All 15 Uses of

abstract

in

War and Peace

It was evident that Prince Andrew was not interested in such abstract conversation.†
Chpt 1 *

"I…. hope…. for guidance…. help…. in regeneration," said Pierre, with a trembling voice and some difficulty in utterance due to his excitement and to being unaccustomed to speak of abstract matters in Russian.†
Chpt 5

Pierre during the last two years, as a result of his continual absorption in abstract interests and his sincere contempt for all else, had acquired in his wife's circle, which did not interest him, that air of unconcern, indifference, and benevolence toward all, which cannot be acquired artificially and therefore inspires involuntary respect.†
Chpt 6

There are two sides to the life of every man, his individual life, which is the more free the more abstract its interests, and his elemental hive life in which he inevitably obeys laws laid down for him.†
Chpt 9

Pfuel was one of those hopelessly and immutably self-confident men, self-confident to the point of martyrdom as only Germans are, because only Germans are self-confident on the basis of an abstract notion—science, that is, the supposed knowledge of absolute truth.†
Chpt 9

Princess Mary roused him from his abstraction by drawing his attention to her nephew who had entered the room.†
Chpt 15 *

Nicholas glanced at her and, wishing to appear not to notice her abstraction, made some remark to Mademoiselle Bourienne and then again looked at the princess.†
Chpt 15

She attributed immense importance to all her husband's intellectual and abstract interests though she did not understand them, and she always dreaded being a hindrance to him in such matters.†
Chpt 15

Instead of the former divinely appointed aims of the Jewish, Greek, or Roman nations, which ancient historians regarded as representing the progress of humanity, modern history has postulated its own aims—the welfare of the French, German, or English people, or, in its highest abstraction, the welfare and civilization of humanity in general, by which is usually meant that of the peoples occupying a small northwesterly portion of a large continent.†
Chpt 15

Met by this difficulty historians of that class devise some most obscure, impalpable, and general abstraction which can cover all conceivable occurrences, and declare this abstraction to be the aim of humanity's movement.†
Chpt 15

Met by this difficulty historians of that class devise some most obscure, impalpable, and general abstraction which can cover all conceivable occurrences, and declare this abstraction to be the aim of humanity's movement.†
Chpt 15

Postulating some generalization as the goal of the movement of humanity, the historians study the men of whom the greatest number of monuments have remained: kings, ministers, generals, authors, reformers, popes, and journalists, to the extent to which in their opinion these persons have promoted or hindered that abstraction.†
Chpt 15

If the realm of human knowledge were confined to abstract reasoning, then having subjected to criticism the explanation of "power" that juridical science gives us, humanity would conclude that power is merely a word and has no real existence.†
Chpt 15

But to understand phenomena man has, besides abstract reasoning, experience by which he verifies his reflections.†
Chpt 15

In regard to this question, history stands to the other sciences as experimental science stands to abstract science.†
Chpt 15

Definitions:

(abstract as in: abstract thought)
of a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance

(abstract as in: read the abstract)
a summary; or to summarize -- especially academic writing