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The Commoner.
MAT 28, 1901 '
1
EDUCATIONAL SERIES
TOLSTOY, THE APOSTLE OF LOVE
Tho widespread publication of Theodore
Roosevelt's attack, through an editorial in tho
Outlook, upon Count Tolstoy will give The Com
moner readers particular interest in the facts
concerning this good man. When Mr. Bryan
visited Russia he called upon Tolstoy, and the
following letter describes Tolstoy as Mr. Bryan
saw him:
Tolstoy, the apostle of love
Count Leo Tolstoy, the intellectual giant of
Russia, the moral Titan of Europe and the
world's most conspicuous exponent of the doc
trine of love, is living a life of quiet i-etlrement
upon his estate near the village of Yasnaya,
Poliana, about one hundred and thirty miles
south of Moscow.
I made a visit to the home of this pleasant
philosopher during my stay in Russia, driving
from Tula in the early morning and arriving
just after daylight. Consul General Smith of
Moscow arranged with Count Tolstoy for the
visit. I had intended remaining only a few
hours, but his welcome was so cordial that, my
stay waB prolonged until near midnight. Count
Tolstoy is now about seventy-six years old, and
while he shows the advance of years he is still
full of mental vigor and retains much of his
physical strength. As an illustration of the
latter I might refer to the horseback ride and
walk which we took together in the afternoon.
The ride covered about four miles and the walk
about two. When we reached the house the
count said that he would take a little rest, and
insisted that I should do likewise. A few min
utes later, when I expressed to the count's
physician, Dr. Burkenheim, the fear that he
might have overtaxed his strength, the doctor
smilingly assured me that the count usually
took more exercise, but had purposely lessened
his allowance that day, fearing that he might
fatigue me. ' '
Count Tolstoy is an Impressive figure. His
years have only slightly bowed his broad
shoulders and his step is still alert. In height
lie is about five feet eight, his head is large and
his abundant hair is not yet wholly white. His
large blue eyes are set wide apart and are shaded
by heavy eyebrows. His forehead is unusually
wide and high. He wears a long, full beard
that gives him a patriarchal appearance. The
(mouth is large and the lips full. The nose is
father long and the nostrils wide. The hands
are muscular, and the grasp bespeaks warmth
of heart. The count dresses like the peasants
bt his country, wearing a grayish-blue blouse
belted in at the waist, with skirts reaching near
ly to the boot-tops. His trousers, also of the
peasant style, are inclined to be baggy and are
stuffed into his boots. I was informed that
the count never wears any other dress, even
when other members of the family are enter
taining guests in evening clothes.
The room which I occupied was the one used
by the count as a study in his younger days,
and I was shown a ring in the ceiling from
which at tho age of forty-eight he planned to
hang himself a plan from which he turned by
the resolve to change the manner and purpose
of his life. As is well known, Count Tolstoy
is a member of the Russian nobility and for
nearly fifty years led the life of a nobleman.
He early achieved fame as a novelist, his "War
and Peace," which was written when he was
but a young man, being considered one of tho
literary masterpieces pf the century. Ho sound
ed all the "depths and shoals of honor" In tho
literary and social world; he realized all that
one could wish or expect In these lines, but
found that success did not satisfy the cravings
of the inner man. While he was meditating
upon what he had: come to regard as a wasted
life, a change came over him, and with a faith
that has never faltered he turned about and
entered upon a career that has been unique In
hiBtory. He donned the simple garb of a peas
ant, and, living frugally, haB devoted himself
to philosophy and unremunerative work that
is, unremunerative from a financial standpoint,
although he declares that it has brought him
more genuine enjoyment that he ever knew be
fore. All of his books written since this change
In his life have been given to the public with
out copyright, except in one instance, when the
proceeds of "Resurrection"- were pledged to tho
aid of the Russian Quakers, called Doukhobors,
whom tho count assisted to emigrate from their
persecution In Russia to western Canada, whore
they now reside. As an evidence of tho count's
complete renunciation of all money considera
tions, it is stated that ho has declined an offer
of $500,000 for the copyright of tho books writ
ten Ty him before his life current was altered.
My object in visiting him was not so much
to learn his views for his opinions have had
wide expression and can be found in his numer
ous essays but it was rather to see tho man
and ascertain if I could, from personal contact,
learn the secret of tho tremendous influence
that he is exerting upon tho thought of tho
world. I am satisfied that, notwithstanding his
great intellect, his colossal strength lies in his
heart more than in his mind. It is true that
few have equaled him in power of analysis and
in clearness of statement, whilo none have sur
passed him In beauty and aptness of Illustra
tion. But no ono can commune with him with
out feeling that the man is like an overflowing
spring asking nothing, but giving always. Ho
preaches self-abnegation and has demonstrated
to his own satisfaction that there is more gen
uine Joy In living for others than In living upon
others more happiness in serving than in be
ing served.
The purpose of life, as defined by him, has
recently been quoted by Mr. Ernest Crosby in
"The Open Court." It reads as follows:
"Life then Is tho activity of the animal in
dividuality working In submission to the law
of reason. Reason shows man that happiness
can not be obtained by a self-life and leaves
only one outlet open for him and that Is love.
Love is the only legitimate manifestation of
life, it is an activity and has for Its object
the good of others. When It makes its appear
ance the meaningless strife of the animal life
.ceases."
. Love Is tho dominant noto In Count Tolstoy's
philosophy. It la not only the only weapon
of defense which ho recognizes, but it is the
only means by which ho would influence others.
