A summary of literary works. Sacred texts

Summary of the novel by M. Twain "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" for grade 5

Chapter I

Aunt Polly is looking for her mischievous nephew Tom Sawyer all over the house and traps him when the boy tries to sneak past. On Tom's soiled hands and mouth, Aunt Polly establishes that his nephew was in the pantry and encroached on the stock of jam. The punishment seems inevitable, but the boy points to something behind his aunt, she turns around, and Tom jumps out into the street.

Aunt Polly cannot be angry with her nephew for long, because he is an orphan, the son of her late sister. She is only afraid that she is not strict enough with the boy, and from that an unworthy person will grow. Reluctantly, Aunt Polly decides to punish Tom.

A summary of the story of F. Iskander "The Thirteenth Feat of Hercules"

The narration is in the first person.

In the new academic year a new mathematics teacher, the Greek Harlampy Diogenovich, appears at the school. He immediately manages to establish "exemplary silence" in the classroom. Kharlampy Diogenovich never raises his voice, does not force him to study, does not threaten with punishment. He only makes fun of the guilty student so that the class bursts into laughter.

Once a student of 5- "B" grade, the main character story without making homework, fears to be the object of ridicule. Suddenly, at the beginning of the lesson, a doctor and a nurse enter the class, who are vaccinating against typhoid among the students of the school. First, the injections were to be given to the 5th "A" class, and they entered the 5th "B" by mistake. Our hero decides to seize the opportunity and volunteers to accompany them, motivating that the 5th "A" class is far away, and they may not find it. On the way, he manages to convince the doctor that it is better to start giving injections from their class.

A summary of the story of V. Astafiev "A photograph in which I am not."

In the dead of winter, our school was excited by an incredible event: a photographer from the city was coming to visit us. He will photograph "not the village people, but us, the students of the Ovsyansky school." The question arose - where to lodge such an important person? The young teachers of our school occupied half of a dilapidated house, and they had an eternally screaming baby. “It was inappropriate for the teachers to keep such a person as a photographer.” Finally, the photographer was attached to the foreman of the rafting office, the most cultured and respected person in the village.

A summary of the story of V. Astafiev "Horse with a pink mane"

My grandmother sent me to the ridge for strawberries together with the neighbour's children. She promised: if I get a full basket, she will sell my berries along with hers and buy me a "horse gingerbread". The gingerbread in the form of a horse with a mane, tail and hooves, doused with pink glaze, ensured honor and respect for the boys of the entire village and was their cherished dream.

I went to the ridge together with the children of our neighbor Levontius, who worked in logging. Approximately once every fifteen days "Levontius received money, and then in the next house, where there were only children and nothing else, the feast began like a mountain," and Levontius's wife ran around the village and paid off debts.

A summary of the novel by D. Defoe "Life and amazing Adventures Robinson Crusoe "for grade 5.

Life, extraordinary and amazing adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a sailor from York, who lived for 28 years all alone on an uninhabited island off the coast of America near the mouths of the Orinoco River, where he was thrown by a shipwreck, during which the entire crew of the ship, except him, died, describing his unexpected liberation by pirates; written by himself.

Robinson was the third son in the family, a darling, he was not trained for any trade, and from childhood his head was filled with "all sorts of nonsense" - mainly dreams of sea voyages. His older brother died in Flanders, fighting the Spaniards, the middle one went missing, and therefore at home they do not want to hear about letting the last son go to sea. The father, "a sedate and intelligent man," tearfully begs him to strive for a modest existence, in every way extolling the "average state" that saves a sane person from the evil vicissitudes of fate.

A summary of the story of V. Korolenko "In bad society"For grade 5.

The hero's childhood took place in small town Knyazhye-Veno of the Southwest Territory. Vasya - that was the name of the boy - was the son of a city judge. The child grew up "like a wild tree in a field": the mother died when the son was only six years old, and the father, absorbed in his grief, paid little attention to the boy. Vasya wandered around the city all day, and the pictures of city life left a deep imprint on his soul.

The city was surrounded by ponds. In the middle of one of them on the island there was an ancient castle that once belonged to the count's family. There were legends that the island was filled with captive Turks, and the castle stands "on the bones of men." The owners left this gloomy dwelling long ago, and it gradually collapsed. Its inhabitants were urban beggars who had no other refuge. But there was a split among the poor.

A summary of the story of I. A. Bunin "Dark alleys".

On a rainy autumn day, a dirty tarantass drives up to a long hut, in one half of which there is a post station, and in the other - an inn. In the back of the tarantass sits "a slender old military man in a large cap and in a Nikolayev gray overcoat with a stand-up beaver collar." A gray mustache with sideburns, a shaved chin and a wearily questioning look give him a resemblance to Alexander II.

The old man enters the dry, warm and tidy room of the inn, which smells sweetly of cabbage soup. He is met by the hostess, dark-haired, "still a beautiful woman, not for her age."

A summary of the story of V. Shukshin "Cut"

The son of Konstantin Ivanovich came to the old woman Agafya Zhuravleva. With his wife and daughter. Visit, relax. I drove up in a taxi, and the whole family took a long time to pull the suitcases out of the trunk. By evening, the village learned the details: he himself is a candidate, his wife is also a candidate, and his daughter is a schoolgirl.

In the evening, peasants gathered on the porch at Gleb Kapustin's. Somehow it so happened that many noble people came out of their village - a colonel, two pilots, a doctor, a correspondent. And it so happened that when the noblemen came to the village and the people crowded in the hut in the evening, Gleb Kapustin came and cut off the noble guest. And now candidate Zhuravlev has arrived ...

Retelling is the transfer of the content of the text in his own words, that is, during the retelling, a person expresses the content of a work in his own words. It is convenient to retell according to plan. It is necessary to highlight the main key points of the work, based on which it will be easier to retell. The retelling can be brief, that is, when the content of the work is conveyed in a small volume.

The narrator leads the story. Once he drove through the station, where Samson Vyrin was the caretaker. The narrator got wet in the rain and was going to drink tea and change clothes at the station. While the narrator was looking at the house, the daughter of the caretaker Dunya served it to the table. On the walls of the house were images of the prodigal son. Having changed their clothes, all three sat down to eat, the atmosphere was conducive to communication, that the narrator did not want to leave his new acquaintances.
A few years later, the narrator stopped by again to visit his acquaintances. The caretaker's house has become:

• unkempt
• uncomfortable
• lonely.

And the caretaker himself was not happy, even sullen. After drinking a glass, he told what had happened. Several years ago, officer Minsky dropped in to see them, who was very angry that the horses had not been served for a long time, but after he saw Vyrin's daughter, he became kind and stayed for dinner. The next day Minsky became ill and stayed to lie down with the Overseer. After his recovery, Minsky was about to leave and offered to take Dunya to the church. The caretaker did not mind. However, he did not see his daughter again.

The caretaker suffered this event and fell ill with fever. After some time, having recovered, he went in search of Dunya in St. Petersburg. Several times the caretaker tried to meet his daughter, but his attempts were unsuccessful, since then he did not know anything about his Duna.
After some time, the narrator again drove through the familiar station. When he stopped, he learned that the station was no longer there, and the superintendent had died. The son of the new owner of the house took the narrator to the caretaker's grave and told that a lady came to the grave and cried for a long time.

