had begun to talk, and wanted to express what had brought him to his present state. “And who has told you what is bad for another man?” he asked. “Bad! Bad!” exclaimed Pierre. “We all know what is bad for ourselves.” “Yes we know that, but the harm I am conscious of in myself is something I cannot inflict on others,” said Prince Andrew, growing more and more animated and evidently wishing to express his new outlook to Pierre. He spoke in French. “I only know two very real evils in life: remorse and illness. The only good is the absence of those evils. To live for myself avoiding those two evils is my whole philosophy now.”