KRONOS
(Cronus) - titan, son of Uranus and Gaia (goddess of the earth); Having castrated his father, he became the supreme god. A golden age began under him. Kronos was afraid that one of his children born to him by Rhea would overthrow him, and therefore swallowed them one by one. So he swallowed Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, the queen of the gods Hera, the goddess of fields and fertility Demeter, the god of the underworld of the dead Hades and the god of the seas Poseidon. Rhea, pregnant with Zeus, not wanting to lose her last child, gave birth to him in a deep cave in Crete and hid him there, and allowed Kronos to swallow a stone. Having grown up, Zeus overthrew his father, freed his brothers and sisters from his womb and reigned over the world, and imprisoned Kronos and the titans who rose up to protect him in Tartarus. From the union of Kronos with the nymph Philira (whom he later, fearing Rhea's jealousy, turned into a mare), the centaur Chiron was born. Kronos corresponds to the Roman Saturn.
// Johann Wolfgang GOETHE: To Brave Chronos
Myths of Ancient Greece, dictionary-reference book. 2012
See also interpretations, synonyms, meanings of the word and what KRONOS is in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:
- KRONOS
- (Greek myth) one of the most ancient pre-Olympic gods, the son of Uranus and Gaia, the youngest of the Titans, who overthrew and crippled his father. ... - KRONOS
In Greek mythology, Titan, son of Uranus and Gaia, father of Zeus. Having overthrown and castrated his father, he became the supreme god. Overthrown by Zeus into... - KRONOS in the Dictionary Index of Theosophical Concepts to the Secret Doctrine, Theosophical Dictionary:
(Greek) Saturn. God of Limitless Time and... - KRONOS in the Concise Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities:
(???"???, Saturnus). One of the Titans, the son of Uranus and Gaia, who overthrew his father, the husband of Rhea and the father of Zeus, Hestia, Demeter, Poseidon, ... - KRONOS in the Directory of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
In Greek mythology, one of the Titans, the son of Uranus and Gaia. At the instigation of his mother, he castrated Uranus with the sickle to stop it... - KRONOS in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
- KRONOS in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
in ancient Greek mythology, titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia (Earth). Uranus, fearing to die from one of his children, brought them back again... - KRONOS in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
(??????) - in Greek myths, the youngest son of Uranus and Gaia, one of the Titans. Having emasculated and dethroned his father, he... - KRONOS in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
- KRONOS in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
in Greek mythology, Titan, son of Uranus and Gaia. Swallowed his children, because... According to the prophecy, his son should overthrow him. Instead of a son... - KRONOS in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
KRONOS, in Greek. mythology Titan, son of Uranus and Gaia; Having castrated his father, he became the top. God. Overthrown by his son Zeus into Tartarus. To him … - KRONOS
(??????) ? in Greek myths, the youngest son of Uranus and Gaia, one of the Titans. Having emasculated and dethroned his father, he... - KRONOS in the Russian Synonyms dictionary:
god, saturn, ... - KRONOS in Lopatin’s Dictionary of the Russian Language:
Kronos, ... - KRONOS in the Spelling Dictionary:
kr'onos, ... - KRONOS in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
in Greek mythology, Titan, son of Uranus and Gaia; Having castrated his father, he became the supreme god. Overthrown by his son Zeus into Tartarus. It corresponds to... - SATURN (KRONOS)
the oldest Roman god, the purpose and origin of which is still unclear and controversial. Initially, the name of Saturn was identified with the Etruscan deity... - KRONOS (KRON, CHRONOS, SATURN) in the Directory of Miracles, unusual phenomena, UFOs and other things:
in ancient Greek mythology, the great god of Time, one of the Titans, the son of Uranus and Gaia. Mother persuaded Kronos to emasculate his father so that... - DIODORO KRONOS in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia:
(Kronos? his nickname) ? philosopher of the Megarian school, great dialectical talent; born in Caria in the second half of the 4th century. before … - EURYNOMA in the Directory of Miracles, unusual phenomena, UFOs and other things:
in ancient Greek myths, the supreme deity who ruled the world until the advent of Time. Daughter of the Ocean, she reigned on Olympus along with the first... - TARTARUS in the Directory of Miracles, unusual phenomena, UFOs and other things:
in ancient Greek myths, a distant area located deeper than the hell of Hades in the very depths of Space, and at the same time - on such... - TITANS in the Dictionary of Fine Arts Terms:
- (Greek myth) deities of the older generation, children of Uranus and Gaia - Ocean, Kay, Crius, Hyperion, Ianet and Kronos, as well as ... - SATURN in the Concise Religious Dictionary:
Roman god. In Greek mythology, Saturn corresponds to...
