Library

This book collects Herzen's articles written before and after the revolution of 1847-1850. It is a narrative of Herzen's spiritual exploration before and after the French Revolution of 1848, including "For My Son Alexander", "Before the Thunderstorm (Conversation on the Deck)", "After the Thunderstorm", "57th Anniversary of the Republic (Consent and Indivisibility)", "Living a Lifetime", "Comfort", "The End of 1849" and other articles.

"Past and Thoughts" is a masterpiece of spiritual history and a memoir written by Herzen with blood and tears. The coverage of the book is quite wide, from the Patriotic War of 1812, the Decembrist uprising, the life and thoughts of advanced Russian intellectuals in the 1840s, the revolutionary situation in Europe in 1848, the bloody suppression of the masses by the bourgeois regime, until the 1850s. The activities and sectarian struggles of the exiles in various countries in London in the 1860s, the social and political landscape of Russia in the 1860s, and the growth of a new generation of revolutionaries-the "young helmsmen of the future storm" as Herzen called them-covered almost the entire historical period from the early 19th century to the eve of the Paris Commune. Herzen's experience in Russia brought him into contact with all kinds of people, from princes and ministers to traffickers and pawns. His descriptions constituted an "encyclopedia of Russian life." After he came to Western Europe, he encountered the revolutionary climax of 1848, witnessed the magnificent scenes of European national democratic movements, and also experienced the tragic scenes after the failure of the struggle. Herzen was not only an artist, but also a political commentator. He had both revolutionary passion and compassion. In his works, he showed a noble soul who was not afraid of oppression and persecution and fought bravely against the waves of history. There is also a lot of inspiration and inspiration for people today.