Bible availability

Long ago, the scriptures that make up the bible were inaccessible common people... They were copied by hand in monasteries and circulated in the monastic environment. But with the invention of typography, the text of the Old Testament became available to almost everyone. The Bible is the best-selling book and it never runs out of print. It is even given away for free. It is in every home, many have it on the shelf and collects dust.
Until the 16th century, it was an unattainable task for a commoner to find this text and read it (if, of course, he was taught to read and write, and did not dig all his life in dung). This book was retold by the priests, omitting some details, exaggerating some places, making accents where they please. A person could not verify them, he could only believe in the authority of the intermediaries. Currently, this text is available to everyone, but purely nominally believers have never read it. They simply perform the rituals dictated by tradition, as if they were trained.
V recent times in the press there was a wave of inflated sensations about the discovery of new texts of antiquity, the apocryphal of the gospel and the old testament. But even if you carefully read the most ordinary Bible, you can see many places that believers do not suspect or do not notice. Only the stubborn are able to master this indigestible text beyond the second description of creation. Some people read selected passages that are recommended to them, ignoring most of the book. But more often than not, the Bible is simply never opened. But this book can make anyone an atheist.

But let's start with translation. In the original, the Bible is read only by particularly fanatical Jews or scholars. All the rest are content with the translation.
All Greek translations are now called the Septuagint indiscriminately. It is these translations that have been used from time immemorial Orthodox Church in Russia. It is noteworthy that the history of the creation of the translation of seventy interpreters has several versions. The most common is described in both the Talmud and Greek sources, with minimal difference. The Greeks said that King Ptolemy wanted to purchase a translation of a Hebrew book and for this he hired 72 translators. The Talmud states that the king imprisoned polyglot rabbis and forced them to translate the Torah. In both narratives, mercenaries or prisoners translated in isolation from each other. And at the end, supposedly all the texts were identical. However, the literary adornments inherent in the Greek texts of that era overwhelm the Septuagint. And, as we now know, the story of seventy translators is just a myth.
Among the Jews, it is believed that even such a beautiful translation made by wise rabbis is a profanation of the Holy Scriptures. In the words of one of the Talmudists: "He who makes a literary translation blasphemes, who translates literally is lying."
This translation was obviously used by the authors of the New Testament and other Greek-speaking writers. For example, in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, is mentioned, who is not mentioned in the Hebrew original, but who appeared in the Septuagint. Nevertheless, with minimal semantic losses and somewhere even with additions that are absent in the original, the translation of the seventy is not so bad.
Much worse is the case with the Vulgate, the Latin translation used by Catholics. This translation was made by the monk Jerome in the 4th century, after a quick course in Hebrew. Naturally, his work is replete with ridiculous mistakes, due to ignorance of the language in general and phraseology in particular. The funniest is the moment from Exodus, where it is said that "the skin of [Moses'] face shone" (;; ;;; ;;; ;;;;). But in Hebrew the word ";;;;;;" means both "horn" and "shine". As a result of the stupidest mistake, many Catholics admire the horned Moses, the most famous statue with horns was created by Michelangelo himself.
I have used several translations. Synodal, which is a compilation of translations from Hebrew, Greek and Latin, that is, despite all its timelessness, it was nevertheless made with great care. And the newest translation into Russian, completed in 2011. I also had to familiarize myself with some medieval Western translations, most often I turned to the King James Bible and its later editions made by the Anglican Church. Then two different translations from English into Russian, which were transcriptions from Latin and from Greek... And more perfect new translations from the USA and Canada.
Of course, in such a broken phone you can get confused, because it is often a translation of a translation, or even a translation-translation-translation. Therefore, I had to turn to the works of biblical scholars who study the text also in the original so that it could be compared. Only by comparing all the options can you see what is lost, what is edited, and what is completely attributed to the original for any purpose. Many untranslatable puns have been lost, some word embellishments have been added somewhere on the contrary. But in general, the biblical meaning is not lost in any translation. Modern translations much better than the old ones. Therefore, you can safely talk about the content without fear of being deceived.

Brief retelling of the Old Testament

Unfortunately, it turns out that I cannot avoid a brief (even very short) retelling of the general details of the biblical epic. I would not like to turn the article into a children's adaptation, as missionaries like to do. Before me, the book was analyzed by much more prominent figures. For example, if you want to laugh, I recommend Leo Taxil. I am interested in something else - in what conditions and for what purposes this book was written. And without summary- not approach this goal in any way. Of course, I cannot refrain from mocking. And the problem is not my depravity or some kind of sophisticated wickedness. By itself, the text being parsed is tragicomic.

The biblical account opens with a story about the creation of the world. Consistently, the demiurge creates everything that exists in 6 days. Heaven and earth. Change of day and night. Water and dry land. Further, in approximately this order. Plants, reptiles, birds, fish, animals and other animals. Then he took it into his head to create a man, and in his own image and likeness, who would rule this world and all the cattle, fish and birds. As a result, he appreciated his work and was pleased with the result.
After the first description of creation, there follows a second, more detailed, sometimes different from the first. In the second half of the article, I will explain where these doublets come from in the biblical text. There will be a lot of them in the future. In general, the second description clarifies that all beasts were born of the earth. That is, stupidly out of the mud. Adam gave all the animals names. In general, everyone. Bacteria are not mentioned there, there were no microscopes at that time. As well as hundreds of thousands of animal species are not mentioned, about which the ancient Jews could not even hear. Because the world at that time was very limited. If you believe the same scripture, there are several rivulets, several lakes and the sea all around, and in the middle there is dry land. Moreover, all this is a "circle of the earth." Flat, with edges, and, as it were, covered with a hemisphere of heaven, on which the luminaries are replaced every now and then, by the order of the creator.
By the way, about the luminaries. The light appeared on the first day. And the moon and sun only on the fourth. How did God measure the change of time of day? Why is it written "evening and morning" in the story of the first three days?
The Creator creates a wife for a man from a rib. He also instructs the couple not to eat from the same tree in the Garden of Eden. Adam's first wife Lilith disappeared completely from the Bible. But judging by the descriptions in the midrash, she was something like a goddess of fertility. And she was very loving, in other words, she fucked animals and even angels. A similar girl appears in the Sumerian text "Gilgamesh and the Willow" under the name Lillake. The rest of the text is extremely similar to the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh. Also crafted from clay; however, the myth of the creation of man from clay or dust was very widespread in all the lands of the Middle East. The story of Gilgamesh is also more ancient than the Bible. The noble savage from this text does not disdain to copulate with animals and seeks the herb of immortality. The essence of the myth of the Fall has an ancient composition. A serious theological problem faced the writers, because it was necessary to show that sin and evil are inherent in man. But he was created in the image and likeness of the most beautiful god. However, we got out. The wife was seduced by a cunning serpent who persuaded her to eat from the forbidden tree and give fruit to her husband. Like, nothing will happen, and you yourself will become like full-fledged gods.
God walks through the garden, only with his feet. And Adam and Eve, who realized that they were naked, are hiding behind the trees from the face of the Almighty. I would like to note right away that at the beginning of the Bible very often the deity has anthropomorphic descriptions. Not finding the first people, the deity says: "Where are you?" This all-seeing and almighty god cannot find a half-naked man and woman. As a result, he will find out in questioning what happened, this is all-seeing and omnipotent, do not forget. Is angry. Expels Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, makes them mortal and gives them fertility. In addition, he makes the woman give birth in pain. Although a woman would give birth in agony and without special instructions from above, but oh well. And the snake deprives him of his legs and orders him to crawl on his belly. Although why he is angry is unclear, because he is omnipotent and omniscient and clearly foresaw further developments... Or it turns out that nothing depends on him in the world, and after creation he can only intervene locally. This only makes it obvious that the idea of ​​an omnipotent creator deity was screwed much later into more ancient myths. This will be discussed in more detail later.