1.7.4. Children of Crohn: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus
Kron was not sure that power would remain in his hands forever. He was afraid that his children would rebel against him and would subject him to the same fate to which he doomed his father Uranus. He was afraid of his children. And Kron ordered his wife Rhea to bring him the children that were born and mercilessly swallowed them. Rhea was horrified when she saw the fate of her children. Cronus has already swallowed five: Hestia *2, Demeter *3, Hera, Hades (Hades) and Poseidon *4.
He vomited out the first stone, which he devoured last.
Zeus placed this stone on the wide-road land
In the most sacred Python, in the valley just below Parnassus,
So that it would always stand there as a monument, it would be a wonder for mortals.
Their brothers and sisters the Uranids, who are madly
My father put me in prison, but he brought me back to freedom.
Rhea did not want to lose her last child. On the advice of her parents, Uranus-Heaven and Gaia-Earth, she retired to the island of Crete, and there, in a deep cave, her youngest son Zeus was born. In this cave, Rhea hid her son from her cruel father, and instead of her son she gave him a long stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow. Krohn had no idea that he had been deceived by his wife.
Meanwhile, Zeus grew up in Crete. The nymphs Adrastea and Idea cherished little Zeus; they fed him with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea. The bees brought honey to little Zeus from the slopes of the high mountain Dikty. At the entrance to the cave, the young Kuretes struck their shields with their swords every time little Zeus cried, so that Kronus would not hear him cry and Zeus would not suffer the fate of his brothers and sisters.
Zeus When he was born, Ray’s mother resorted to cunning.
She handed the stone in diapers to her husband and said:
“Swallow, insatiable one, the last son.”
Cron swallowed the stone instead of the baby, and mother Ray
She took it to Crete and hid it there in the Dictaean cave. Screams and crying of the baby
The sounds of tympanums were drowned out, and Zeus was fed with goat's milkAmalthea .
The future ruler of Olympus grew up quickly, and, having matured, he called for help
Titanide Metis , my aunt. She, having prepared an emetic potion,
Krona brought it to him. Kron drank that potion and vomited the stone first,
Then all the swallowed children, alive, beautiful and bright.
The offspring of Cronus and Rhea were born approximately (if you trust the myths) in the following order: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus. Moreover, Zeus had a twin brother - the ugly Pan. In addition, Pluto is also considered the daughter of Cronus and Rhea (or Oceanus and Tethys).
Please note that the birth of Kron's offspring is given in myths in the reverse order than the birth of the titans. In the offspring of Uranus, first male images follow, then female ones; in the offspring of Crohn, first female ones, then male ones.
This sequence will be useful to us later. But we will begin deciphering the images in a different, reverse order.
Zeus
Considering that Kron is carbon dioxide, and Rhea is a stream of a mixture of elements that react violently with air, it is possible that their interaction led to the release of pure oxygen. For example, chemists claim that sodium and potassium oxides, when interacting with carbon dioxide, release oxygen. And sodium and potassium and their oxides could well be contained in Rhea’s formula.
Let us recall other reactions for the production of oxygen. They are associated with cooling and heating of gas, splitting of natural compounds, etc. All these processes could well have taken place on Earth, which was turned into a giant blast furnace. In addition, physicists and chemists believe that the main reactions of the mantle that determine the fugacity of oxygen are mineral reactions involving iron, since this element dominates in the mantle (which is not Eurybia, “who had an iron soul”). So Crohn's gray iron sickle could also be a factor in the formation of volatile oxygen.
