material from the ,google ,print        
project47                               
,,the ,,international ,,library         
,,now ,,ready                           
,bloch's ,the ,future of ,war           
,price1 #ej cents2 by mail1 #fe cents   
,charles ,sumner's ,addresses on ,war   
,price1 #ej cents2 by mail1 #fj cents   
,channing's ,discourses on ,war         
,price1 #ej cents2 by mail1 #fj cents   
,edited with introductions by ,edwin ,d4
 ,mead4            ,published for the   
,international ,union by ,ginn          
,company1 ,boston4                      
,,bethink ,,yourselves6                 
,,by                              ,,leo 
,,tolstoi                               
,,published ,,for ,,the ,,international 
,,union                         ,,ginn  
,,company1 ,,boston                     
#aijd                     ,reprinted    
from the ,london ,times                 
,translated by ,v4 ,tchertkoff1 ,editor 
of the ,free ,age ,press1               
and ,i4 ,f4 ,m4                         

,,bethink ,,yourselves6     ,this is    
your hour1 and the power of             
darkness4--,luke xxii4 #ec4             
,i   ,again war4 ,again sufferings1     
necessary to nobody1 utterly uncalled   
for2 again fraud2 again the universal   
stupefaction and brutalization of men4  
,men who are separated from each other  
by thousands of miles1 hundreds of      
thousands of such men 7on the one       
hand--,buddhists1 whose law forbids the 
killing1 not only of men1 but of        
animals2 on the other hand--,christians1
 professing the law of brotherhood and  
love7 like wild beasts on land and on   
sea are seeking out each other1 in order
 to kill1 torture1 and mutilate each    
other in the most cruel way4 ,what can  
this be8 ,is it a dream or a reality8   
,something is taking place which should 
not1 cannot be2 one longs to believe    
that it is a dream and to awake from it4
 ,but no1 it is not a dream1 it is a    
dreadful reality6  ,one could yet       
understand how a poor1 uneducated1      

defrauded ,japanese1 torn from his field
 and taught that ,buddhism consists not 
in compassion to all that lives1 but in 
sacrifices to idols1 and how a similar  
poor illiterate fellow from the         
neighborhood of ,toula or ,nijni        
,novgorod1 who has been taught that     
,christianity consists in worshipping   
,christ1 the ,madonna1 ,saints1 and     
their ikons--one could understand how   
these unfortunate men1 brought by the   
violence and deceit of centuries to     
recognize the greatest crime in the     
world--the murder of one's brethren--as 
a virtuous act1 can commit these        
dreadful deeds1 without regarding       
themselves as being guilty in so doing4 
,but how can so-called enlightened men  
preach war1 support it1 participate in  
it1 and1 worst of all1 without suffering
 the dangers of war themselves1 incite  
others to it1 sending their unfortunate 
defrauded brothers to fight8 ,these     
so-called enlightened men cannot        
possibly ignore1 ,i do not say the      

,christian law1 if they recognize       
themselves to be ,christians1 but all   
that has been written1 is being written1
 has and is being said1 about the       
cruelty1 futility1 and senselessness of 
war4 ,they are regarded as enlightened  
men precisely because they know all     
this4 ,the majority of them have        
themselves written and spoken about     
this4 ,not to mention ,the ,hague       
,conference1 which called forth         
universal praise1 or all the books1     
pamphlets1 newspaper articles1 and      
speeches demonstrating the possibility  
of the solution of international        
misunderstandings by international      
arbitration--no enlightened man can help
 knowing that the universal competition 
in the armaments of ,states must        
inevitably lead them to endless wars1 or
 to a general bankruptcy1 or to both the
 one and the other4 ,they cannot but    
know that besides the senseless1        
purposeless expenditure of milliards of 
roubles1 i4e4 of human labor1 on the    

preparations for war1 during the wars   
themselves millions of the most         
energetic and vigorous men perish in    
that period of their life which is best 
for productive labor 7during the past   
century wars have destroyed fourteen    
million men74 ,enlightened men cannot   
but know that occasions for war are     
always such as are not worth not only   
one human life1 but not one hundredth   
part of all that which is spent upon    
wars 7in fighting for the emancipation  
of the negroes much more was spent than 
it would have cost to redeem them from  
slavery74  ,every one knows and cannot  
help knowing that1 above all1 wars1     
calling forth the lowest animal         
passions1 deprave and brutalize men4    
,every one knows the weakness of the    
arguments in favor of war1 such as were 
brought forward by ,de ,maistre1        
,moltke1 and others1 for they are all   
founded on the sophism that in every    
human calamity it is possible to find an
 advantageous element1 or else upon the 

utterly arbitrary assertion that wars   
have always existed and therefore always
 must exist1 as if the bad actions of   
men could be justified by the advantages
 or the usefulness which they realize1  
or by the consideration that they have  
been committed during a long period of  
time4 ,all so-called enlightened men    
know all this4 ,then suddenly war       
begins1 and all this is instantly       
forgotten1 and the same men who but     
yesterday were proving the cruelty1     
futility1 the senselessness of wars now 
think1 speak1 and write only about      
killing as many men as possible1 about  
ruining and destroying the greatest     
possible amount of the productions of   
human labor1 and about exciting as much 
as possible the passion of hatred in    
those peaceful1 harmless1 industrious   
men who by their labor feed1 clothe1    
maintain these same pseudo-enlightened  
men1 who compel them to commit those    
dreadful deeds contrary to their        
conscience1 welfare1 or faith4          

,,ii   ,something is taking place       
incomprehensible and impossible in its  
cruelty1 falsehood1 and stupidity4 ,the 
,russian ,tsar1 the same man who        
exhorted all the nations in the cause of
 peace1 publicly announces that1        
notwithstanding all his efforts to      
maintain the peace so dear to his heart 
7efforts which express themselves in the
 seizing of other peoples' lands and in 
the strengthening of armies for the     
defence of these stolen lands71 he1     
owing to the attack of the ,japanese1   
commands that the same shall be done to 
the ,japanese as they had commenced     
doing to the ,russians--i4e4 that they  
should be slaughtered2 and in announcing
 this call to murder he mentions ,god1  
asking the ,divine blessing on the most 
dreadful crime in the world4 ,the       
,japanese ,emperor has proclaimed the   
same thing in relation to the ,russians4
  ,men of science and of law 7,messieurs
 ,muravieff and ,martens7 strenuously   
try to prove that in the recent call of 

all nations to universal peace and the  
present incitement to war1 because of   
the seizure of other peoples' lands1    
there is no contradiction4              
,diplomatists1 in their refined ,french 
language1 publish and send out circulars
 in which they circumstantially and     
diligently prove 7though they know no   
one believes them7 that1 after all its  
efforts to establish peaceful relations 
7in reality1 after all its efforts to   
deceive other countries71 the ,russian  
,government has been compelled to have  
recourse to the only means for a        
rational solution of the question--i4e4 
to the murder of men4 ,the same thing is
 written by ,japanese diplomatists4     
,scientists1 historians1 and            
philosophers1 on their side1 comparing  
the present with the past1 deduce from  
these comparisons profound conclusions1 
and argue interminably about the laws of
 the movement of nations1 about the     
relation between the yellow and white   
races1 or about ,buddhism and           

,christianity1 and on the basis of these
 deductions and arguments justify the   
slaughter of those belonging to the     
yellow race by ,christians2 while in the
 same way the ,japanese scientists and  
philosophers justify the slaughter of   
those of the white race4 ,journalists1  
without concealing their joy1 try to    
outdo each other1 and1 not hesitating at
 any falsehood1 however impudent and    
transparent1 prove in all possible ways 
that the ,russians only are right and   
strong and good in every respect1 and   
that all the ,japanese are wrong and    
weak and bad in every respect1 and that 
all those are also bad who are inimical 
or may become inimical toward the       
,russians--the ,english1 the ,americans2
 and the same is proved likewise by the 
,japanese and their supporters in       
relation to the ,russians4  ,not to     
mention the military1 who in the way of 
their profession prepare for murder1    
crowds of so-called enlightened people1 
such as professors1 social reformers1   

students1 nobles1 merchants1 without    
being forced thereto by anything or     
anybody1 express the most bitter and    
contemptuous feelings toward the        
,japanese1 the ,english1 or the         
,americans1 toward whom but yesterday   
they were either well-disposed or       
indifferent2 while1 without the least   
compulsion1 they express the most       
abject1 servile feelings toward the     
,tsar 7to whom1 to say the least1 they  
were completely indifferent71 assuring  
him of their unlimited love and         
readiness to sacrifice their lives in   
his interests4  ,this unfortunate1      
entangled young man1 recognized as the  
leader of one hundred and thirty        
millions of people1 continually deceived
 and compelled to contradict himself1   
confidently thanks and blesses the      
troops whom he calls his own for murder 
in defence of lands which with yet less 
right he also calls his own4 ,all       
present to each other hideous ikons in  
which not only no one amongst the       

educated believes1 but which unlearned  
peasants are beginning to abandon2 all  
bow down to the ground before these     
ikons1 kiss them1 and pronounce pompous 
and deceitful speeches in which no one  
really believes4  ,wealthy people       
contribute insignificant portions of    
their immorally acquired riches for this
 cause of murder or the organization of 
help in connection with the work of     
murder2 while the poor1 from whom the   
,government annually collects two       
milliards1 deem it necessary to do      
likewise1 giving their mites also4 ,the 
,government incites and encourages      
crowds of idlers1 who walk about the    
streets with the ,tsar's portrait1      
singing1 shouting hurrah6 and who1 under
 pretext of patriotism1 are licensed in 
all kinds of excess4 ,all over ,russia1 
from the ,palace to the remotest        
village1 the pastors of churches1       
calling themselves ,christians1 appeal  
to that ,god who has enjoined love to   
one's enemies--to the ,god of ,love     