Cain and Abel

Eve gave birth to Cain and then Abel. Abel was a herder, and Cain was a farmer. Both of them made a sacrifice to the deity. However, Cain's sacrifice (fruits) was ignored. But the sacrifice of Abel (the lamb) made me happy. Then the god, in a mocking tone, asks him why he hung up his nose. After a couple of lines, Cain, without thinking for a long time, soaked his brother in the field. Again the all-knowing asks the unfortunate killer where is your brother. Although he immediately answers that he knows everything. And eventually drives Cain away somewhere to the east of Eden. “And Cain said to God: My punishment is greater than to bear; behold, now you are driving me off the face of the earth, and from your face I will hide, and I will be an exile and a wanderer on the earth; and everyone who meets me will kill me. " How does he leave the earth and intend to wander on it at the same time? How does he hide from the all-seeing creator of the world? And who will kill him, if at that moment there are only 5 people living on the earth? And even those are his close relatives.
Further, it is already completely unclear where all future people take their wives from. God created only Eve, and the birth of some other ladies is not described in the Bible. Women in general, as lower sinful creatures, are not particularly readily mentioned. And even more so in the pedigrees. Of course, it is explained in the commentaries and midrash that Adam and Eve had daughters. In general, at an early stage - humanity suffered from forced incest. The meager minds of writers and future interpreters could not come up with other options.
Over time, people have multiplied decently. Their life span was very long, sometimes hundreds of years. The half-page descriptions of genealogies look very comical, in which the following is continuously written: "Seth lived one hundred and five years, and gave birth to Enos." So it turns out that they either gave birth without the participation of women, or multiplied by division and budding.

And now women are finally mentioned, but only as some kind of beauties seducing either angels or demons, from whose unequal connections giants were born. And again, God is not happy that the little people created by him are doing. And he decided to exterminate everyone, and animals and birds too, what they were guilty of is not specified. Apparently just to the heap. Again, the almighty cannot cope with what is happening and wants to arrange a cataclysm - to flood the whole world.
But he chooses the righteous Noah and his three sons and orders them to build an ark on which they can be saved.
Parallel to this myth, there were two more of the same in this period in the Mediterranean - Greek and Akkadian. The Akkadian myth, based on the legend of Gilgamesh, was known among the Sumerians, Hurrians and Hittites. The reason Enlil decided to exterminate humanity is because people forgot to bring him New Year's sacrifices. But Ea warns Utnapishtim that there will be a flood soon. Therefore, he builds a cubic ark. When it starts to rain He hides with his retinue and animals in the ark. And battens the hatches. The flood continues for six days, even the little gods are so scared that they flew to heaven and sit quietly like dogs. On the seventh day, the ark sails to Mount Nisir, and Utnapishtim waits for another seven days. Then he sends a dove, then he sends a swallow. And at the end of the raven.
The Greek myth says the following: “Enraged by the cannibalism of the wicked Pelasgians, Almighty Zeus brought down streams of water to the earth, intending to drown all mankind in it. However, Deucalion, king of Phthia, warned by his father, the titan Prometheus, whom he visited in the Caucasus, built an ark, loaded provisions on it, and then ascended it with his wife Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus. Soon the south wind rose and it began to rain. Rivers came out and banks, and the entire land was flooded. The ark was worn for 9 days. And then he landed on Mount Parnassus, a dove informed Deucalion about the appearance of land.
There is also a slightly more colorful description of the flood from the Talmud “Water quickly flooded the entire earth. Seven hundred thousand sinners gathered around the ark, begging: "Open the door, Noah, let us in!" And Noah shouted from within: "Didn't I ask you to repent for a hundred and twenty years, but you did not listen to me!" “We repent,” they answered. "Late!" People tried to break down the door and turn the ark over, but a flock of rejected wolves, lions and bears did not tear hundreds of people to pieces. The rest fled. When the Lower waters of Tiona rose, sinners threw children into the rivers first, hoping to stop the arrival of water, while they themselves climbed trees and mountains. The rain threw them down, and soon the rising waters caught the ark. Waves tossed him from side to side, so that everyone inside looked like pea pods in a boiling pot. They say that the Lord heated the waters of the flood with a flame and punished fiery lust with burning water, poured a fiery rain on sinners and did not prevent crows from pecking out the eyes of those who swam in streams of water. "
The ship that the gopher Noah and his sons built of wood should have been incredible in size even by the most modest estimates. At the same time, like any farmer of those times, he lived in a tent and had not heard of such things as an ax, a saw, a hammer and nails. Suppose that the tools are provided to him by the Supreme. But did he have any experience as a shipbuilder? It seems that making a huge ship four of us and that it also becomes floating is not an easy task. But let's say Noah coped with it.
But then what about the fact that Noah had to select 7 pairs of clean animals and a couple of unclean ones. Despite the fact that the number of living species - it means, according to the Bible, that survived the flood - about 5 million. And he had to collect this menagerie on a ship that no longer seems so big in seven days. Of course, no species unknown to the Syrian authors of the text are mentioned. No kangaroos, koalas, platypuses, lemurs, bison, penguins, skunks or armadillos. This is forgivable for fools who live on a flat circle of land surrounded by the ocean. After all, they did not suspect the existence of America, Madagascar, Antarctica, Australia and other, not even such remote places. I have not yet mentioned insects, crustaceans and other mandavos and worms. Plus, all these species, even if we assume that they were in the ark, then how did they then spread from Mount Ararat across the planet, leaving no traces in other places. Of course, because the endemic species formed for millions of years in isolation, and did not ride with Noah on a boat on the waves.
By order of the Lord, Noah also had to provide food for all the inhabitants of the ark. There should have been enough food for everyone during the 10 months of sailing. Meat for crocodiles, fish for penguins and hay for cows. Etc.
When the ark finally landed on dry land, Noah made a sacrifice to God. He sniffed the burning flesh (only with his nose, everyone knows how God loves the smell of burning flesh) and promised more people do not torment. True, it did not last long. Very soon the little people decided to build a tower of Babel, and God mixed their tongues for them - for fuck it. Further, the deity embarks on all serious things. And almost to the very end, he does not stop playing with his unsuccessful offspring, like an extravagant sadist who takes pleasure in coming up with more and more sophisticated tests, punishments and tortures.