According to myths, it turns out that his twin brother, the freak Pan, was born together with Zeus. My decoding: Zeus - atomic oxygen, Pan - molecular oxygen (today it is obtained with the participation of hydrogen peroxide). The mad cry of Pan or Aegipanus is thunder, a phenomenon associated with the expansion and contraction of oxygen.
But, in addition, Ctesias is mentioned in the myths:
Acquirer, hypostasis of Zeus in the form of a snake, home everyday cult. Ctesias is the patron of storerooms, protector from thieves, and sender of wealth.
I cannot yet give an interpretation to this image. But during the preparation of cellars for winter to store vegetables, many village residents either make a fire in the cellar or light a blowtorch in it. Both combustion processes are associated with the access of oxygen.
Initially, the accumulation of oxygen, which was previously in a bound state in the bowels of the Earth, could occur during reactions of the breakdown of substances in isolated caves and natural grottoes. Because in order for oxygen to “explode”, conditions were necessary for the gradual accumulation of gas. But if the accumulation had a critical mass, its release could be accompanied by an earthquake and the ejection of earth rocks (stones), and the formation of clouds of steam and smoke (diapers). Thus, the “stone in diapers” swallowed by Kron could become a figurative reflection of the earthquake.
The baby Zeus, accumulating in the cave, experienced both expansion and contraction. This could cause the gas to rumble. These were the cries of the baby, which were drowned out by the tympans. The tympans are also an image. There is such a disease in horses - bloating. It's called tympany. A tympanum later became known as a musical instrument, a drum that produces sounds similar to the rumbling of the depths. But underground tympanums are swellings of gases in the bowels of the Earth. They became accompanying images of the work of Hephaestus.
Based on the proposed version that Zeus is oxygen, it is possible to deduce the increased ability of the gas to react and form new compounds of substances through oxidation. Oxygen can do THIS with almost all chemical elements with the exception of a few, which led to the interpretation of the image as a womanizer and a sexual rogue. Although powerful. After all, Zeus became the ruler of lightning, which for some reason is associated with Perun; in fact, Perun is a shock wave generated by the compression and expansion of gas or oxidation-combustion processes. After all, it is often said in myths that Zeus had “lightning and thunderstorms.” In addition, Zeus collects clouds and sends rain, and oxygen is one of the main participants in the formation of water on the planet and, not primarily, in the atmosphere.
Already some ancient Greek philosophers associated Zeus with air, although their voices were overwhelmed by the canonical perception of him as a powerful god and demands for a rejection of naturalism of perception.
But the ancients, nevertheless, knew that this air was neither the ether nor the sky as a whole. The ancients knew very well about the layered structure of the Earth's atmosphere. Zeus filled only a certain niche of it, including creating in the sky something like a new atmospheric screen that prevented particles of a certain spectrum of solar radiation from penetrating the Earth's surface. Whether this is good or bad is another question. Perhaps this was the reaction of living nature - the restoration of balance in the conditions of the formation of a radiation belt around the Earth. But the fact that such a “screen” deprived us of part of the global information of the cosmos is also a fact. In addition, breathing air oversaturated with oxygen causes rapid aging of the body. This is how man himself brought mortality into his life.
The layers of the atmosphere are known to be classified according to temperature differences. The layer distribution diagram is as follows:
This “layer cake” is a series of spheres nested within each other (how can one not recall the Russian nesting doll as a symbol of the universe). The four layers of the atmosphere - troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere were, I think, known to ancient people. Ovid also mentions the belts of the celestial sphere, but before the release of oxygen from the bowels of the Earth.
As you rise from the Earth's surface, the air temperature decreases, but only to a certain height. The upper boundary of the troposphere is 10- 17 km (10 - above the poles). The average temperature of the troposphere is minus 50-75 degrees. Next, up to 35 km , comes the stratosphere, where the temperature stays at about zero degrees, and then rises. Even higher, in the mesosphere, at altitude 90 km the temperature drops again, but to 100-130 degrees. In the outer shell of the atmosphere, the temperature increases. This is already the thermosphere. It does not have a clear boundary; it smoothly transitions into outer space.
The layering of the atmosphere is the result of heating the earth's surface from below and solar radiation from above. But there is also intermediate heating of the stratosphere. It is the ozone layer that absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
I think the ancient Greeks also knew about the ozone layer.