,himself--to help the work of the devil 
to further the slaughter of men4        
,stupefied by prayers1 sermons1         
exhortations1 by processions1 pictures1 
and newspapers1 the cannon's flesh1     
hundreds of thousands of men1 uniformly 
dressed1 carrying divers deadly weapons1
 leaving their parents1 wives1 children1
 with hearts of agony1 but with         
artificial sprightliness1 go where they1
 risking their own lives1 will commit   
the most dreadful act of killing men    
whom they do not know and who have done 
them no harm4 ,and they are followed by 
doctors and nurses1 who somehow imagine 
that at home they cannot serve simple1  
peaceful1 suffering people1 but can only
 serve those who are engaged in         
slaughtering each other4 ,those who     
remain at home are gladdened by news of 
the murder of men1 and when they learn  
that many ,japanese have been killed    
they thank some one whom they call ,god4
  ,all this is not only regarded as the 
manifestation of elevated feeling1 but  

those who refrain from such             
manifestations1 if they endeavor to     
disabuse men1 are deemed traitors and   
betrayers1 and are in danger of being   
abused and beaten by a brutalized crowd 
which1 in defence of its insanity and   
cruelty1 can possess no other weapon    
than brute force4                       
,,iii   ,it is as if there had never    
existed either ,voltaire1 or ,montaigne1
 or ,pascal1 or ,swift1 or ,kant1 or    
,spinoza1 or hundreds of other writers  
who have exposed1 with great force1 the 
madness and futility of war1 and have   
described its cruelty1 immorality1 and  
savagery2 and1 above all1 it is as if   
there had never existed ,jesus and his  
teaching of human brotherhood and love  
of ,god and of men4  ,one recalls all   
this to mind and looks around on what is
 now taking place1 and one experiences  
horror less at the abominations of war  
than at that which is the most horrible 
of all horrors--the consciousness of the
 impotency of human reason4 ,that which 

alone distinguishes man from the animal1
 that which constitutes his merit--his  
reason--is found to be an unnecessary1  
and not only a useless1 but a pernicious
 addition1 which simply impedes action1 
like a bridle fallen from a horse's     
head1 and entangled in his legs and only
 irritating him4  ,it is comprehensible 
that a heathen1 a ,greek1 a ,roman1 even
 a mediaeval ,christian1 ignorant of the
 ,gospel and blindly believing all the  
prescriptions of the ,church1 might     
fight and1 fighting1 pride himself on   
his military achievements2 but how can a
 believing ,christian1 or even a        
sceptic1 involuntarily permeated by the 
,christian ideals of human brotherhood  
and love which have inspired the works  
of the philosophers1 moralists1 and     
artists of our time1--how can such take 
a gun1 or stand by a cannon1 and aim at 
a crowd of his fellow-men1 desiring to  
kill as many of them as possible8  ,the 
,assyrians1 ,romans1 or ,greeks might be
 persuaded that in fighting they were   

acting not only according to their      
conscience1 but even fulfilling a       
righteous deed4 ,but1 whether we wish it
 or not1 we are ,christians1 and however
 ,christianity may have been distorted1 
its general spirit cannot but lift us to
 that higher plane of reason whence we  
can no longer refrain from feeling with 
our whole being not only the            
senselessness and the cruelty of war1   
but its complete opposition to all that 
we regard as good and right4 ,therefore1
 we cannot do as they did1 with         
assurance1 firmness1 and peace1 and     
without a consciousness of our          
criminality1 without the desperate      
feeling of a murderer1 who1 having begun
 to kill his victim1 and feeling in the 
depths of his soul the guilt of his act1
 proceeds to try to stupefy or infuriate
 himself1 to be able the better to      
complete his dreadful deed4 ,all the    
unnatural1 feverish1 hot-headed1 insane 
excitement which has now seized the idle
 upper ranks of ,russian society is     

merely the symptom of their recognition 
of the criminality of the work which is 
being done4 ,all these insolent1        
mendacious speeches about devotion to1  
and worship of1 the ,monarch1 about     
readiness to sacrifice life 7or one     
should say other people's lives1 and not
 one's own72 all these promises to      
defend with one's breast land which does
 not belong to one2 all these senseless 
benedictions of each other with various 
banners and monstrous ikons2 all these  
,te ,deums2 all these preparations of   
blankets and bandages2 all these        
detachments of nurses2 all these        
contributions to the fleet and to the   
,red ,cross presented to the            
,government1 whose direct duty is       
7whilst it has the possibility of       
collecting from the people as much money
 as it requires71 having declared war1  
to organize the necessary fleet and     
necessary means for attending the       
wounded2 all these ,slavonic1 pompous1  
senseless1 and blasphemous prayers1 the 

utterance of which in various towns is  
communicated in the papers as important 
news2 all these processions1 calls for  
the national hymn1 cheers2 all this     
dreadful1 desperate newspaper mendacity1
 which1 being universal1 does not fear  
exposure2 all this stupefaction and     
brutalization which has now taken hold  
of ,russian society1 and which is being 
transmitted by degrees also to the      
masses2 all this is only a symptom of   
the guilty consciousness of that        
dreadful act which is being             
accomplished4  ,spontaneous feeling     
tells men that what they are doing      
should not be2 but1 as the murderer who 
has begun to assassinate his victim     
cannot stop1 so also ,russian people now
 imagine that the fact of the deadly    
work having been commenced is an        
unanswerable argument in favor of war4  
,war has been begun1 and therefore it   
should go on4 ,thus it seems to simple1 
benighted1 unlearned men1 acting under  
the influence of the petty passions and 

stupefaction to which they have been    
subjected4 ,in exactly the same way the 
most educated men of our time argue to  
prove that man does not possess free    
will1 and that1 therefore1 even were he 
to understand that the work he has      
commenced is evil1 he can no longer     
cease to do it4 ,and dazed1 brutalized  
men continue their dreadful work4       
,,iv   ,ask a soldier1 a private1 a     
corporal1 a non-commissioned officer1   
who has abandoned his old parents1 his  
wife1 his children1 why he is preparing 
to kill men whom he does not know2 he   
will at first be astonished at your     
question4 ,he is a soldier1 he has taken
 the oath1 and it is his duty to fulfil 
the orders of his commanders4 ,if you   
tell him that war--i4e4 the slaughter of
 men--does not conform to the command1  
,thou shalt not kill1 he will say3 ,and 
how if ours are attacked--,for the      
,king--,for the ,orthodox faith8 7,one  
of them said in answer to my question3  
,and how if he attacks that which is    

sacred8 ,what do you mean8 ,i asked4    
,why1 said he1 the banner47 ,and if you 
endeavor to explain to such a soldier   
that ,god's ,commandment is more        
important not only than the banner but  
than anything else in the world1 he will
 become silent1 or he will get angry and
 report you to the authorities4  ,ask an
 officer1 a general1 why he goes to the 
war4 ,he will tell you that he is a     
military man1 and that the military are 
indispensable for the defence of the    
fatherland4 ,as to murder not conforming
 to the spirit of the ,christian law1   
this does not trouble him1 as either he 
does not believe in this law1 or1 if he 
does1 it is not in the law itself1 but  
in that explanation which has been given
 to this law4 ,but1 above all1 he1 like 
the soldier1 in place of the personal   
question1 what should he do himself1    
always put the general question about   
the ,state1 or the fatherland4 ,at the  
present moment1 when the fatherland is  
in danger1 one should act1 and not      

argue1 he will say4  ,ask the           
diplomatists1 who1 by their deceits1    
prepare wars1 why they do it4 ,they will
 tell you that the object of their      
activity is the establishment of peace  
between nations1 and that this object is
 attained1 not by ideal1 unrealizable   
theories1 but by diplomatic action and  
readiness for war4 ,and1 just as the    
military1 instead of the question       
concerning one's own action1 place the  
general question1 so also diplomatists  
will speak about the interests of       
,russia1 about the unscrupulousness of  
other ,powers1 about the balance of     
power in ,europe1 but not about their   
own position and its activities4  ,ask  
the journalists why1 by their writings1 
they incite men to war2 they will say   
that wars in general are necessary and  
useful1 especially the present war1 and 
they will confirm this opinion of theirs
 by misty patriotic phrases1 and1 just  
like the military and diplomatist1 to   
the question why he1 a journalist1 a    