Abraham - the founder of the Jewish people

Again the little people have multiplied. Again mired in sins. And this time God has a new favorite - Abraham. He drives him to different lands, sets before him all sorts of incomprehensible tasks, in general, trains him as best he can. His wife Sarah could not conceive children in any way. Then Hagar brought him a slave. She gave birth to his son Ismail. Then the wife forced Abraham to drive her away with the child.
Abraham herself is constantly trying to slip Sarah into his concubines, wherever he may be. Even when she was already quite old. After the unfortunates agreed to take her, God punished them. And Sarah came back. One of the deceived turns out to be Abimelech, who looks quite decent in comparison with God's chosen Abraham.
The following is a slightly abstract story about Sodom and Gomorrah. Once again, the omniscient and omnipotent gets up to strange somersaults. He takes the form of angels to check the rumors about the sinners of Sodom. “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah, it is great, and their sin, it is very heavy; I will go down and see if they are doing exactly the same, what is the cry against them that ascends to me, or not, I will know.
The angels came disguised as pilgrims to Sodom. And he invited them, directly begged, to visit Lot. Of course, the spiteful locals wanted to "know" the aliens - in other words, to fuck them with the whole crowd. The perverts gathered around Lot's house and ordered the guests to be betrayed. But Lot offered to take his virgin daughters in return. A woman is worthless, it is more important to protect the honor of men. But the angels blinded the angry crowd in time, and Lot and his family were ordered to leave the city, and even without looking back. True, his wife still looked around when they had already left the city. The Lord, a lover of cataclysms and enchanting punishments, incinerated sodomites. What was sinful in the fact that she wanted to enjoy the way sinners burn, I did not understand, but God turned her into a pillar of salt. Further more interesting, those same virgin daughters, under the pretext of procreation, watered their father and copulated with him. However, even this incestuous frenzy is not considered sinful. I would like to note when the biblical text speaks about a man - it means a man. A woman is something at the level of an object.
But let us return to Abraham, who is traditionally considered the chosen ancestor of all Israelites. In her old age, Sarah did give birth. And she gave birth to Isaac. When the boy grew up, God gave a new insane order to dad - to kill his son on the mountain. Naturally, the beautiful righteous man agreed. How mercifully, at the last moment, when Abraham was about to deliver the mortal blow to his child, an angel flew in and held his hand. He passed the test of obedience to the Almighty. And he agreed to accept a lamb as a sacrifice, instead of a man. Some researchers consider this to be a kind of transition from the tradition of human sacrifice to the offering of animals.
Sarah died at the age of 127, then Abraham found his son a wife named Rebekah. Abraham himself died at the age of 175.
Rebekah gave birth to Isaac's twins Jacob and Esau, again after decades of sterility. In his old age, Isaac almost went blind and decided to bequeath all his property to Esau, but Jacob, at the prompting of his mother, deceived him, pretending to be a brother. For which he was expelled. Trials rained down on him, including a fight with an angel in the desert (possibly with the Lord himself, the text is not entirely clear) - a fight in the literal sense, in the best traditions of gopots. But then he returned, proving that he deserved to be forgiven. Jacob had two wives, and they also competed among themselves who would give birth to more children. And then the obscure "Santa Barbara" continues: sex with slaves, polygamy, and so on.

Soon, a new favorite of the deity is born - Moses, also known as Moshe Rabbeinu or Musa (among Muslims). The Exodus begins with a description of how the people of Israel were brutally oppressed in captivity by the Egyptians. The enslaved tribe suffers, they are forced to build cities of stone, and the poor fellows groan under the blows of the scourge. Moreover, the evil Pharaoh ordered Jewish women to throw their newborns into the river. One of them put her son Moses in a basket and let him swim. And then Pharaoh's daughter picked him up. And he was her instead of her son. But soon the blood of his true ancestors awakened in him. When he saw an Egyptian beating a Jew, Moses killed the offender. And to escape the wrath of the ruler, he had to flee to the land of Midian. Where he became a cattle breeder and lived with a local priest. There he married Zipphora and she bore him two sons. Much later, Moses will destroy the people of his wife, at the whim of God, as usual.
Once, when Moses was grazing cattle, a god from a burning bush turned to him. The new chosen one of God did not believe in his destiny, after which other miracles were demonstrated to him, such as turning a staff into a snake and back. And great things were foretold to him, and it was said that he would become the liberator of the people of Israel.
He returned to the capital together with Aaron, whom God had appointed as a kind of speechwriter for him. They asked Pharaoh to release the Jews from Egypt into the desert to make sacrifices. But Pharaoh stubbornly refused. And each time God himself hardened his heart. That is, God played his sadistic games with all parties to the conflict at once. Pharaoh must become a toy villain and then the victim of another deity's joke. This will continue to repeat itself many times. The kings or other enemies of the Israeli people always have a bunch of options to resolve the conflict peacefully. But God hardens their hearts. To portray their side as evil. But this is not a conflict between good and evil. It is simply a whim of a deity that is aroused at the sight of bloodshed.
But that time something more interesting happened than a banal massacre. Aaron and the Egyptian priests began to measure their magical abilities. As a person spoiled by modern pop culture, I imagine the magic wands and striped scarves of Hogwarts. Wizards, the rivers were filled with blood, then they sent toads to the country. Moreover, the priests of the pharaoh did not lag behind and easily repeated these spells. True, it is unclear how they distinguished where whose toad, probably, they had a different color, like basketball shirts, only without sponsor labels. In any case, the next day the unfortunate amphibians died, "and gathered them in heaps, and the earth stinks."
As a result, God himself intervened and carried out the Egyptian executions. He sent flies, pestilence, locusts, hail and so on. It is strange, though, that after the fifth execution - a pestilence - from which "all the cattle of Egypt died out." We read about the seventh execution "a very strong hail" beat everything "from man to cattle." The cattle are already dead. Or is he resurrected to die again?
The final execution was the extermination of all the babies in Egypt. The Lord told the Jews to mark houses with the blood of sacrificial animals that should not be touched. Again, it is not clear why he, the omnipotent and all-knowing, needs some human marks. In short, he killed the Egyptian firstborn. In honor of this event, Passover is celebrated, or in our opinion, Easter.
The frightened Pharaoh allowed the Jews to dump, if only this **** ets would stop. Again, a just, kind and honest God gives good advice to his beloved tribe when they are going to leave: “do not go empty-handed: every woman will beg from her neighbor and from her living in the house for silver and gold things, and clothes, and you will dress up with them your sons and your daughters, and you will wrap the Egyptians. "
Then follows the well-known fantastic story with the pursuit and the parting sea, but there is nothing interesting in this. It is much more interesting that the author (or authors, although traditionally the authorship of these texts is attributed to Moses himself) of the Exodus have a very vague idea of ​​Egypt. Most likely, the one who wrote this text knew about the empire from the banks of the Nile by hearsay. He calls the entire Egyptian elite pharaohs indiscriminately. Gives a bunch of unverifiable information and nothing concrete. It is not surprising that Israeli archaeologists, no matter how much they searched, found only confirmation of the obvious fact - the story of the exodus is a fiction, like most texts in the Bible. These stories are not confirmed by the Egyptian chronicles. Agree, it is doubtful that the ancient chroniclers did not notice the great executions of the Almighty. The Egyptians were simply not interested in the wretched nomadic tribe.
During the exodus, Moses dragged his people across the desert for 40 years. They got lost in three palms, probably; Susanin would have envied such skills as a guide. In the desert, they met other tribes, which they began to destroy. There was nothing to eat there, so God poured mysterious cereals on the earth - manna from heaven. And then fried quail. So they ate porridge and quails.
After three months of wandering, God gave Moses tablets with the laws on Mount Sinai. But while the deity painted what to build the ark of the covenant from gold - Aaron and the rest of the tribesmen got bored and created a golden calf for themselves. Going down, Moses was so surprised that he dropped the tablets - then others were handed to him, albeit with different rules. For worshiping the idol, Moses ordered the sons of the family of Levi to take swords and kill their neighbors. Several hundred people were slaughtered in this way. "Whoever offers sacrifice to gods besides the Lord alone, let him be destroyed."
What instructions did God give when making a covenant with Moses? Quite banal do not kill or steal, and not all people were meant, but only fellow tribesmen. Among other guidelines: rules for the sale and purchase of slaves, how to properly sell your daughters, and a bunch of petty agricultural regulations about oxen addressed to cattle breeders, for whom the entire text was written. The famous "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." And the phrase, thanks to which the inquisitors could exterminate the innocent in the Middle Ages: "Do not leave the sorcerers alive." It turns out that these superstitious fanatics along the way believed in corruption and evil eye, and not only in divine miracles.
It also says about circumcision. Yes, circumcision is mandatory for anyone who honors the Biblical text, it is prescribed from above and there were no canceling instructions. And in order for this to be done correctly, this must be done by Moel, whose duties include not only the removal of the foreskin. He is obliged to suck the blood coming out of the genitals of the baby with his mouth. Cases when elderly men sucking on baby pipettes infected children with diseases, sometimes fatal, are not uncommon in our time.
Well, the covenant about greed, prohibits wanting things from a neighbor. And among other things, after the house and the cattle, the wife is named in the listing. Which testifies to the position of women in that society.
God ends up by threatening punishment for those who disobey. One of the terrible punishments is hemorrhoids. In general, no special laws were given that would distinguish the Jewish people from the wildest tribes for the better.