Reflecting on this question turned me to the image of Athena.
Zeus + Metis = Athena
Metis - ByHesiod daughter of Ocean and Tethys, according to Akusilaus she is the daughter of Nyx and Erebus, a wise goddess, lived near the stream of Ocean, the first wife of Zeus. While still very young and living in Crete, where he was hidden from Kronos, Zeus became inflamed with passion for his teacher Metis. She initially treated him with maternal care, but, realizing how serious his intentions were, she began to avoid Zeus, taking on various images. On her advice, as she saysApollodorus , Zeus gave Kronos a drink, thanks to which he vomited up all his swallowed children.. Having become the wife of Zeus, Metis became pregnant. Zeus learned from Gaia a prophecy that this time a girl would be born, but the next one would be a son who would overthrow his father. Therefore, the Thunderer lured his wife onto the bed, tricked her into shrinking in size, and suddenly swallowed her. After a certain time, his daughter Athena emerged from the head of Zeus, inheriting the wisdom of her mother.
Hesiod adds some details:
Metis-Wisdom became the first wife of Zeus; Most of all she knows between all people and gods . But the time has come for her blue-eyed maiden Athena To give birth to the world, how cunningly and skillfully he clouded her mind With flattering speech Kronid sent her into his own womb, Following the cunning persuasion of Earth and Heaven-Uranus. So they taught him to do it, so that among the immortals Royal power did not go to someone else instead of Zeus. For she was destined to bear wise children, Virgin Athena first, blue-eyed Tritogenea, Equal strength and wise advice to Father Thunderer; After Athena, she still had to give birth to a son - With a super-powerful heart, ruler of the gods and earthly men. Previously, however, Kronion sent her into his womb, So that she would tell him what is evil and what is good.If we assume that Metis was an oceanid, then she was the personification of water with the presence of hydrogen and sulfur compounds. Today such water is found on Earth. By the way, she is called Matsesta, you see, the names are similar (Matsesta - Matista - Matida - Matsida - Matsita - Metida?). A solution of hydrogen sulfide in water is called hydrogen sulfide water or hydrosulfide acid. The son who could be born to Metis first could turn out to be a compound of sulfur and oxygen - SO, SO2 or SO 3. When sulfuric anhydride is dissolved in water, a large amount of heat is released and, if a large amount of sulfuric anhydride is added to water at once, an explosion may occur. If Metis gave birth to it and remained an oceanid, then in combination with water it would explode. And the transfer of the reaction to a gaseous state prevented another global earthly cataclysm. Likewise, the numerous transformations of Metis may have been associated precisely with different aggregate states of matter. It turns out that the ancient civilization experimented with the substance, learning its properties, and chose the least safe version of the gas for the reaction (in the form of a fly).
Thus Athena was born - sulfur dioxide SO 2 or sulfuric anhydride SO 3.
The reaction between sulfur dioxide and oxygen is highly exothermic, i.e. occurs with the release of heat and only in the presence of catalysts. And according to myths, it is known that the birth of Athena is associated with the action of Hephaestus or Prometheus - the phenomena of the underground depths, their heating. When the vapor of sulfur trioxide condenses, a colorless, ice-like mass is formed. It can gradually turn into crystals. Both of these modifications smoke when exposed to air. Sulfur trioxide ignites phosphorus.
It remains to prove that sulfur dioxide or sulfuric anhydride is present in the Earth’s atmosphere “above the head of Zeus.” It really is there and, if I’m not mistaken, is responsible for the absorption of ultraviolet radiation.
Ancient Greek mythology tells us how evil appeared in the world with the birth of terrible children! And the first instrument of evil was the rebellious, disrespectful one, who deprived Father Uranus of creative power. And as we remember, the last people Uranus gave birth to, spilling blood and semen into the ocean and shouting a curse to Kron, were the terrible Erinnyes, the forces of vengeance.
And of course, their first victim was Kron. He married the Titanide Rhea, the personification of the Earth, and his children began to be born to him.
But the curse of Uranus haunted him. Uranus predicted to Cronus that his own child would do the same to him and take his place on the throne.
And the terrible thing begins. Krohn swallows all of his newborn children one by one.
