War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy [776]
If we combine these two sorts of history, as modern historians do, we will get the history of monarchs and writers, and not the history of the life of peoples.
V
The life of peoples cannot be contained in the lives of several men, for the connection between these several men and the peoples has not been found. The theory that this connection is based on the transfer of the sum total of wills to historical figures is a hypothesis not confirmed by the experience of history.
The theory of the transfer of the sum total of wills of the masses to historical figures may explain a great deal in the sphere of jurisprudence and may be necessary for its purposes; but in its application to history, once revolutions, conquests, civil wars appear, once history begins—this theory explains nothing.
This theory seems irrefutable precisely because the act of transferring the wills of the people cannot be verified, since it never took place.
Whatever event takes place, whoever stands at the head of the event, the theory can always say that this person stood at the head of the event because the sum total of wills was transferred to him.
The answers that this theory gives to historical questions are like the answers of a man who, looking at a moving herd, and taking no account either of the quality of pasture in different parts of the field or the urgings of the herdsman, would judge the reasons for this or that direction of the herd by which animal is at the head of the herd.
“The herd is going in this direction because the animal at the head of it is leading it, and the sum total of wills of all the rest of the animals is transferred to this ruler of the herd.” So answers the first category of historians, who recognize the absolute transfer of power.
“If the animals at the head of the herd change, that happens because the sum total of wills of all the animals is transferred from one ruler to another, depending on whether he leads the herd in the direction the entire herd has chosen.” So answer the historians who recognize that the sum total of wills of the masses is transferred to the rulers under conditions which they consider known. (Given this method of observation, it quite often happens that the observer, depending on the direction chosen by the herd, considers animals as leaders who, as a result of a change in the direction of the masses, are no longer in front, but on the side, and sometimes behind.)
“If the animals at the head change constantly and the direction of the entire herd changes constantly, that happens because, to attain the direction which is known to us, the animals hand over their wills to animals that are conspicuous to us, and thus, in order to study the movement of the herd, we must observe all the conspicuous animals going on all sides of the herd.” So speak historians of the third category, who recognize all historical figures, from monarchs to journalists, as expressive of their time.
The theory of the transfer of the will of the masses to historical figures is only a paraphrase—only an expression of the words of the question in different words.
What is the cause of historical events? Power. What is power? Power is the sum total of wills transferred to one person. On what condition are the wills of the masses transferred to one person? On condition that the person express the will of the whole people. That is, power is power. That is, power is a word the meaning of which we do not understand.
If the domain of human knowledge were limited to abstract thinking alone, then, having subjected the explanation of power given by science to criticism, mankind would come to the conclusion that power is only a word and does not exist in reality. But for