The book of Leviticus, referred to by the Talmudists as the "Sacred Rite", consists almost entirely of prescriptions for sacrifices, instructions for priests and prohibitions. And also some pointers on how to make your food kosher. Food bans are especially funny. It follows from them that God does not like pork and shellfish - accordingly, he forbids them to be eaten, without explanation, it is simply impossible and that is all. The creator of the universe really likes to be petty, he cares about what you eat. Don't eat ham and oysters! There are many “good” reasons for death penalty... For example, those seen in bestiality should be killed, the cattle should also be killed. Although it remains unclear what the animal was guilty of. Probably, she was a depraved goat or a lamb, and made eyes to her shepherd. Homosexuals should be killed in the same way. I am already silent about those who decide to do something on Saturday. For clarification, the Bible even contains a description of the case with a peasant who collected brushwood on Shabbat - for which he was subsequently executed outside the camp by his fellow tribesmen.
Sometimes the prohibitions are so outlandish that one can imagine what customs reigned in this tribe. Especially if people needed to be ordered from above, and even under pain of death, not to **** the cattle.
It is also worth mentioning the idiotic classifications of animal data in the same place. For example, the hare is classified as a ruminant along with goats and cows. And the bat, according to the authors, belongs to birds.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy is like Moses' farewell speech before death. He, who never entered the Promised Land, appoints Joshua as his successor and goes to the mountain, overlooking the land of Israel from which he dies. This book describes the events of the exodus and wanderings in the desert from a different angle, it is more detailed and adult. Later I will analyze in detail why this happened.
For example, this is how Moses describes his passage through the lands of Heshbon. He asked to let the army through from King Sigon, but he refused (again hardened by the deity). Of course, God gave the command to kill everyone. After all, genocide turns him on even more than cataclysms. Further quotation: “The Lord, our God, gave him into our hands: we killed him and his sons, killed all his army. At that time, we took possession of all its cities and cast them into a spell - we destroyed them. In these cities we have exterminated men, women and children, every last one. "
Well done, there is something to be proud of. Naturally, these nonsense do not find any confirmation. Modern preachers love to justify these mythical massacres. Allegedly, wicked people, adulterers and other homosexuals lived in those lands. But this is an absolute fiction. The Bible does not say anything bad about 90 percent of the supposedly exterminated nations. They had to be killed in the name of the Lord. Sacrifice.

Joshua

After the death of Moses, the goddess helps Joshua. Who lived for 110 years and did a lot during this time. Through his epic activities, we can see how the Herem Rule is formed. Yahweh says: “You will destroy all the nations that the Lord your God will deliver into your hands; you must not feel sorry for them. " The Almighty loudly proclaims: "My arrows will be drunk with blood, my sword will devour the flesh." Naturally, this is followed by a series of genocides, and it seems that there will be no end to this bloodbath. So what is the Herem Rule? Roughly speaking, the cities of other nations fall under the spell by orders from above. God wants all living and breathing in those cities to be destroyed. No mercy. They kill men, women, children and even cattle - which serves as a sacrifice to God. Of course, there are connotations in translations - like “completely destroyed”. But the word herem means precisely the complete destruction of all living things, without poetic meaning, only literally. Joshua executes captives, although there are exceptions when he takes cattle for himself. And sometimes he leaves women alive, but only so that they become sex slaves. But the rule of herem does not give the defeated a chance - they cannot surrender, become slaves, accept the faith of the victor, or be expelled. They must be exterminated. The extermination of peoples is considered a sacred rite performed in the name of God. And the one who does this is a hero. It's amazing how you can simultaneously hate Hitler for the Holocaust and extol Joshua. But you are surprised until you understand that the authority of the Holy Scriptures turns even genocide into a noble and righteous deed in the eyes of believers. Maybe - they still realize that they are reading a collection of fairy tales that have nothing to do with historical chronicles.
By the way, many miracles take place during the glorious battles of Joshua. For example, the walls of the city of Jericho are destroyed by the sound of trumpets. But especially funny is the moment when God extended the day so that Jesus could cut out all the enemies on the battlefield. To the wise writers of the time, the sun seemed nothing more than a light bulb in the sphere of the firmament. In fact, in order to prolong the day, the earth's rotation would have to be stopped. If this happened, then everything unsecured would continue to move at the same speed. So I imagine bearded men waving swords, flying into low-earth orbit at a speed of about 1770 km per hour.
Joshua served his master faithfully. He destroyed cities and destroyed peoples without a trace. Although later in the Bible there are all those peoples that he allegedly exterminated. To quote Phillip Jenkins, a professor of history and religious studies: “For example, the Book of Judges, describing later events, argues that the same ethnic groups that Naveen allegedly exterminated are once again interfering with Israel and are unconquered. Back in the 18th century, the English skeptic Thomas Woolston, in this regard, noted: "Either the history of the Book of Judges, or the history of the Book of Joshua is entirely false."
As a more modern skeptic, I would like to point out that both books are false.

David and Solomon

Further, the Bible becomes unbearably boring (although before that it was not fun, but at least the fabulous atmosphere brightened up the general squalor). Because the events described in it are getting closer to our time, it becomes more difficult to lie to the authors.
But most of all, they are repelled by huge genealogies that do not carry any meaning, such as, for example, in the first book of Chronicles - as many as nine chapters, just a listing of names.
Of course, the text continues to be full of exaggerations and fantasies. But all the same, the events described there have, albeit a distant, relation to the historical ones.
Only a few of the most important figures are mentioned. David and his son Solomon - albeit overgrown with myths, but probably existing personalities.
One could tell how the young David defeated the strongman Goliath, one could paint how he fought a partisan as he grew up. Much more important are the reforms that he undertook, both state and religious, when he came to power. We can say that David is the first king of the full-fledged united lands of Israel.
So, he placed the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle on Mount Zion, making this a center of worship and pilgrimage. Under him, the services became more musical, according to legend, he was a poet himself and composed psalms praising Yahweh.
David included priests in the state apparatus, appointing scribes and judges. After all, secularization is for suckers, real macho, in everything they listen to the opinion of the bearded Levites. He also wanted to build a Temple that would house the Ark of the Covenant. He prepared Construction Materials and plans, provided his heir with the means to implement this grandiose plan. He himself was not allowed to start construction because he shed too much blood. You cannot please a capricious deity. Either kill more, or kill too many.
David died at the age of 70. Years of life in the Bible are becoming more realistic.