particular individual1 a living man1    
acts in a certain way1 he will speak    
about the general interests of the      
nation1 about the ,state1 civilization1 
the white race4 ,in the same way1 all   
those who prepare war will explain their
 participation in that work4 ,they will 
perhaps agree that it would be desirable
 to abolish war1 but at present this is 
impossible4 ,at present they as         
,russians and as men who occupy certain 
positions1 such as heads of the         
nobility1 representatives of local      
self-government1 doctors1 workers of the
 ,red ,cross1 are called upon to act and
 not to argue4 ,there is no time to     
argue and to think of oneself1 they will
 say1 when there is a great common work 
to be done4 ,the same will be said by   
the ,tsar1 seemingly responsible for the
 whole thing4 ,he1 like the soldier1    
will be astonished at the question1     
whether war is now necessary4 ,he does  
not even admit the idea that the war    
might yet be arrested4 ,he will say that

 he cannot refrain from fulfilling that 
which is demanded of him by the whole   
nation1 that1 although he does recognize
 that war is a great evil1 and has used1
 and is ready to use1 all possible means
 for its abolition--in the present case 
he could not help declaring war1 and    
cannot help continuing it4 ,it is       
necessary for the welfare and glory of  
,russia4  ,every one of these men1 to   
the question why he1 so and so1 ,ivan1  
,peter1 ,nicholas1 whilst recognizing as
 binding upon him the ,christian law    
which not only forbids the killing of   
one's neighbor but demands that one     
should love him1 serve him1 why he      
permits himself to participate in war2  
i4e4 in violence1 loot1 murder1 will    
infallibly answer the same thing1 that  
he is thus acting in the name of his    
fatherland1 or faith1 or oath1 or honor1
 or civilization1 or the future welfare 
of the whole of mankind--in general1 of 
something abstract and indefinite4      
,moreover1 these men are always so      

urgently occupied either by preparation 
for war1 or by its organization1 or     
discussions about it1 that in their     
leisure time they can only rest from    
their labors1 and have not time to      
occupy themselves with discussions about
 their life1 regarding such discussions 
as idle4                                
,v   ,men of our ,christian world and of
 our time are like a man who1 having    
missed the right turning1 the further he
 goes the more he becomes convinced that
 he is going the wrong way4 ,yet the    
greater his doubts1 the quicker and the 
more desperately does he hurry on1      
consoling himself with the thought that 
he will arrive somewhere4 ,but the time 
comes when it becomes quite clear that  
the way along which he is going will    
lead to nothing but a precipice1 which  
he is already beginning to discern      
before him4  ,in such a position stands 
the ,christian humanity of our time4 ,it
 is perfectly evident that1 if we       
continue to live as we are now living1  

guided in our private lives1 as well as 
in the life of separate ,states1 by the 
sole desire of welfare for ourselves and
 for our ,state1 and will1 as we do now1
 think to ensure this welfare by        
violence1 then1 inevitably increasing   
the means of violence of one against the
 other and of ,state against ,state1 we 
shall1 first1 keep subjecting ourselves 
more and more1 transferring the major   
portion of our productiveness to        
armaments2 and1 secondly1 by killing in 
mutual wars the best physically         
developed men1 we must become more and  
more degenerate and morally depraved4   
,that this will be the case if we do not
 alter our life is as certain as it is  
mathematically certain that two         
non-parallel straight lines must meet4  
,but not only is this theoretically     
certain in our time2 it is becoming     
certain not only to thought1 but also to
 the consciousness4 ,the precipice which
 we approach is already becoming        
apparent to us1 and the most simple1    

non-philosophizing1 and uneducated men  
cannot but see that1 by arming ourselves
 more and more against each other and   
slaughtering each other in war1 we1 like
 spiders in a jar1 can come to nothing  
else but the destruction of each other4 
,a sincere1 serious1 rational man can no
 longer console himself by the thought  
that matters can be mended1 as was      
formerly supposed1 by a universal empire
 such as that of ,rome or of ,charles   
the ,great1 or ,napoleon1 or by the     
mediaeval spiritual power of the ,pope1 
or by ,holy ,alliances1 by the political
 balance of the ,european ,concert1 and 
by peaceful international tribunals1 or1
 as some have thought1 by the increase  
of military strength and the newly      
discovered powerful weapons of          
destruction4  ,it is impossible to      
organize a universal empire or republic1
 consisting of ,european ,states1 as    
different nationalities will never      
desire to unite into one ,state4 ,to    
organize international tribunals for the

 solution of international disputes8    
,but who will impose obedience to the   
decision of the tribunal upon a         
contending party who has an organized   
army of millions of men8 ,to disarm8 ,no
 one desires it or will begin it4 ,to   
invent yet more dreadful means of       
destruction--balloons with bombs filled 
with suffocating gases1 shells1 which   
men will shower upon each other from    
above8 ,whatever may be invented1 all   
,states will furnish themselves with    
similar weapons of destruction4 ,and    
cannon's flesh1 as after cold weapons it
 submitted to bullets1 and meekly       
exposed itself to shells1 bombs1        
far-reaching guns1 mitrailleuses1 mines1
 so it will also submit to bombs charged
 with suffocating gases scattered down  
upon it from balloons4  ,nothing shows  
more evidently than the speeches of ,m4 
,muravieff and ,professor ,martens about
 the ,japanese war not contradicting    
,the ,hague ,peace ,conference--nothing 
shows more obviously than these speeches

 to what an extent1 amongst the men of  
our time1 the means for the transmission
 of thought--speech--is distorted1 and  
how the capacity for clear1 rational    
thinking is completely lost4 ,thought   
and speech are used for the purpose1 not
 of serving as a guide for human        
activity1 but of justifying any         
activity1 however criminal it may be4   
,the late ,boer war and the present     
,japanese war1 which can at any moment  
pass into a universal slaughter1 have   
proved this beyond all doubt4 ,all      
anti-military discussions can as little 
contribute to the cessation of war as   
the most eloquent and persuasive        
considerations addressed to fighting    
dogs as to its being more advantageous  
to divide the piece of meat over which  
they are struggling than to mutilate    
each other and lose the piece of meat1  
which will be carried away by some      
passing dog not joining in the fight4   
,we are dashing on toward the precipice1
 cannot stop1 and we are approaching its

 edge4  ,for every rational man who     
reflects upon the position in which     
humanity is now placed and upon that    
which it is inevitably approaching1 it  
cannot but be obvious that there is no  
practical issue out of this position1   
that one cannot devise any combination  
or organization which would save us from
 the destruction toward which we are    
inevitably rushing4 ,not to mention the 
economical problems which become more   
and more complex1 those mutual relations
 between the ,states arming themselves  
against each other and at any moment    
ready to break out into wars clearly    
point to the certain destruction toward 
which all so-called civilized humanity  
is being carried4 ,then what is to be   
done8                                   
,,vi   ,two thousand years ago ,john the
 ,baptist and then ,jesus said to men3  
,the time is fulfilled and the ,kingdom 
of ,god is at hand2 7_/metanoeite_/7    
bethink yourselves and believe in the   
,gospel 7,mark i4 #ae72 and if you do   

not bethink yourselves you will all     
perish 7,luke xiii4 #e74  ,but men did  
not listen to them1 and the destruction 
they foretold is already near at hand4  
,and we men of our time cannot but see  
it4 ,we are already perishing1 and1     
therefore1 we cannot leave unheeded     
that--old in time1 but for us new--means
 of salvation4 ,we cannot but see that1 
besides all the other calamities which  
flow from our bad and irrational life1  
military preparations alone and the wars
 inevitably growing from them must      
infallibly destroy us4 ,we cannot but   
see that all the means of escape        
invented by men from these evils are    
found and must be found to be           
ineffectual1 and that the disastrous    
position of the nations arming          
themselves against each other cannot but
 go on advancing continually4 ,and      
therefore the words of ,jesus refer to  
us and our time more than to any time or
 to any one4  ,jesus said1 ,bethink     
yourselves--i4e4 ,let every man         

interrupt the work he has begun and ask 
himself3 ,who am ,i8 ,from whence have  
,i appeared1 and in what consists my    
destiny8 ,and having answered these     
questions1 according to the answer      
decide whether that which thou doest is 
in conformity with thy destiny4 ,and    
every man of our world and time1 that   
is1 being acquainted with the essence of
 the ,christian teaching1 needs only for
 a minute to interrupt his activity1 to 
forget the capacity in which he is      
regarded by men1 be it of ,emperor1     
soldier1 minister1 or journalist1 and   
seriously ask himself who he is and what
 is his destiny--in order to begin to   
doubt the utility1 lawfulness1 and      
reasonableness of his actions4 ,before  
,i am ,emperor1 soldier1 minister1 or   
journalist1 must say to himself every   
man of our time and of the ,christian   
world1 before any of these1 ,i am a     
man--i4e4 an organic being sent by the  
,higher ,will into a universe infinite  
in time and space1 in order1 after      

staying in it for an instant1 to        
die--i4e4 to disappear from it4 ,and1   
therefore1 all those personal1 social1  
and even universal human aims which ,i  
may place before myself and which are   
placed before me by men are all         
insignificant1 owing to the shortness of
 my life as well as to the infiniteness 
of the life of the universe1 and should 
be subordinated to that higher aim for  
the attainment of which ,i am sent into 
the world4 ,this ultimate aim1 owing to 
my limitations1 is inaccessible to me1  
but it does exist 7as there must be a   
purpose in all that exists71 and my     
business is that of being its           
instrument--i4e4 my destiny1 my         
vocation1 is that of being a workman of 
,god1 of fulfilling ,his work4 ,and     
having understood this destiny1 every   
man of our world and time1 from ,emperor
 to soldier1 cannot but regard          
differently those duties which he has   
taken upon himself or other men have    
imposed upon him4  ,before ,i was       