How many times has this wild plot been played out in fine art! And played incorrectly.
We forget that we are talking about gods, to whom death is not characteristic. It is therefore useless to imagine Crohn gnawing and chewing pieces of babies. He absorbed them in some completely different way, without interrupting their lives - it was impossible to interrupt it.
And behind this there is an allegory.
Apparently, Cronus was originally the deity of agriculture; otherwise, where would he have gotten his sickle from? And only later, thanks to the consonance of Kron-Chronos, he began to personify time. But in any case, the picture turns out to be interesting. Time reigning in the world and consuming its future. A kind of eternal kingdom Here and Now! It is curious that it was the kingdom of Cronus that was called by Hesiod the “golden age”, when they lived endlessly, without knowing troubles and illnesses!
So who were these children swallowed by Cronus?
Hestia, the goddess of “tamed” fire, the fire that serves people, burns in the altar and hearth. The goddess who protects with this fire any human dwelling: houses, cities, and states.
Demeter, goddess of fertility. The patroness of everything that grows on earth, Mother Rhea. Goddess, nurse, protector of farmers.
Hera is the goddess of marriage and family. A very important goddess for people's lives.
Hades is the god of the underworld of the dead. It is interesting that the underground kingdom of the dead is not Tartarus, born of Chaos at the beginning of creation. Tartarus is located further, beyond death. This means that Hades, with its kingdom of the dead, is also a deity, necessary only for man. A person must go somewhere after death.
Poseidon - god of the seas. He has a very strange name, which means “to shake the earth.” It was probably his pranks that the ancient Greeks attributed earthquakes to. After all, the earth floats in the waters of the great Ocean.
This is an interesting picture. In this world, where Kron - Time reigns, there is no place for man. Everything that protects a person and protects his interests is swallowed up by time. Meanwhile, according to Hesiod, this is a golden age. Mystery!
But Kron's sixth child, little Zeus, is born, and the gluttonous father makes a fatal mistake. He trustingly allows his wife Rhea to retire to the distant island of Crete for childbirth, as her parents, Uranus and Gaia, advised her. She gives birth to Zeus and hides him, and gives father Cronus, who came for his newborn son, a large stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Another indication to us that Kron absorbed his children in some way unknown to us. Without noticing, he swallowed the stone too. And he calmly left the island of Crete.
It was an amazing island. It was inhabited by demigods. Who are they? Apparently, the gods united not only with their own kind, but also with the entire living and inanimate world.
This is how the demigoddess Amalthea lived on the island - a goat who fed Zeus with milk. Her husband Melissaus, also a demigod, patron of bees, fed Zeus with honey. Their daughters, the nymphs Adrastea and Idea, nursed the little god.
And amazing creatures called curetes also lived on the island. They were born by the titan Helios - the Sun from... trees. It is difficult to imagine what exactly they looked like, but they were armed, because they were the ones who made the first weapons in the world. For an unknown purpose. There was no one to fight with yet.
The Curetes also played an important role in saving little Zeus. When the baby began to cry, they rattled their weapons to muffle his cries and hide his presence from Kron.
This is how the youngest of Krohn’s children managed to grow up safe and sound.
. Kron (mythology) Kron (mythology)
Etymology
The etymology of the name Kronos is unknown. The Greeks themselves of later times, due to the consonance of the names, compared it with Chronos-time. It is unknown whether this name is of Greek origin. Only sickle- an ancient attribute - speaks of their nature. Existed Ionians In any case, in a number of Ionian cities there is a holiday called Kronius, but the originality of its connection with Kronos is doubtful, so the god Kronos, being a character in myths, finds himself at the same time on the periphery of religious cults and beliefs. Uranus, fearing to die from one of his children, returned them again to the bowels of the earth. That's why Gaia, exhausted from the burden, persuaded Kronos, who was born last, castrate Uranus. Kronos became the supreme god.
The sickle with which he castrated Uranus was thrown into the sea by Kronos at Cape Drepan (Sickle) in Achaye. This sickle was kept in a cave in Zankle ( Sicily) .
