Idleness (writes Tolstoy) — the absence of work — was a condition of man's first blessedness before the Fall. Now we are cursed by guilt feelings when we are not working, and rarely can we feel we do our duty and be idle at the same time. Tolstoy observes that only during military duties can we approximate this state of"primitive blessedness," and this irreproachable idleness is one source of Nikolay Rostov's contentment as he serves in the now-inactive Pavlograd hussars, a captain of the regiment Denisov used to command. Upsetting and urgent letters from home mar Nikolay's happiness at this time. His mother pressures him to return to Otradnoe to straighten out their pressing financial problems. Finally, when he hears that their properties are to be auctioned off, Nikolay returns home.
He finds his favorite sister basically unchanged despite her engagement, and Sonya, in the full bloom of her 20 years, is as lovely as she will ever be. Nikolay devotes himself to a serious examination of the family's business accounts but cannot make head or tail out of the complicated entries. Helplessly, he contents himself with abusing the crafty steward and then ignores the whole matter, devoting himself instead to the pleasures of hunting, which are carried out on a grand scale at his father's estates.
Tolstoy now indulges in a long, joyous description (six chapters) of a wolf hunt, in which even Natasha and their younger brother Petya participate. Altogether there are more than 20 horsemen and 130 dogs. Nikolay finds nothing more delightful and absorbing than to gallop across the fields chasing his prey. When evening falls, the hunting party puts up at the estate of their distant relative whom they call"Uncle." After a splendid dinner Uncle plays his guitar and Natasha abandons herself to a gypsy dance. Still later, the Rostov children, bundled in furs, drive home through the starry night. Sitting side by side, Natasha and Nikolay talk over the day's events. She suddenly gives a musical, causeless laugh. Suddenly serious, Natasha says"I know I shall never be as happy, as peaceful, as I am now." Aloud, Nikolay says,"Nonsense!" but he wishes to himself she would never marry and thinks he will never find another friend like Natasha.