crowned1 recognized as ,emperor1 must   
the ,emperor say to himself3 before ,i  
undertook to fulfil the duties of the   
head of the ,state1 ,i1 by the very fact
 that ,i live1 have promised to fulfil  
that which is demanded of me by the     
,higher ,will that sent me into life4   
,these demands ,i not only know1 but    
feel in my heart4 ,they consist1 as it  
is expressed in the ,christian law1     
which ,i profess1 in that ,i should     
submit to the will of ,god1 and fulfil  
that which it requires of me1 that ,i   
should love my neighbor1 serve him1 and 
act towards him as ,i would wish others 
to act towards me4 ,am ,i doing         
this8--ruling men1 prescribing violence1
 executions1 and1 the most dreadful of  
all1--wars4 ,men tell me that ,i ought  
to do this4 ,but ,god says that ,i ought
 to do something quite different4 ,and1 
therefore1 however much ,i may be told  
that1 as the head of the ,state1 ,i must
 direct acts of violence1 the levying of
 taxes1 executions and1 above all1 war1 

that is1 the slaughter of one's         
neighbor1 ,i do not wish to and cannot  
do these things4  ,so must say to       
himself the soldier1 who is taught that 
he must kill men1 and the minister1 who 
deemed it his duty to prepare for war1  
and the journalist who incited to war1  
and every man1 who puts to himself the  
question1 ,who is he1 what is his       
destination in life8 ,and the moment the
 head of the ,state will cease to direct
 war1 the soldier to fight1 the minister
 to prepare means for war1 the          
journalist to incite thereto--then1     
without any new institutions1           
adaptations1 balance of power1          
tribunals1 there will of itself be      
destroyed that hopeless position in     
which men have placed themselves1 not   
only in relation to war1 but also to all
 other calamities which they themselves 
inflict upon themselves4  ,so that1     
however strange this may appear1 the    
most effective and certain deliverance  
of men from all the calamities which    

they inflict upon themselves and from   
the most dreadful of all--war--is       
attainable1 not by any external general 
measures1 but merely by that simple     
appeal to the consciousness of each     
separate man which1 nineteen hundred    
years ago1 was proposed by ,jesus--that 
every man bethink himself1 and ask      
himself1 who is he1 why he lives1 and   
what he should and should not do4       
,,vii   ,the evil from which men of our 
time are suffering is produced by the   
fact that the majority live without that
 which alone affords a rational guidance
 for human activity--without religion2  
not that religion which consists in     
belief in dogmas1 in the fulfilment of  
rites which afford a pleasant diversion1
 consolation1 stimulant1 but that       
religion which establishes the relation 
of man to the ,all1 to ,god1 and1       
therefore1 gives a general higher       
direction to all human activity1 and    
without which people stand on the plane 
of animals and even lower than they4    

,this evil which is leading men to      
inevitable destruction has manifested   
itself with special power in our time1  
because1 having lost all rational       
guidance in life1 and having directed   
all efforts to discoveries and          
improvements principally in the sphere  
of technical knowledge1 men of our time 
have developed in themselves enormous   
power over the forces of nature2 but1   
not having any guidance for the rational
 adaptation of this power1 they         
naturally have used it for the          
satisfaction of their lowest and most   
animal propensities4  ,bereft of        
religion1 men possessing enormous power 
over the forces of nature are like      
children to whom powder or explosive gas
 has been given as a plaything4         
,considering this power which men of our
 time possess1 and the way they use it1 
one feels that considering the degree of
 their moral development men have no    
right1 not only to the use of railways1 
steam1 electricity1 telephones1         

photography1 wireless telegraphs1 but   
even to the simple art of manufacturing 
iron and steel1 as all these            
improvements and arts they use only for 
the satisfaction of their lusts1 for    
amusement1 dissipation1 and the         
destruction of each other4  ,then1 what 
is to be done8 ,to reject all these     
improvements of life1 all this power    
acquired by humanity--to forget that    
which it has learnt8 ,this is           
impossible1 however perniciously these  
mental acquisitions are used2 they still
 are acquisitions1 and men cannot forget
 them4 ,to alter those combinations of  
nations which have been formed during   
centuries and to establish new ones8 ,to
 invent such new institutions as would  
hinder the minority from deceiving and  
exploiting the majority8 ,to disseminate
 knowledge8 ,all this has been tried1   
and is being done with great fervor4    
,all these imaginary methods of         
improvement represent the chief methods 
of self-oblivion and of diverting one's 

attention from the consciousness of     
inevitable perdition4 ,the boundaries of
 ,states are changed1 institutions are  
altered1 knowledge is disseminated2 but 
within other boundaries1 with other     
organizations1 with increased knowledge1
 men remain the same beasts1 ready any  
minute to tear each other to pieces1 or 
the same slaves they have always been1  
and always will be1 while they continue 
to be guided1 not by religious          
consciousness1 but by passions1         
theories1 and external influences4  ,man
 has no choice2 he must be the slave of 
the most unscrupulous and insolent      
amongst slaves1 or else the servant of  
,god1 because for man there is only one 
way of being free--by uniting his will  
with the will of ,god4 ,people bereft of
 religion1 some repudiating religion    
itself1 others recognizing as religion  
those external1 monstrous forms which   
have superseded it1 and guided only by  
their personal lusts1 fear1 human laws1 
and1 above all1 by mutual hypnotism1    

cannot cease to be animals or slaves1   
and no external efforts can extricate   
them from this state2 for only religion 
makes a man free4 ,and most of the      
people of our time are deprived of it4  
,,viii   ,but1 in order to abolish the  
evil from which we are suffering1 those 
will say who are preoccupied by various 
practical activities1 it would be       
necessary that not a few men only1 but  
all men1 should bethink themselves1 and 
that1 having done so1 they should       
uniformly understand the destination of 
their lives1 in the fulfilment of the   
will of ,god and in the service of one's
 neighbor4  ,is this possible8 ,not only
 possible1 do ,i answer1 but it is      
impossible that this should not take    
place4 ,it is impossible for men not to 
bethink themselves--i4e4 impossible that
 each man should not put to himself the 
question as to who he is and wherefore  
he lives2 for man1 as a rational being1 
cannot live without seeking to know why 
he lives1 and he has always put to      

himself this question1 and always1      
according to the degree of his          
development1 has answered it in his     
religious teaching4 ,in our time1 the   
inner contradiction in which men feel   
themselves elicits this question with   
special insistence1 and demands an      
answer4 ,it is impossible for men of our
 time to answer this question otherwise 
than by recognizing the law of life in  
love to men and in the service of them1 
this being for our time the only        
rational answer as to the meaning of    
human life2 and this answer nineteen    
hundred years ago has been expressed in 
the ,christian religion and is likewise 
known to the vast majority of all       
mankind4  ,this answer in a latent state
 lives in the consciousness of all men  
of the ,christian world of our time2 but
 it does not openly express itself and  
serve as guidance for our life1 only    
because1 on the one hand1 those who     
enjoy the greatest authority1 so-called 
scientists1 being under the coarse error

 that religion is a temporary and       
outgrown step in the development of     
mankind and that men can live without   
religion1 inculcate this error to those 
of the masses who are beginning to be   
educated2 and1 on the other hand1       
because those in power1 sometimes       
consciously1 but often unconsciously    
7being under the error that the ,church 
faith is ,christian religion71 endeavor 
to support and excite in the people     
crude superstitions given out as the    
,christian religion4 ,if only these two 
deceptions were to be destroyed1 then   
true religion1 already latent in men of 
our time1 would become evident and      
obligatory4  ,to bring this about it is 
necessary that1 on the one hand1 men of 
science should understand that the      
principle of the brotherhood of all men 
and the rule of not doing unto others   
what one does not wish for oneself is   
not one casual idea out of a multitude  
of human theories which can be          
subordinated to any other               

considerations1 but is an incontestable 
principle1 standing higher than the     
rest1 and flowing from the changeless   
relation of man to that which is        
eternal1 to ,god1 and is religion1 all  
religion1 and1 therefore1 always        
obligatory4  ,on the other hand1 it is  
necessary that those who consciously or 
unconsciously preach crude superstitions
 under the guise of ,christianity should
 understand that all these dogmas1      
sacraments1 and rites which they support
 and preach are not only1 as they think1
 harmless1 but are in the highest degree
 pernicious1 concealing from men that   
central religious truth which is        
expressed in the fulfilment of ,god's   
will1 in the service of men1 and that   
the rule of acting toward others as one 
would wish others to act toward oneself 
is not merely one of the prescriptions  
of the ,christian religion1 but is the  
whole of practical religion1 as indeed  
is stated in the ,gospels4  ,to bring   
about that men of our time should       