A golden age began under him. Kronos was afraid of the prediction of Uranus, according to which one of his children born to him Rhea, would overthrow him, and therefore swallowed them one by one. So he swallowed Hestia , Demeter , Geru , Aida And Poseidon. From the union of Kronos with the nymph Philiroi(which he later, fearing Rhea’s jealousy, turned into a mare) a centaur was born Chiron.
Kronos and Zeus
Rhea, pregnant Zeus, not wanting to lose her last child, gave birth to him in a deep cave on Crete and hid it there, and let Kronos swallow the stone ( Baytil). This stone was later shown in Delphi. Also, the legend with the stone was associated with the Petrah cliff above Chaeronea. This stone is called agadir. When Kronos realized that he had been deceived, he began to look for Zeus all over the earth, but curettes prevented him from finding the baby and when Zeus cried, they knocked their spears on their shields so that Kronos would not hear the cry of little Zeus.
Zeus overthrew his father, freed his brothers and sisters from his womb, forcing Kronos to vomit the children he had swallowed, and reigned over the world, making his brothers and sisters Olympian gods (Hestia- goddess of the hearth, Geru- wife and queen of the gods, Demeter- goddess of fields and fertility, Aida- god of the underworld of the dead and Poseidon- god of the seas).
According to a later version of the myth, Kronos was subsequently moved to " islands of the blessed" Hence, in the imagination of the ancient Greeks, the “kingdom of Kronos” corresponded to the fabulous “ golden age ».
Later tradition and references
Kronos is buried in Sicily. Was a god in Arabia. Identified with Phoenician god to whom babies were sacrificed. A temple was built for him in Olympia. Sacrifices to Cronus were made at Olympia on the top of Mount Cronius at the spring equinox in the month of Elathion basil.
The XIII Orphic hymn is dedicated to him.
Kronos corresponds to Roman Saturn. According to legend, which identified Kronos with Saturn, he was defeated by Zeus and fled to Italy(cm. Saturn). Kronos reigned in Libya and Sicily and founded Hierapolis.
see also
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Excerpt characterizing Cronus (mythology)
- Do you really know how? – Natasha asked. – Uncle smiled without answering.- Look, Anisyushka, are the strings intact or something on the guitar? I haven’t picked it up for a long time - it’s pure marching! abandoned.
Anisya Fedorovna willingly went with her light tread to carry out her master’s instructions and brought a guitar.
The uncle blew off the dust without looking at anyone, tapped the lid of the guitar with his bony fingers, tuned it and adjusted himself in the chair. He took (with a somewhat theatrical gesture, placing the elbow of his left hand) the guitar above the neck and, winking at Anisya Fedorovna, began not the Lady, but struck one sonorous, clean chord, and measuredly, calmly, but firmly began to finish the famous song at a very quiet pace: Po li and ice pavement. At the same time, in time with that sedate joy (the same one that Anisya Fedorovna’s whole being breathed), the motive of the song began to sing in the souls of Nikolai and Natasha. Anisya Fedorovna blushed and, covering herself with a handkerchief, left the room laughing. Uncle continued to finish the song cleanly, diligently and energetically, looking with a changed, inspired look at the place from which Anisya Fedorovna had left. There was just a little something laughing in his face on one side, under his gray mustache, and he laughed especially when the song progressed further, the beat quickened, and something came off in places where it was too loud.
- Lovely, lovely, uncle; more, more,” Natasha screamed as soon as he finished. She jumped up from her seat, hugged her uncle and kissed him. - Nikolenka, Nikolenka! - she said, looking back at her brother and as if asking him: what is this?
Nikolai also really liked his uncle’s playing. The uncle played the song a second time. The smiling face of Anisya Feodorovna appeared again at the door and from behind her there were still other faces... “Behind the cold key, she shouts: girl, wait!” Uncle played, made another deft move, tore it off and moved his shoulders.
“Well, well, my dear, uncle,” Natasha moaned in such a pleading voice, as if her life depended on it. The uncle stood up and it was as if there were two people in him - one of them smiled seriously at the merry fellow, and the merry fellow made a naive and neat prank before the dance.
- Well, niece! - the uncle shouted, waving his hand towards Natasha, tearing off the chord.