The image of Solomon is so embellished that it is difficult to discern the historical figure behind all this splendor. He is called the wisest and most talented. They say that he knew how to talk with animals. He is credited with the authorship of the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, the Book of Proverbs and many psalms. For the later periods of Jewish history (the unfortunate people of Israel will again be enslaved and tortured by foreigners), the kingdom of Solomon is the best times. The storytellers endow Solomon with fantastic treasures and a huge harem. In general, if someone else does not understand, Solomon was the coolest, something in between Batman and Superman. True, apart from the Bible, there is no historical evidence of the existence of such a magnificent king in those lands. But nevertheless, by indirect signs, it can be assumed that there was a certain historical person, a certain king, during whose reign the Temple was erected, later destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II.
If you believe some facts-like passages from the Bible and Josephus, who describes many events hundreds of years after their accomplishment, Solomon was not so smart. The high costs of building the Temple and Palace drained the treasury. Under Solomon, uprisings of the peoples began, allegedly destroyed by Moses and Jesus Nun. And immediately after his death, the state was divided in half into Judea and Israel.

Ezra and Nehemiah

As I said earlier, the Jewish people were once again enslaved by stronger neighbors. This time by the Persian Empire. Therefore, the text is full of lamentations. Approximately such: God - why did you punish us so? The writers come to the conclusion that this is a punishment for indulging polytheism, because Solomon built an altar for each of his foreign wives - and there were hundreds of them.
The next really important personalities in the biblical text are the governors of the Judean province, Ezra and Nehemiah.
But first it is worth mentioning King Josiah, who is exalted by these figures and set as an example. Josiah the reformer centralizing the worship of God in Jerusalem. He destroyed the sacred images of the Gentiles, killed the priests right on the altars, and burned their bones on the altars as an offering to his god. In general, he behaved like a typical religious terrorist. Around the level of the Taliban blowing up Buddha statues.
Ezra and Nehemiah already clearly existed. And their actions have a real basis. They were actually making a revolution. Since Ezra's efforts helped to give the Jewish religion a form that was intended to define it for the coming centuries, he can be called the father of Judaism, that is, a certain form of Jewish religion that emerged after the Babylonian captivity.
Josephus Flavius ​​describes Ezra as a personal friend of the Persian king Xerxes. This Jewish high priest, returning from Babylon, successfully recreated the Jewish state structure based on the laws of the Torah. In everything alien to his people - he saw an abomination. In his native land, he sees that the people do not support the sacred alienation from the goim. Men marry foreign women. Ezra was angry and gathered the community. He read to them new law; it is now unknown what exactly he read. But most likely it was something in between the laws of Moses and the Persian jurisprudence of those years.
First of all, Ezra ordered to expel all foreign wives and children with mixed blood. Well, at least not to kill and sacrifice to God - and that's okay. Ezra developed a spiritual discipline based on the sacred texts of the Torah. Around the same time, Deuteronomy was "accidentally discovered", suspiciously clearly supporting all the theses of the reformers. Deuteronomy was instantly attributed to Moses and included in the number of sacred texts. This is how the Pentateuch came into being. The Torah could just be read, but then it was confusing and indigestible. Therefore, they began to read it in the context of rituals that separated the listeners from everyday life. At this point, the text became holy scripture. A religion known as Judaism was born.
Any modern believer who adheres to laws addressed to Bronze Age pastoralists from a semi-desert area seems at least strange. If a modern Jew, at least somehow can relate himself to them, on a national basis, for example. Some European or American - it puzzles me. It is clearly written that God is Jewish, and all other nations are enemies and villains.

Book of Esther

Yahweh appears at the beginning of the book with enviable consistency, but then he does it less and less. He no longer wanders, does not smell, does not condescend to visit sinners. His image is becoming more and more hidden. He doesn't attract attention. And in last book the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Esther, is never mentioned at all. By the way, this book is one of the bloodiest. Of course, it traditionally does not correspond to historical reality and what is described in it did not happen, but it is still worth telling.
The villain Haman plotted against the Jewish people. Then he was bitten and hanged, all his people were exterminated, and without instructions from above. Just out of revenge, "they killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies," who were unlikely to plot against the Israelis. "That was the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested - it was their day of feast and joy." Now it is called the Purim holiday.

There are also several books worth mentioning that stand out from the rest of the biblical text. Additional scriptures consisting of sermons, verses, proverbs, psalms. It is almost impossible to associate them with any specific events or by the authors. These texts have been accumulating for many hundreds of years and added by the compilers of the sacred text for no apparent reason.

The Psalter is a collection of songs praising God that should be sung on certain holidays. Written in the tradition of Jewish poetry. However, the psalms do not stand out that much if you look closely. For example, in 136, an offended enslaved Israelite dreams of the return of the former greatness of Jerusalem, sitting on the banks of a river, somewhere in the Babylonian lands. And he exclaims vengefully: "Blessed is he who will take and break your babies [Babylonian] on a stone!"
In any case, the most beautiful parts of the Bible are the Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. The Book of Ecclesiastes is a unique phenomenon in the composition of the Bible, markedly different from other books included in the canon. She even in some places contradicts the Torah and is full of atypical cynicism and worldly wisdom. For example, about slaves. For the Bible and texts based on it, slavery is the norm. So in Ecclesiastes says that slaves must be beaten if they do not obey the master. But beat moderately, otherwise the dead slave is useless.
And the Song of Songs is an erotic poem. There are few texts in world literature that can compare with this work, praising the bodily beauty of a woman. Expression with a combination of singular and plural the same noun is characteristic of the Hebrew language and usually means the superlative degree of the concept (Holy of Holies, vanity of vanities). Song of Songs means the best of songs.

This story is based on memories of his childhood, family and people around him at that time. The actions described in it take place in the middle of the 19th century. Below is Tolstoy's story "Childhood", a summary.

In contact with

Chapters from I to IV (Teacher Karl Ivanovich, maman, dad, classes)

1. Nikolenka, who turned 10 three days ago, and his brother were brought up and taught by Karl Ivanovich ... The boy loved his teacher, although this morning Karl Ivanitch angered him. The teacher also loved his pupils, but, being in the classroom, he tried to be strict. Karl Ivanovich loved to read a lot, because of this he even ruined his eyesight. After waiting for the boys to take the morning toilet, he took them to greet their mother.
2. In his story, Tolstoy very much regrets that he cannot remember in detail his mother of those times. He remembered only her brown eyes and dry hands with which she caressed Nikolenka in childhood. After greeting the children, mom sent them to dad to tell him to come to her.
3. Dad had serious talk with the bailiff, so he asked to wait a little. Saying hello, dad told the boys his plan that at night he leaves for Moscow and takes them with him for more serious studies. Contrary to Nikolenka's expectations, then dad sent them to classes with Karl Ivanych, promising later to take the boys to hunt.
4. Karl Ivanovich was very upset with the resignation he received, in connection with the departure of his charges. He constantly complained to Uncle Nikolai about his further destiny... Lessons that day, it seemed to Nikolenka, would never end, but then footsteps were heard on the stairs.