It is both his shield and his sword. He is a deeply
religious man, notwithstanding tho fact that
he was a few years ago excommunicated by tho
Russian church. In one of his essays he has
defined religion as follows:
"True religion Is a relation, accordant with
reason and knowledge, which man establishes
with the infinite life surrounding him, and It
is such as binds his life to that infinity, and
guides his conduct."
He not only takes his stand boldly upon the
side of spiritual, as distinguished from material,
philosophy, but ho administers a rebuke to those
who assume that religious sentiment is an In
dication of intellectual weakness or belongs to
the lower stages of man's development. In his
essay on "Religion and Morality," to which he
referred me for his opinion on this subject, he
says:
"Moreover, every man who has ever, even In
childhood, experienced religious feelings, knows
by personal experience that it was -evoked in
him, not by external, terrifying, material phen
omena, but by an inner consciousness, which
had nothing to do with the fear of the un
known forces of nature a consciousness of his
own insignificance, loneliness and guilt. And,
therefore, both by external observation and by
personal experience, man may know that relig
ion is not tho worship of gods, evoked by super
stitious fear of the invisible forces of nature,
proper to men only at a certain period of their
development;, but is something quite indepen-
dent either of fear or of their degree of educa
tion a something that can not be destroyed
by any development of culture. For man's con
sciousness of his finitencss amid an Infinite uni
verse, and of his sinfulness (i. e., of his not
having done all he might and should have done)
has always existed and will exist as long as man
remains man."
If leligion is an expression of "man's con
sciousness of his finiteness amid an infinite uni
verse, and of his sinfulness," it can not be out
grown until one believes himself to have reached
perfection and to possess all knowledge, and
observation teaches us that those who hold this
opinion of themselves are not the farthest ad
vanced, but simply lack that comprehension of
tholr own Ignorance and frailty which Is the
very beginning of progress.
Count Tolstoy is an advocato of tho doctrine
of non-rcsistanco. Ho not only believes that
evil can bo overcome by good, but ho denies that
it can bo overcome in any other way. I asked
him several questions on tho subject, and the
following dialogue presents his vlows:
Q. Do you draw any lino between tho use
of force to avongo an Injury already received,
and the use of force to protect yourself from
Injury about to bo inflicted?
A. No. Instead of using vlolenco to pro
toct myself, I ought rathor to express my sorrow
that I had done anything that would make any
one desire to Injure mo.
Q. Do you draw a lino between tho use of
force to protect a right and tho use of force to
creato a right?
A. No. That is tho excuse generally given
for tho use of violence. Men insist that they
are simply defending a right, when, in fact, thoy
are trying to secure something that thoy desire
and to which they aro not entitled. Tho use of
violence Is not necessary to secure one's rights;
there aro more effective means.
Q. Do you draw any distinction botween tho
use of force to protect yourself and tho use of
force to protect someono under your caro a
child, for Instance?
A. No. As wo do not attain entirely to our
ideals, wo might find it difllcult in such a caso
not to resort to tho use of forco, but It would
not bo Justifiable, and, besides, rules can not bo
made for such exceptional casos. Millions of
people have been tho victims of forco and havo
suffered because it has boon thought right to
employ it; but I am now old and I havo novor
known In all my life a single instance In which
a child was attacked in such a way that It
would have been necessary for mo to use forco
for its protection. I prefer to consider actual
rather than imaginary cases.
I found later that this last question had been
answered in a letter on non-resistance addressed
to Mr. Ernest Crosby, In 1896 (Included in a
llttlo volume of Tolstoy's Essays and Letters,
recently published by Grant Richards, Leicester
Square, London, and reprinted by Funk & Wag
nails of New York). In this letter ho says:
"None of us has ever yet met tho imaginary
robber with the imaginary child, but all tho
horrors which fill tho annals of history and pf
our own times came and como from this ono
thing that people will believe that thoy can
foresee the results of hypothetical futuro
actions."
When I visited him he was just finishing an
introduction to a biographical sketch of William
Lloyd Garrison, his attention having boon called
to Garrison by the latter's advocacy of the doc
trine of non-resistance.
Tolstoy, in ono of his strongest essays that
he has written an essay entitled "Industry and
Idleness" elaborates and defends tho doctrine
advanced by a Russian named Bondaref, to the
Effect that each individual should labor with
his hands, at least to tho extent of producing
his own food. I referred to this and asked him
for a brief statement of his reasons. He said
that it was necessary for ono to engage In man
ual labor in order to keep himself In sympathy
With those who toil, and he described the pro
cess by which people first relievo themselves
of the necessity of physical exertion and then
come to look with a sort of contempt upon those
who find it necessary to work with their hands.
He believes that a lack of sympathy lies at the
root of most of the injustice which men suffer
at tho hands of their fellows. He holds that it
is not sufficient that one can remember a time
when he earned his bread in the sweat of his
brow, but that ho must continue to know what
physical fatigue means and what drudgery is,
in order that ho may rightly estimate his brother
and deal with him as a brother. In addition to
this ho says that when ono begins to live upon
tho labor of others, he is never quite sure that
he is earning his living. Let me quote his lan
guage: "If you use more than you produce you can
not be quite content, if you are a conscientious
man. Who can know how much I work? It
Is impossible. A man must work as much as
he can with his hands, taking the most difllcult
and disagreeable tasks, that is. If he wishes to
have a quiet conscience. Mental work is much
easier than physical work, despite what is said
to the contrary. No work is too humble, too
disagreeable to do. No man ought to dodge
work. If I dodge work I feel guilty. There
are some people who think they are so precious
that other people must do the dirty, disagreeable
work for them. Every man is so vain as to
think his own work the most Important. That
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