uniformly place before themselves the   
question of the meaning of life1 and    
uniformly answer it1 it is only         
necessary that those who regard         
themselves as enlightened should cease  
to think and to inculcate to other      
generations that religion is atavism1   
the survival of a past wild state1 and  
that for the good life of men the       
spreading of education is               
sufficient--i4e4 the spread of the most 
varied knowledge which is in some way to
 bring men to justice and to a moral    
life4 ,these men should understand      
instead that for the good life of       
humanity religion is vital1 and that    
this religion already exists and lives  
in the consciousness of the men of our  
time4 ,men who are intentionally and    
unintentionally stupefying the people by
 church superstitions should cease to do
 so1 and recognize that what is         
important and binding in ,christianity  
is not baptism1 nor ,communion1 nor     
profession of dogmas1 etc41 but only    

love to ,god and to one's neighbor1 and 
the fulfilling of the commandment of    
acting toward others as one wishes      
others to act toward oneself--and that  
in this lies all the law and the        
prophets4  ,if only both                
pseudo-,christians and men of science   
understood and preached to children and 
to the uneducated these simple1 clear1  
and necessary truths as they now preach 
their complicated1 confused1 and        
unnecessary theories1 all men would     
uniformly understand the meaning of     
their lives and recognize one and the   
same duties as flowing from this        
meaning4                                
,,ix   ,but ,how are we to act now1     
immediately among ourselves1 in ,russia1
 at this moment1 when our foes have     
already attacked us1 are killing our    
people1 and threatening us2 what should 
be the action1 ,i shall be asked1 of a  
,russian soldier1 officer1 general1     
,tsar1 private individual8 ,are we1     
forsooth1 to allow our enemies to ruin  

our possessions1 to seize the           
productions of our labors1 to carry away
 prisoners1 or kill our men8 ,what are  
we to do now that this thing has begun8 
,but before the work of war was         
commenced1 by whomsoever it was         
commenced--every awakened man must      
answer--before all else the work of my  
life was commenced4 ,and the work of my 
life has nothing in common with         
recognition of the rights of the        
,chinese1 ,japanese1 or ,russians to    
,port ,arthur4 ,the work of my life     
consists in fulfilling the will of ,him 
who sent me into this life4 ,this will  
is known to me4 ,this will is that ,i   
should love my neighbor and serve him4  
,then why should ,i1 following          
temporary1 casual1 irrational1 and cruel
 demands1 deviate from the known eternal
 and changeless law of all my life8 ,if 
there be a ,god1 ,he will not ask me    
when ,i die 7which may happen at any    
moment7 whether ,i retained ,chi-nam-po 
with its timber stores1 or ,port        

,arthur1 or even that conglomeration    
which is called the ,russian ,empire1   
which ,he did not confide to my care2   
but ,he will ask me what ,i have done   
with that life which ,he put at my      
disposal2--did ,i use it for the purpose
 for which it was predestined1 and under
 the conditions for fulfilling which it 
was intrusted to me8 ,have ,i fulfilled 
,his law8  ,so that to this question as 
to what is to be done now1 when war is  
commenced1 for me1 a man who understands
 his destiny1 whatever position ,i may  
occupy1 there can be no other answer    
than this1 whatever be my circumstances1
 whether the war be commenced or not1   
whether thousands of ,russians or       
,japanese be killed1 whether not only   
,port ,arthur be taken1 but ,st4        
,petersburg and ,moscow--,i cannot act  
otherwise than as ,god demands of me1   
and that therefore ,i as a man can      
neither directly nor indirectly1 neither
 by directing1 nor by helping1 nor by   
inciting to it1 participate in war2 ,i  

cannot1 ,i do not wish to1 and ,i will  
not4 ,what will happen immediately or   
soon1 from my ceasing to do that which  
is contrary to the will of ,god1 ,i do  
not and cannot know2 but ,i believe that
 from the fulfilment of the will of ,god
 there can follow nothing but that which
 is good for me and for all men4  ,you  
speak with horror about what might      
happen if we ,russians at this moment   
ceased to fight1 and surrendered to the 
,japanese what they desire from us4 ,but
 if it be true that the salvation of    
mankind from brutalization and          
self-destruction lies only in the       
establishment amongst men of that true  
religion which demands that we should   
love our neighbor and serve him 7with   
which it is impossible to disagree71    
then every war1 every hour of war1 and  
my participation in it1 only renders    
more difficult and distant the          
realization of this only possible       
salvation4  ,so that1 even if one places
 oneself on the unstable point of view  

of defining actions according to their  
presumed consequences--even then the    
surrender to the ,japanese by the       
,russians of all which the former desire
 of us1 besides the unquestionable      
advantage of the cessation of ruin and  
slaughter1 would be an approach to the  
only means of the salvation of mankind  
from destruction2 whereas the           
continuance of the war1 however it may  
end1 will be a postponement of that only
 means of salvation4  ,yet even if this 
be so1 it is replied1 wars can cease    
only when all men1 or the majority1 will
 refuse to participate in them4 ,but the
 refusal of one man1 whether he be ,tsar
 or soldier1 would only1 unnecessarily1 
and without the slightest profit to any 
one1 ruin his life4 ,if the ,russian    
,tsar were now to throw up the war1 he  
would be dethroned1 perhaps killed1 in  
order to get rid of him2 if an ordinary 
man were to refuse military service1 he 
would be sent to a penal battalion and  
perhaps shot4 ,why1 then1 without the   

slightest use should one throw away     
one's life1 which may be profitable to  
society8 is the common question of those
 who do not think of the destination of 
their life and therefore do not         
understand it4  ,but this is not what is
 said and felt by any man who           
understands the destination of his      
life--i4e4 by any religious man4 ,such a
 man is guided in his activity not by   
the presumed consequences of his action1
 but by the consciousness of the        
destination of his life4 ,a factory     
workman goes to his factory and in it   
accomplishes the work which is allotted 
him without considering what will be the
 consequences of his labor4 ,in the same
 way a soldier acts1 carrying out the   
will of his commanders4 ,so acts a      
religious man in fulfilling the work    
prescribed to him by ,god1 without      
arguing as to what precisely will come  
of that work4 ,therefore for a religious
 man there is no question as to whether 
many or few men act as he does1 or of   

what may happen to him if he does that  
which he should do4 ,he knows that      
besides life and death nothing can      
happen1 and that life and death are in  
the hands of ,god whom he obeys4  ,a    
religious man acts thus and not         
otherwise1 not because he desires to act
 thus1 nor because it is advantageous to
 himself or to other men1 but because1  
believing that his life is in the hands 
of ,god1 he cannot act otherwise4  ,in  
this lies the distinction of the        
activity of religious men2 and therefore
 it is that the salvation of men from   
the calamities which they inflict upon  
themselves can be realized only in that 
degree in which they are guided in their
 lives1 not by advantage nor arguments1 
but by religious consciousness4         
,x   ,but how about the enemies that    
attack us8  ,love your enemies1 and ye  
will have none1 is said in the teaching 
of the ,twelve ,apostles4 ,this answer  
is not merely words1 as those may       
imagine who are accustomed to think that

 the recommendation of love to one's    
enemies is something hyperbolical1 and  
signifies not that which expressed1 but 
something else4 ,this answer is the     
indication of a very clear and definite 
activity1 and of its consequences4  ,to 
love one's enemies--the ,japanese1 the  
,chinese1 those yellow people toward    
whom benighted men are now endeavoring  
to excite our hatred--to love them means
 not to kill them for the purpose of    
having the right of poisoning them with 
opium1 as did the ,english2 not to kill 
them in order to seize their land1 as   
was done by the ,french1 the ,russians1 
and the ,germans2 not to bury them alive
 in punishment for injuring roads1 not  
to tie them together by their hair1 not 
to drown them in their river ,amur1 as  
did the ,russians4  ,a disciple is not  
above his master4444 ,it is enough for a
 disciple that he be as his master4  ,to
 love the yellow people1 whom we call   
our foes1 means1 not to teach them under
 the name of ,christianity absurd       

superstitions about the fall of man1    
redemption1 resurrection1 etc41 not to  
teach them the art of deceiving and     
killing others1 but to teach them       
justice1 unselfishness1 compassion1     
love--and that not by words1 but by the 
example of our own good life4 ,and what 
have we been doing to them1 and are     
still doing8  ,if we did indeed love our
 enemies1 if even now we began to love  
our enemies1 the ,japanese1 we would    
have no enemy4  ,therefore1 however     
strange it may appear to those occupied 
with military plans1 preparations1      
diplomatic considerations1              
administrative1 financial1 economical   
measures1 revolutionary1 socialistic    
propaganda1 and various unnecessary     
sciences1 by which they think to save   
mankind from its calamities1 the        
deliverance of man1 not only from the   
calamities of war1 but also from all the
 calamities which men inflict upon      
themselves1 will take place not through 
emperors or kings instituting peace     

alliances1 not through those who would  
dethrone emperors1 kings1 or restrain   
them by constitutions1 or substitute    
republics for monarchies1 not by peace  
conferences1 not by the realization of  
socialistic programmes1 not by victories
 or defeats on land or sea1 not by      
libraries or universities1 nor by those 
futile mental exercises which are now   
called science2 but only by there being 
more and more of those simple men who1  
like the ,dukhobors1 ,drojjin1          
,olkhovik1 in ,russia1 the ,nazarenes in
 ,austria1 ,condatier in ,france1       
,tervey in ,holland1 and others1 having 
placed as their object not external     
alterations of life1 but the closest    
fulfilment in themselves of the will of 
,him who has sent them into life1 will  
direct all their powers to this         
realization4 ,only such people realizing
 the ,kingdom of ,god in themselves1 in 
their souls1 will establish1 without    
directly aiming at this purpose1 that   
external ,kingdom of ,god which every   