Chapters V to VIII (The Holy Fool, preparations for the hunt, hunting, games)

Chapters from IX to XII (Something like the first love. What kind of person was my father? Classes in the study and living room. Grisha)

1. The game stopped immediately after Nikolinka's sister, Lyubochka, plucked a worm from the tree along with a leaf. The children began to watch the worm, and Nikolenka liked to look at Katya (daughter of the governess Lyubochka Mimi) more. He always liked her, but now he realized that he loved her even more. At this time, the boys' father said that at the request of the mother, the departure was postponed until the morning.
2. In the X chapter of his story Tolstoy discusses the character of his father... He characterizes his parent as self-confident, adventurous, with shades of courtesy and revelry. His favorite pastime was playing cards, and he also loved women. His father was a happy man, Tolstoy considered. He loved to be in public, he could tell a lot and interesting stories.
3. When we returned home from hunting, dad, after talking with Karl Ivanovich, decided to take him with him to Moscow. Maman approved this news, saying that the children will be better with him, and they are used to each other. Before going to bed, the children decided to see the chains of Grisha, who spent the night on the second floor.
4. Watching Grisha praying before bedtime made such an impression on the boy that Tolstoy writes about the impossibility of forgetting these feelings for the rest of his life.

Chapters XIII to XVI (Natalya Savishna, separation, childhood, poetry)

Chapters from XVII to XX (Princess Kornakova, Prince Ivan Ivanovich, Ivin, guests are gathering)

1. Then the grandmother received Princess Kornakov with her congratulations. They had a conversation about the methods of raising children. The princess welcomed corporal punishment in education. Nikolenka thought it was good that he was not her son.
2. There were a lot of guests with congratulations on this day. But Nikolenka was struck by one of them - this is Prince Ivan Ivanovich... He looked at the prince with admiration and respect. He liked that his grandmother was glad to see the prince. After listening to the boy's poems, he praised him and said that he would be another Derzhavin.
3. Further, Ivina's relatives came. They had a son, Seryozha, who liked Nikolenka very much. He sometimes even tried to imitate him. Children began to play their favorite game - robbers.
4. Meanwhile, guests began to gather in the drawing room and the hall. Among them was Ms. Valakhina with her daughter Sonechka. Nikolenka was not indifferent to Sonechka and she occupied all his attention.

In 1836, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin wrote the story “ Captain's daughter", Which was a historical description of the Pugachev uprising. In his work, Pushkin was based on the real events of 1773-1775, when, under the leadership of Yemelyan Pugachev (False Tsar Peter Fedorovich), the Yaik Cossacks, who took escaped convicts, thieves and villains as their servants, began peasant war... Pyotr Grinev and Maria Mironova are fictional characters, but their fates very truthfully reflect the grievous time of the brutal civil war.

Pushkin designed his story in a realistic form in the form of notes from the diary of the protagonist Pyotr Grinev, made years after the uprising. The lyrics of the work are interesting in their presentation - Grinev writes his diary at a mature age, rethinking everything he has experienced. At the time of the uprising, he was a young nobleman loyal to his Empress. He looked at the rebels as at savages who were fighting with particular cruelty against the Russian people. In the course of the story, it can be seen how the heartless chieftain Pugachev, who executed dozens of honest officers, eventually, by the will of fate, wins favor in Grinev's heart and acquires sparks of nobility in his eyes.

Chapter 1. Sergeant of the Guard

At the beginning of the story, the main character Pyotr Grinev tells the reader about his young life. He - the only survivor of 9 children of a retired major and a poor noblewoman, lived in a middle-class noble family. In fact, an old servant was involved in the upbringing of the young master. Peter's education was low, since his father, a retired major, hired the immoral French hairdresser Beaupré as a tutor. For drunkenness and depraved actions he was expelled from the estate. And his father decided to send 17-year-old Petrusha to serve in Orenburg (instead of St. Petersburg, where he was supposed to serve in the guard) through old connections, and attached Savelich's old servant to him for supervision. Petrusha was upset, because instead of partying in the capital, he was waiting for a dull existence in the wilderness. During a stopover, the young master made an acquaintance with the rake-captain Zurin, because of whom, under the pretext of training, he became involved in playing billiards. Then Zurin offered to play for money, and as a result, Petrusha lost as much as 100 rubles - a lot of money at that time. Savelich, being the keeper of the lord's "treasury", is against Peter paying the debt, but the master insists. The servant is indignant, but gives the money.

Chapter 2. Counselor

In the end, Peter is ashamed of his loss and promises Savelich not to gamble anymore. Ahead awaits them long road, and the servant forgives the master. But because of Petrusha's indiscretion, they again find themselves in trouble - the approaching storm did not embarrass the young man and he ordered the driver not to return. As a result, they lost their way and nearly froze. For good luck, they met a stranger who helped the lost travelers to go to the inn.

Grinev recalls how then, tired of the journey, he had a dream in the wagon, which he called prophetic: he sees his house and his mother, who says that his father is dying. Then he sees an unfamiliar man with a beard in his father's bed, and his mother says that he is her named husband. The stranger wants to give the "father's" blessing, but Peter refuses and then the man takes up the ax, and corpses appear around. He does not touch Peter.

They drive up to an inn that looks like a thieves' haven. The stranger, frozen in the cold in one army jacket, asks Petrusha for wine, and he treats him. A strange conversation took place between the man and the owner of the house in the thieves' language. Peter does not understand the meaning, but everything he heard seems very strange to him. Leaving the shelter, Peter, to Savelich's next displeasure, thanked the guide by presenting him with a hare sheepskin coat. To which the stranger bowed, saying that the age will not forget such a mercy.

When Peter finally gets to Orenburg, his father's colleague, having read the cover letter with instructions to keep the young man "in tight knit gloves," sends him to serve in the Belgorod Fortress - an even greater wilderness. This could not but upset Peter, who had long dreamed of a guard uniform.

Chapter 3. Fortress

The master of the Belgorod garrison was Ivan Kuzmich Mironov, but his wife, Vasilisa Yegorovna, actually ran everything. Simple and sincere people immediately liked Grinev. The middle-aged couple Mironovs had a daughter Masha, but so far their acquaintance has not taken place. In the fortress (which turned out to be a simple village), Peter meets the young lieutenant Alexei Ivanovich Shvabrin, who was exiled here from the guards for a duel that ended in the death of the enemy. Shvabrin, having a habit of speaking unflatteringly about others, often spoke sarcastically about Masha, the captain's daughter, making her a complete fool. Then Grinev himself meets the commander's daughter and questions the lieutenant's statements.

Chapter 4. Duel

By nature, the kind and complacent Grinev began to be friends with the commandant and his family more and more closely, and moved away from Shvabrin. The daughter of the captain, Masha, did not have a dowry, but turned out to be a charming girl. Peter did not like Shvabrin's sharp remarks. Inspired by thoughts of a young girl on quiet evenings, he began to write poems to her, the content of which he shared with a friend. But he ridiculed him, and even more began to humiliate Masha's dignity, assuring that she would come at night to the one who would give her a pair of earrings.

