War and Peace (6)

Tolstoy on the Public Good

Ever since the world has existed and men have killed one another, a man has never committed such a crime against his fellow without consoling himself with the idea. That idea is le bien publique, the supposed public good of one. To a man not swayed by passion this good never seems certain, but a man who has committed such a crime always knows positively where the public good lies (War and Peace p.1019).