human soul is longing for4  ,salvation  
will come to pass only in this one way  
and not in any other4 ,therefore what is
 now being done by those who1 ruling    
men1 inspire them with religious and    
patriotic superstitions1 exciting in    
them exclusiveness1 hatred1 and murder1 
as well as by those who1 for the purpose
 of freeing men from slavery and        
oppression1 invoke them to violent      
external revolution1 or think that the  
acquisition by men of very much         
incidental and for the most part        
unnecessary information will of itself  
bring them to a good life--all this1 by 
distracting men from what alone they    
need1 only removes them further from the
 possibility of salvation4  ,the evil   
from which the men of the ,christian    
world suffer is that they have          
temporarily lost religion4  ,some       
people1 having come to see the discord  
between the existing religion and the   
degree of mental and scientific         
development attained by humanity at the 

present time1 have decided that in      
general no religion whatever is         
necessary4 ,they live without religion  
and preach the uselessness of any       
religion of whatever kind4 ,others1     
holding to that distorted form of the   
,christian religion which is now        
preached1 likewise live without         
religion1 professing empty external     
forms1 which cannot serve as guidance   
for men4  ,yet a religion which answers 
to the demands of our time does exist   
and is known to all men1 and in a latent
 state lives in the hearts of men of the
 ,christian world4 ,therefore that this 
religion should become evident to and   
binding upon all men1 it is only        
necessary that educated men--the leaders
 of the masses--should understand that  
religion is necessary to man1 that      
without religion men cannot live a good 
life1 and that what they call science   
cannot replace religion2 and that those 
in power and who support the old empty  
forms of religion should understand that

 what they support and preach under the 
form of religion is not only not        
religion1 but is the chief obstacle to  
men's appropriating the true religion   
which they already know1 and which can  
alone deliver them from their           
calamities4 ,so that the only certain   
means of man's salvation consists merely
 in ceasing to do that which hinders men
 from assimilating the true religion    
which already lives in their            
consciousness4                          
,,xi   ,i had finished this writing when
 news came of the destruction of six    
hundred innocent lives opposite ,port   
,arthur4 ,it would seem that the useless
 suffering and death of these           
unfortunate deluded men who have        
needlessly and so dreadfully perished   
ought to disabuse those who were the    
cause of this destruction4 ,i am not    
alluding to ,makaroff and other         
officers--all these men knew what they  
were doing1 and wherefore1 and they     
voluntarily1 for personal advantage1 for

 ambition1 did as they did1 disguising  
themselves in pretended patriotism1 a   
pretence not condemned merely because it
 is universal4 ,i allude rather to those
 unfortunate men drawn from all parts of
 ,russia1 who1 by the help of religious 
fraud1 and under fear of punishment1    
have been torn from an honest1          
reasonable1 useful1 laborious family    
life1 driven to the other end of the    
world1 placed on a cruel1 senseless     
machine for slaughter1 and torn to bits1
 drowned along with this stupid machine 
in a distant sea1 without any need or   
any possibility of advantage from all   
their privations1 efforts1 and          
sufferings1 or from the death which     
overtook them4  ,in #ahcj1 during the   
,polish war1 the adjutant ,vilijinsky   
sent to ,st4 ,petersburg by ,klopitsky1 
in a conversation held in ,french with  
,dibitch1 in answer to the latter's     
demand that the ,russian troops should  
enter ,poland1 said to him3--  ,monsieur
 le ,marechal1 ,i think that in that    

case it will be quite impossible for the
 ,polish nation to accept this          
manifesto4444  ,believe me1 the ,emperor
 will make no further concessions4      
,then ,i foresee that1 unhappily1 there 
will be war1 that much blood will be    
shed1 there will be many unfortunate    
victims4  ,do not think so2 at most     
there will be ten thousand who will     
perish on both sides1 and that is all1#a
 said ,dibitch in his ,german accent1   
quite confident that he1 together with  
another man as cruel and foreign to     
,russian and ,polish life as he was     
himself1--,nicholas ,i1--had the right  
to condemn or not to condemn to death   
ten or a hundred thousand ,russians and 
,poles4    #a ,vilijinsky adds on his   
own behalf1 ,the ,field-,marshal did not
 then       think that more than sixty  
thousand ,russians alone would perish in
       this war1 not so much from the   
enemy's fire as from disease--nor       
that he would himself be amongst their  
number4  ,one hardly believes that this 

could have been1 so senseless and       
dreadful is it1--and yet it was2 sixty  
thousand maintainers of their families  
lost their lives owing to the will of   
those men4 ,and now the same thing is   
taking place4  ,in order not to let the 
,japanese into ,manchuria1 and to expel 
them from ,korea1 not ten thousand1 but 
fifty and more thousands will1 according
 to all probability1 be necessary4 ,i do
 not know whether ,nicholas ,,ii and    
,kuropatkin say like ,dibitch in so many
 words that not more than fifty thousand
 lives will be necessary for this on the
 ,russian side alone1 only and only     
that2 but they think it--they cannot but
 think it1 because the work they are    
doing speaks for itself2 that ceaseless 
stream of unfortunate1 deluded ,russian 
peasants now being transported by       
thousands to the ,far ,east--these are  
those same not more than fifty thousand 
live ,russian men whom ,nicholas        
,romanoff and ,alexis ,kuropatkin have  
decided they may get killed1 and who    

will be killed1 in support of those     
stupidities1 robberies1 and every kind  
of abomination which were accomplished  
in ,china and ,korea by immoral         
ambitious men now sitting peacefully in 
their palaces and expecting new glory   
and new advantage and profit from the   
slaughter of these fifty thousand       
unfortunate1 defrauded ,russian         
workingmen guilty of nothing and gaining
 nothing by their sufferings and death4 
,for other people's land1 to which the  
,russians have no right1 which has been 
criminally seized from its legitimate   
owners1 and which1 in reality1 is not   
even necessary to the ,russians--and    
also for certain dark dealings by       
speculators1 who in ,korea wished to    
gain money out of other people's        
forests--many millions of money are     
spent1 i4e4 a great part of the labor of
 the whole of the ,russian people1 while
 the future generations of this people  
are bound by debts1 its best workmen are
 withdrawn from labor1 and scores of    

thousands of its sons are mercilessly   
doomed to death2 and the destruction of 
these unfortunate men is already begun4 
,more than this3 the war is being       
managed by those who have hatched it so 
badly1 so negligently1 all is so        
unexpected1 so unprepared1 that1 as one 
paper admits1 ,russia's chief chance of 
success lies in the fact that it        
possesses inexhaustible human material4 
,it is upon this that those rely who    
send to death scores of thousands of    
,russian men6  ,it is frankly said that 
the regrettable reverses of our fleet   
must be compensated on the land4 ,in    
plain language this means that if the   
authorities have badly directed things  
on sea1 and by their negligence have    
destroyed not only the nation's         
millions1 but thousands of lives1 we can
 make it up by condemning to death on   
land several more scores of thousands6  
,when crawling locusts cross rivers1 it 
happens that the lower layers are       
drowned until from the bodies of the    

drowned is formed a bridge over which   
the upper ranks can pass4 ,in the same  
way are the ,russian people being       
disposed of4 ,thus the first lower layer
 is already beginning to drown1         
indicating the way to other thousands1  
who will all likewise perish4  ,and are 
the originators1 directors1 and         
supporters of this dreadful work        
beginning to understand their sin1 their
 crime8 ,not in the least4 ,they are    
quite persuaded that they have          
fulfilled1 and are fulfilling1 their    
duty1 and they are proud of their       
activity4 ,people speak of the loss of  
the brave ,makaroff1 who1 as all agree1 
was able to kill men very cleverly2 they
 deplore the loss of a drowned excellent
 machine of slaughter which had cost so 
many millions of roubles2 they discuss  
the question of how to find another     
murderer as capable as the poor         
benighted ,makaroff2 they invent new1   
still more efficacious1 tools of        
slaughter2 and all the guilty men       

engaged in this dreadful work1 from the 
,tsar to the humblest journalist1 all   
with one voice call for new insanities1 
new cruelties1 for the increase of      
brutality and hatred of one's           
fellow-men4  ,makaroff is not the only  
man in ,russia1 and every admiral placed
 in his position will follow in his     
steps and will continue the plan and the
 idea of ,makaroff1 who has nobly       
perished in the strife1 writes the      
,novoe ,vremya4  ,let us earnestly pray 
,god for those who have laid down their 
lives for the sacred ,fatherland1       
without doubting for one moment that the
 ,fatherland will give us new sons1     
equally virtuous1 for the further       
struggle1 and will find in them an      
inexhaustible store of strength for a   
worthy completion of the work1 writes   
the ,st4 ,petersburg ,viedomosti4  ,a   
ripe nation will draw no other          
conclusion from the defeat1 however     
unprecedented1 than that we should      
continue1 develop1 and conclude the     