Natasha threw off the scarf that was draped over her, ran ahead of her uncle and, putting her hands on her hips, made a movement with her shoulders and stood.
Where, how, when did this countess, raised by a French emigrant, suck into herself from that Russian air that she breathed, this spirit, where did she get these techniques that pas de chale should have long ago been supplanted? But these spirits and techniques were the same, inimitable, unstudied, Russian ones that her uncle expected from her. As soon as she stood up and smiled solemnly, proudly and slyly with gaiety, the first fear that gripped Nikolai and everyone present, the fear that she would do the wrong thing, passed and they were already admiring her.
She did the same thing and did it so precisely, so completely accurately that Anisya Fedorovna, who immediately handed her the scarf she needed for her business, burst into tears through laughter, looking at this thin, graceful, so alien to her, well-bred countess in silk and velvet. , who knew how to understand everything that was in Anisya, and in Anisya’s father, and in her aunt, and in her mother, and in every Russian person.
“Well, the countess is a pure march,” the uncle said, laughing joyfully, having finished the dance. - Oh yes niece! If only you could choose a good guy for your hubby, it’s pure business!
“It’s already been chosen,” Nikolai said, smiling.
- ABOUT? - the uncle said in surprise, looking questioningly at Natasha. Natasha nodded her head affirmatively with a happy smile.
- What a great one! - she said. But as soon as she said this, another, new system of thoughts and feelings arose in her. What did Nikolai’s smile mean when he said: “already chosen”? Is he happy about this or not? He seems to think that my Bolkonsky would not approve, would not understand this joy of ours. No, he would understand everything. Where is he now? Natasha thought and her face suddenly became serious. But this only lasted for one second. “Don’t think, don’t dare think about it,” she said to herself and, smiling, sat down next to her uncle again, asking him to play something else.
Uncle played another song and a waltz; then, after a pause, he cleared his throat and sang his favorite hunting song.
Like powder since the evening
It turned out well...
Uncle sang as the people sing, with that complete and naive conviction that in a song all the meaning lies only in the words, that the melody comes by itself and that there is no separate melody, and that a melody is only for the purpose. Because of this, this unconscious melody, like the melody of a bird, was unusually good for my uncle. Natasha was delighted with her uncle's singing. She decided that she would no longer study the harp, but would only play the guitar. She asked her uncle for a guitar and immediately found the chords for the song.
At ten o'clock a line, a droshky and three horsemen sent to look for them arrived for Natasha and Petya. The Count and Countess did not know where they were and were very worried, as the messenger said.
Petya was taken down and placed like a dead body in a line; Natasha and Nikolai got into the droshky. Uncle wrapped Natasha up and said goodbye to her with completely new tenderness. He escorted them on foot to the bridge, which had to be forded, and ordered the hunters to go ahead with lanterns.
“Farewell, dear niece,” his voice shouted from the darkness, not the one that Natasha knew before, but the one that sang: “Like powder since evening.”
The village we were passing through had red lights and a cheerful smell of smoke.
- What a charm this uncle is! - Natasha said when they drove out onto the main road.
“Yes,” said Nikolai. - Are you cold?
- No, I’m great, great. “I feel so good,” Natasha even said with bewilderment. They were silent for a long time.
The night was dark and damp. The horses were not visible; you could only hear them splashing through the invisible mud.
What was going on in this childish, receptive soul, which so greedily caught and assimilated all the varied impressions of life? How did it all fit into her? But she was very happy. Already approaching the house, she suddenly began to sing the tune of the song: “Like powder since the evening,” a tune that she had been catching all the way and finally caught.
- Did you catch it? - said Nikolai.
- What were you thinking about now, Nikolenka? – Natasha asked. “They loved asking each other that.”
- I? - Nikolai said, remembering; - you see, at first I thought that Rugai, the red male, looked like his uncle and that if he were a man, he would still keep his uncle with him, if not for the race, then for the frets, he would have kept everything. How nice he is, uncle! Is not it? - Well, what about you?
- I? Wait, wait. Yes, at first I thought that we were driving and we thought that we were going home, and God knows where we were going in this darkness and suddenly we would arrive and see that we were not in Otradny, but in a magical kingdom. And then I also thought... No, nothing more.
