At a way station where he awaits fresh horses to take him the rest of the journey to Petersburg, Pierre sits in meditation on what life is for, what one must love or hate, and what is right and wrong. The old man who joins him and recognizes him begins to talk on these very problems. Pierre must seek God, the stranger says, and like Adam, strive to comprehend Him. The way is not through wisdom and reason but through the experience of the"inner man." Pierre must give up his parasitic way of life, purify his soul through solitude and self-contemplation, and then devote himself to serving his neighbor. The old man is Osip Alexyevitch Bazdyev, one of the best known Martinists and freemasons in Russia, and he invites the receptive Pierre to become a member of the order. Pierre feels elated and believes freemasonry will provide him with the answers he seeks.
After a week of solitude in Petersburg, Pierre is conducted to his initiation in the brotherhood. Blindfolded, awed, and reverential, he hears the rhetor unfold the mysteries of the order. The object of freemasonry is"to combat the evil paramount in the world" by offering an example of piety and virtue. Despite the unreality of the ceremony, Pierre feels restored and blissful; he is prepared for a life of goodness. When the blindfold is removed, Bezuhov is welcomed into the brotherhood by many acquaintances of his social set.
He now feels as changed and refreshed as if returning home from a long journey. Pierre spends the next few days studying books on masonry and dreams how he will begin a career of"good works" by improving the lot of his peasants. Prince Vassily interrupts his meditations one day, breezily dictating a letter of reconciliation Pierre must write to Ellen. He is shown the door without any explanation.