strife2 therefore let us find in        
ourselves new strength2 new heroes of   
the spirit will arise1 writes the       
,russ1--and so forth4  ,so murder and   
every kind of crime go on with greater  
fury4 ,people enthusiastically admire   
the martial spirit of the volunteers    
who1 having come unexpectedly upon fifty
 of their fellow-men1 slay all of them1 
or take possession of a village and     
slaughter all its population1 or hang or
 shoot those accused of being           
spies--i4e4 of doing the very same thing
 which is regarded as indispensable and 
is constantly done on our side4 ,news   
about these crimes is reported in       
pompous telegrams to their chief        
director1 the ,tsar1 who1 in return1    
sends to his virtuous troops his        
blessing on the continuation of such    
deeds4  ,is it not evident that1 if     
there be a salvation from this position1
 it is only one3 that one which ,jesus  
teaches8--,seek ye first the ,kingdom of
 ,god and ,his righteousness 7that which

 is within you71 and all the rest--i4e4 
all that practical welfare toward which 
man is striving--will of itself be      
realized4  ,such is the law of life3    
practical welfare is attained not when  
man strives toward this practical       
welfare--such striving1 on the contrary1
 for the most part removes man from the 
attainment of what he seeks2 but only   
when man1 without thinking of the       
attainment of practical welfare1 strives
 toward the most perfect fulfilment of  
that which before ,god1 before the      
,source and ,law of his life1 he regards
 as right4 ,then only1 incidentally1 is 
practical welfare also attained4  ,so   
that the true salvation of men is only  
one thing3 the fulfilment of the will of
 ,god by each individual man within     
himself--i4e4 in that portion of the    
universe which alone is subject to his  
power4 ,in this is the chief1 the only1 
destiny and duty of every individual    
man1 and at the same time this is the   
only means by which every individual man

 can influence others2 and1 therefore1  
to this1 and to this only1 should all   
the efforts of every man be directed4   
,may #b1 #aijd4                         
,,xii   ,i had only just despatched the 
last of the preceding pages of this     
paper when the dreadful news came of a  
new iniquity committed in regard to the 
,russian people by those light-minded   
men who1 crazed with power1 have        
appropriated the right of managing them4
 ,again coarse and servile slaves of    
slaves1 dressed up in various dazzling  
attires--varieties of ,generals wishing 
to distinguish themselves1 or to earn   
the right to add one more little star1  
fingle fangle1 or scrap of ribbon to    
their idiotic glaring get-up1 or else   
from stupidity or carelessness--again   
these miserable men have destroyed amid 
dreadful sufferings thousands of those  
honorable1 kind1 hard-working laborers  
who feed them4 ,and again this iniquity 
not only does not cause those           
responsible for it to reflect and       

repent1 but one hears and reads only    
about its being necessary as speedily as
 possible to mutilate and slaughter a   
greater number of men1 and to ruin still
 more families1 both ,russian and       
,japanese4  ,more than this1 to prepare 
men for fresh iniquities of this kind1  
the perpetrators of these crimes1 far   
from recognizing what is evident to     
all--viz4 that for the ,russians this   
event1 even from their patriotic1       
military point of view1 was a scandalous
 defeat--endeavor to assure credulous   
people that these unfortunate ,russian  
laboring men--lured into a trap like    
cattle into a slaughterhouse1 of whom   
several thousands have been killed and  
maimed merely because one ,general did  
not understand what another ,general had
 said--have performed an act of heroism 
because those who could not run away    
were killed and those who did run away  
remained alive4 ,as to the fact that one
 of these immoral and cruel men1        
distinguished by the titles of          

,generals1 ,admirals1 drowned a quantity
 of peaceful ,japanese1 this is also    
described as a great and glorious act of
 heroism1 which must gladden the hearts 
of ,russians4 ,and in all the papers are
 reprinted this awful appeal to         
murder3--  ,let the two thousand        
,russian soldiers killed on the ,yalu1  
together with the maimed ,retvisan and  
her sister ships1 with our lost         
torpedo-boats1 teach our cruisers with  
what devastation they must break in upon
 the shores of base ,japan4 ,she has    
sent her soldiers to shed ,russian      
blood1 and no quarter should be afforded
 her4 ,now one cannot--it is sinful--be 
sentimental2 we must fight2 we must     
direct such heavy blows that the memory 
of them shall freeze the treacherous    
hearts of the ,japanese4 ,now is the    
time for the cruisers to go out to sea  
to reduce to ashes the towns of ,japan1 
flying as a dreadful calamity along its 
shores4 ,no more sentimentality4  ,the  
frightful work commenced is continued4  

,loot1 violence1 murder1 hypocrisy1     
theft1 and1 above all1 the most fearful 
fraud--the distortion of religious      
teachings1 both ,christian and          
,buddhistic--continue4 ,the ,tsar1 the  
chief responsible person1 continues to  
review the troops1 to thank1 reward1 and
 encourage them2 he issues an edict for 
the calling out of the reserves2 his    
faithful subjects again and again lay   
down their property and lives at the    
feet of him they call1 only with their  
lips1 their adored ,monarch4 ,on the    
other hand1 desiring to distinguish     
themselves before each other in deeds   
and not in words only1 they tear away   
the fathers and the bread-winners from  
their orphaned families1 preparing them 
for slaughter4 ,the worse the position  
of ,russia1 the more recklessly do the  
journalists lie1 transforming shameful  
defeats into victories1 knowing that no 
one will contradict them2 and they      
quietly collect money from subscriptions
 and sales4 ,the more money and labor of

 the people is devoted to the war1 the  
more is grabbed by various authorities  
and speculators1 who know that no one   
will convict them because every one is  
doing the same4 ,the military1 trained  
for murder1 having passed years in a    
school of inhumanity1 coarseness1 and   
idleness1 rejoice--poor men--because1   
besides an increase of their salary1 the
 slaughter of superiors opens vacancies 
for their promotion4 ,christian pastors 
continue to invite men to the greatest  
of crimes1 continue to commit sacrilege1
 praying ,god to help the work of war2  
and1 instead of condemning1 they justify
 and praise that pastor who1 with the   
cross in his hands on the very scene of 
murder1 encouraged men to the crime4    
,the same thing is going on in ,japan4  
,the benighted ,japanese go in for      
murder with yet greater fervor1 owing to
 their victories2 the ,mikado also      
reviews and rewards his troops2 various 
,generals boast of their bravery1       
imagining that1 having learned to kill1 

they have acquired enlightenment4 ,so1  
too1 groan the unfortunate working      
people torn from useful labor and from  
their families4 ,so their journalists   
also lie and rejoice over their gains4  
,also probably--for where murder is     
elevated into virtue every kind of vice 
is bound to flourish--also probably all 
kinds of commanders and speculators earn
 money2 and ,japanese theologians and   
religious teachers no less than the     
masters in the techniques of armament do
 not remain behind the ,europeans in the
 techniques of religious deceit and     
sacrilege1 but distort the great        
,buddhistic teaching by not only        
permitting but justifying that murder   
which ,buddha forbade4 ,the ,buddhistic 
scientist1 ,soyen-,shaku1 ruling over   
eight hundred monasteries1 explains that
 although ,buddha forbade manslaughter  
he also said he could never be at peace 
until all beings are united in the      
infinitely loving heart of all things1  
and that1 therefore1 in order to bring  

into harmony that which is discordant it
 is necessary to fight and to kill      
men4#b    #b ,in the article it is said3
 ,this triple world is my own           
possession4       ,all the things       
therein are my own children 444 the ten 
thousand       things in this world are 
no more than the reflections of my own  
self4 ,they come from the one source4   
,they partake of the one body4          
,therefore ,i cannot rest1 until every  
being1 even the smallest       possible 
fragment of existence1 is settled down  
to its proper       appointment4444     
,this is the position taken by the      
,buddha1 and we1       his humble       
followers1 are but to walk in his wake4 
,why1 then1 do we       fight at all8   
,because we do not find this world as it
 ought to be4       ,because there are  
here so many perverted creatures1 so    
many wayward       thoughts1 so many    
ill-directed hearts1 due to ignorant    
subjectivity4 ,for this reason          
,buddhists are never tired of           

combating all productions of ignorance1 
and their fight must be to       the    
bitter end4 ,they will show no quarter4 
,they will mercilessly       destroy the
 very root from which arises the misery 
of this life4 ,to       accomplish this 
end1 they will never be afraid of       
sacrificing their       lives4444 ,there
 follow1 just as is usual with us1      
entangled       arguments about         
self-sacrifice and kindness1 about the  
transmigration of souls and about much  
else--all this for the sole             
purpose of concealing the simple and    
clear commandment of ,buddha3       not 
to kill4 ,further it is said3 ,the hand 
that is raised to strike       and the  
eye that is fixed to take aim do not    
belong to the       individual1 but are 
the instruments utilized by a principle 
higher       than transient existence4  
7,the ,open ,court1 ,may1 #aijd4        
,buddhist       ,views of ,war1 by the  
,right ,rev4 ,soyen-,shaku47  ,it is as 
if there never had existed the          