As a result, the friends quarreled, and it came to a duel. Vasilisa Yegorovna, the commandant's wife, found out about the duel, but the duelists pretended to make up, deciding to postpone the meeting the next day. But in the morning, as soon as they had time to draw their swords, Ivan Ignatyevich and 5 disabled people were taken under escort to Vasilisa Yegorovna. After scolding them properly, she let them go. In the evening Masha, disturbed by the news of the duel, told Peter about Shvabrin's unsuccessful matchmaking to her. Now Grinev understood his motives for behavior. The duel did take place. Confident swordsman Peter, taught at least something worthwhile by Beaupre's tutor, turned out to be a strong opponent for Shvabrin. But Savelich appeared at the duel, Peter hesitated for a second and was eventually wounded.

Chapter 5. Love

The wounded Peter was nursed by his servant and Masha. As a result, the duel brought the young people closer together, and they kindled with mutual love for each other. Wanting to marry Masha, Grinev sends a letter to his parents.

Grinev made up with Shvabrin. Peter's father, learning about the duel and not wanting to hear about the marriage, was furious and sent his son an angry letter, where he threatened to transfer from the fortress. Perplexed how his father could find out about the duel, Peter lashed out at Savelich with accusations, but he himself received a letter with the displeasure of the owner. Grinev finds only one answer - Shvabrin reported the duel. The father's refusal of the blessing does not change Peter's intentions, but Masha does not agree to secretly marry. For a while, they move away from each other, and Grinev understands that unhappy love can deprive him of his reason and lead to debauchery.

Chapter 6. Pugachevshchina

Anxiety begins in the Belgorod Fortress. Captain Mironov receives an order from the general to prepare the fortress for an attack by rioters and robbers. Emelyan Pugachev, who called himself Peter III, escaped from custody and terrified the surroundings. According to rumors, he had already captured several fortresses and was approaching Belgorod. It was not necessary to count on victory with 4 officers and army "invalids". Alarmed by rumors about the seizure of a nearby fortress and the execution of officers, Captain Mironov decided to send Masha and Vasilisa Yegorovna to Orenburg, where the fortress is stronger. The captain's wife speaks out against leaving, and decides not to leave her husband in difficult times. Masha says goodbye to Peter, but she fails to leave the fortress.

Chapter 7. Attack

Ataman Pugachev appears at the walls of the fortress and offers to surrender without a fight. The commandant Mironov, having learned about the betrayal of the sergeant and several Cossacks who joined the rebel clan, does not agree to the proposal. He punishes his wife to dress Masha as a commoner and take the priest to the hut, while he himself opens fire on the rebels. The battle ends with the capture of the fortress, which, together with the city, passes into the hands of Pugachev.

Right at the commandant's house, Pugachev inflicts reprisals on those who refused to give him the oath. He orders the execution of Captain Mironov and Lieutenant Ivan Ignatyich. Grinev decides that he will not swear allegiance to the robber and will accept an honest death. However, Shvabrin approaches Pugachev and whispers something in his ear. The chieftain decides not to ask for the oath, ordering all three to be hanged. But the old faithful servant Savelich rushes to the feet of the chieftain, and he agrees to pardon Grinev. Ordinary soldiers and residents of the city take the oath of allegiance to Pugachev. As soon as the oath ended, Pugachev decided to dine, but the Cossacks dragged the naked Vasilisa Yegorovna by the hair out of the commandant's house, where they were robbing property, who was shouting for her husband and cursing the convict. Ataman ordered to kill her.

Chapter 8. An uninvited guest

Grinev's heart is out of place. He understands that if the soldiers find out that Masha is here and alive, she cannot avoid reprisals, especially since Shvabrin took the side of the rebels. He knows that the beloved is hiding in the house of the priest. In the evening, the Cossacks came, sent to take him to Pugachev. Although Peter did not accept the Liar's offer of all kinds of honors for the oath, the conversation between the rebel and the officer was friendly. Pugachev remembered goodness and now granted Peter freedom in response.

Chapter 9. Parting

The next morning, Pugachev, in front of the people, called Peter to him and told him to go to Orenburg and report his offensive in a week. Savelich began to bother about the looted property, but the villain said that he would let him go to the sheepskin coats for such insolence. Grinev and his servant leave Belogorsk. Pugachev appoints Shvabrin as commandant, and he himself sets out for his next exploits.

Pyotr and Savelich are walking, but one of Pugachev's gang caught up with them and said that His Majesty favored them with a horse and a sheepskin coat, but half a dollar, but he allegedly lost it.
Masha took to her bed and lay in delirium.

Chapter 10. Siege of the city

Arriving in Orenburg, Grinev immediately reported on the deeds of Pugachev in the Belgorod fortress. A council came together, at which everyone except Peter voted for defense, not attack.

A long siege begins - hunger and want. Peter, on his next sortie into the enemy's camp, receives a letter from Masha, in which she begs to save her. Shvabrin wants to marry her and keeps her in captivity. Grinev goes to the general with a request to give half a company of soldiers to save the girl, which is refused. Then Peter decides to help out his beloved alone.

Chapter 11. Rebellious settlement

On the way to the fortress, Peter falls into the guard of Pugachev and is taken for interrogation. Grinev honestly talks about everything about his plans to the troublemaker and says that he is free to do whatever he wants with him. Pugachev's thugs advisors propose to execute the officer, but he says, "to have mercy, so mercy."

Together with the robber ataman, Peter goes to the Belgorod fortress, on the way they have a conversation. The rebel says that he wants to go to Moscow. Peter in his heart pity him, begging him to surrender at the mercy of the empress. But Pugachev knows that it is too late, and says, come what may.

Chapter 12. Orphan

Shvabrin holds the girl on water and bread. Pugachev has mercy on the self-willed, but from Shvabrin he learns that Masha is the daughter of a non-sworn commandant. At first he is furious, but Peter, with his sincerity, and this time gains favor.

Chapter 13. Arrest

Pugachev gives Peter a pass to all the outposts. Happy lovers go to their parents' house. They confused the army convoy with the Pugachev traitors and were arrested. Grinev recognized the head of the outpost as Zurin. He said that he was going home to get married. He discourages him, assuring him to stay in the service. Peter himself understands that duty calls him. He sends Masha and Savelich to their parents.

The military actions of the detachments that came to the rescue broke the bandit plans. But Pugachev could not be caught. Then there were rumors that he was raging in Siberia. Zurin's squad is sent to suppress another outbreak. Grinev recalls the unfortunate villages plundered by savages. The troops had to take away what the people could save. The news came that Pugachev was caught.

Chapter 14. Judgment

Grinev, on the denunciation of Shvabrin, was arrested as a traitor. He could not justify himself by love, fearing that Masha would also be interrogated. The Empress, taking into account the merits of her father, pardoned him, but sentenced him to exile for life. My father was on fire. Masha decided to go to Petersburg and ask the Empress for her beloved.

By the will of fate, Mary meets the Empress in the early autumn morning and tells her everything, not knowing who she is talking to. On the same morning, a cabman was sent after her to the house of a society lady, where Masha settled for a while, with the order to deliver Mironov's daughter to the palace.

There Masha saw Catherine II and recognized her as her companion.

Grinev was freed from hard labor. Pugachev was executed. Standing on the block in the crowd, he saw Grinev and nodded.

The reunited loving hearts continued the Grinyov family, and in their Simbirsk province, under glass, was kept a letter from Catherine II pardoning Peter and praising Mary for her intelligence and kind heart.