,christian and ,buddhistic teaching     
about the unity of the human spirit1 the
 brotherhood of men1 love1 compassion1  
the sacredness of human life4 ,men1 both
 ,japanese and ,russians1 already       
enlightened by the truth1 yet like wild 
animals1 nay1 worse than wild animals1  
throw themselves upon each other with   
the sole desire to destroy as many lives
 as possible4 ,thousands of unfortunates
 groan and writhe in cruel sufferings   
and die in agony in ,japanese and       
,russian field hospitals1 asking        
themselves in bewilderment why this     
fearful thing was done with them1 while 
other thousands are already rotting in  
the earth or on the earth1 or floating  
in the sea1 in swollen decomposition4   
,and scores of thousands of wives1      
fathers1 mothers1 children1 are         
bemoaning their bread-winners2 uselessly
 destroyed4 ,yet all this is still too  
little2 new and newer victims are being 
prepared4 ,the chief concern of the     
,russian organizers of slaughter is that

 on the ,russian side the stream of food
 for cannon--three thousand men per day 
doomed to destruction--should not be    
interrupted for one minute4 ,the        
,japanese are preoccupied with the same 
thing4 ,the locusts are incessantly     
being driven down into the river in     
order that the rows behind may pass over
 the bodies4  ,when will this cease1 and
 the deceived people at last recover    
themselves and say3 ,well1 go you       
yourselves1 you heartless ,tsars1       
,mikados1 ,ministers1 ,bishops1 priests1
 generals1 editors1 speculators1 or     
however you may be called1 go you       
yourselves under these shells and       
bullets1 but we do not wish to go and we
 will not go4 ,leave us in peace1 to    
plough1 and sow1 and build1--and also to
 feed you4 ,it would be so natural to   
say this now1 when amongst us in ,russia
 resounds the weeping and wailing of    
hundreds of thousands of mothers1 wives1
 and children1 from whom are being      
snatched away their bread-earners1 the  

so-called reserve4 ,these same men1 the 
majority of the reserve1 are able to    
read2 they know what the ,far ,east is2 
they know that war is going on1 not for 
anything which is in the least necessary
 to ,russia1 but for some dealings in   
strange land1 leased lands1 as they     
themselves call them1 on which it seemed
 advantageous to some corrupt           
speculators to build railways and so    
gain profit2 also they know1 or might   
know1 that they will be killed like     
sheep in a slaughterhouse1 since the    
,japanese possess the latest            
improvements in tools of murder1 which  
we do not1 as the ,russian authorities  
who are sending these people to death   
had not thought in time of furnishing   
themselves with the same weapons as the 
,japanese4 ,knowing all this1 it would  
indeed be so natural to say1 ,go you1   
those who have brought on this work1 all
 you to whom war is necessary1 and who  
justify it2 go you1 and face the        
,japanese bullets and mines1 but we will

 not go1 because we not only do not need
 to do this1 but we cannot understand   
how it can be necessary to any one4     
,but no1 they do not say this2 they go1 
and they will continue to go2 they      
cannot but go as long as they fear that 
which ruins the body and not that which 
ruins both the body and the soul4       
,whether we shall be killed1 they argue1
 or maimed in these chinnampos1 or      
whatever they are called1 whither we are
 driven1 we do not know2 it yet may     
happen that we shall get through safely1
 and1 moreover1 with rewards and glory1 
like those sailors who are now being    
feasted all over ,russia because the    
,japanese bombs and bullets did not hit 
them1 but somebody else2 whereas should 
we refuse1 we should be certainly sent  
to prison1 starved1 beaten1 exiled to   
the province of ,yakoutsk1 perhaps even 
killed immediately4 ,so with despair in 
their hearts1 leaving behind a good     
rational life1 leaving their wives and  
their children1--they go4  ,yesterday ,i

 met a ,reservist soldier accompanied by
 his mother and wife4 ,all three were   
riding in a cart2 he had had a drop too 
much2 his wife's face was swollen with  
tears4 ,he turned to me3--  ,good-by to 
thee6 ,lyof ,nikolaevitch1 off to the   
,far ,east4  ,well1 art thou going to   
fight8  ,well1 some one has to fight6   
,no one need fight6  ,he reflected for a
 moment4 ,but what is one to do2 where  
can one escape8  ,i saw that he had     
understood me1 had understood that the  
work to which he was being sent was an  
evil work4  ,where can one escape8 ,that
 is the precise expression of that      
mental condition which in the official  
and journalistic world is translated    
into the words--,for the ,faith1 the    
,tsar1 and the ,fatherland4 ,those who1 
abandoning their hungry families1 go to 
suffering1 to death1 say as they feel1  
,where can one escape8 ,whereas those   
who sit in safety in their luxurious    
palaces say that all ,russian men are   
ready to sacrifice their lives for their

 adored ,monarch1 and for the glory and 
greatness of ,russia4  ,yesterday1 from 
a peasant ,i know1 ,i received two      
letters1 one after the other4 ,this is  
the first3--  ,dear ,lyof               
,nikolaevitch1--,well1 to-day ,i have   
received the official announcement of my
 call to the ,service2 to-morrow ,i must
 present myself at the headquarters4    
,that is all4 ,and after that--to the   
,far ,east to meet the ,japanese        
bullets4 ,about my own and my           
household's grief ,i will not tell you2 
it is not you who will fail to          
understand all the horror of my position
 and the horrors of war2 all this you   
have long ago painfully realized1 and   
you understand it all4 ,how ,i have     
longed to visit you1 to have a talk with
 you6 ,i had written to you a long      
letter in which ,i described the        
torments of my soul2 but ,i had not had 
time to copy it1 when ,i received my    
summons4 ,what is my wife to do now with
 her four children8 ,as an old man1 of  

course1 you cannot do anything yourself 
for my folks1 but you might ask some of 
your friends in their leisure to visit  
my orphaned family4 ,i beg you earnestly
 that if my wife proves unable to bear  
the agony of her helplessness with her  
burden of children and makes up her mind
 to go to you for help and counsel1 you 
will receive and console her4 ,although 
she does not know you personally1 she   
believes in your word1 and that means   
much4 ,i was not able to resist the     
summons1 but ,i say beforehand that     
through me not one ,japanese family     
shall be orphaned4 ,my ,god6 how        
dreadful is all this--how distressing   
and painful to abandon all by which one 
lives and in which one is concerned4    
,the second letter is as follows3       
,kindest ,lyof ,nikolaevitch1 ,only one 
day of actual service has passed1 and ,i
 have already lived through an eternity 
of most desperate torments4 ,from #h    
o'clock in the morning till #i in the   
evening we have been crowded and knocked

 about to and fro in the barrack yard1  
like a herd of cattle4 ,the comedy of   
medical examination was three times     
repeated1 and those who had reported    
themselves ill did not receive even ten 
minutes' attention before they were     
marked ',satisfactory4' ,when we1 these 
two thousand satisfactory individuals1  
were driven from the military commander 
to the barracks1 along the road spread  
out for almost a verst stood a crowd of 
relatives1 mothers1 and wives with      
infants in arms2 and if you had only    
heard and seen how they clasped their   
fathers1 husbands1 sons1 and hanging    
round their necks wailed hopelessly6    
,generally ,i behave in a reserved way  
and can restrain my feelings1 but ,i    
could not hold out1 and ,i also wept4   
,in journalistic language this same is  
expressed thus3 ,the upheaval of        
patriotic feeling is immense4 ,where is 
the standard that can measure all this  
immensity of woe now spreading itself   
over almost one-third of the world8 ,and

 we1 we are now that food for cannon1   
which in the near future will be offered
 as sacrifice to the ,god of vengeance  
and horror4 ,i cannot manage to         
establish my inner balance4 ,oh6 how ,i 
execrate myself for this                
double-mindedness which prevents my     
serving one ,master and ,god4  ,this man
 does not yet sufficiently believe that 
what destroys the body is not dreadful1 
but that which destroys both the body   
and the soul1 therefore he cannot refuse
 to go2 yet while leaving his own family
 he promises beforehand that through him
 not one ,japanese family shall be      
orphaned2 he believes in the chief law  
of ,god1 the law of all religions--to   
act toward others as one wishes others  
to act toward oneself4 ,of such men more
 or less consciously recognizing this   
law1 there are in our time1 not in the  
,christian world alone1 but in the      
,buddhistic1 ,mahomedan1 ,confucian1 and
 ,brahminic world1 not only thousands   
but millions4  ,there exist true heroes1

 not those who are now being feted      
because1 having wished to kill others1  
they were not killed themselves1 but    
true heroes1 who are now confined in    
prisons and in the province of ,yakoutsk
 for having categorically refused to    
enter the ranks of murderers1 and who   
have preferred martyrdom to this        
departure from the law of ,jesus4 ,there
 are also such as he who writes to me1  
who go1 but who will not kill4 ,but also
 that majority which goes without       
thinking1 and endeavors not to think of 
what it is doing1 still in the depth of 
its soul does now already feel that it  
is doing an evil deed by obeying        
authorities who tear men from labor and 
from their families and send them to    
needless slaughter of men1 repugnant to 
their soul and their faith2 and they go 
only because they are so entangled on   
all sides that--,where can one escape8  
,meanwhile those who remain at home not 
only feel this1 but know and express it4
 ,yesterday in the high road ,i met some

 peasants returning from ,toula4 ,one of
 them was reading a leaflet as he walked
 by the side of his cart4  ,i asked1    
,what is that--a telegram8  ,this is    
yesterday's1--but here is one of to-day4
 ,he took another out of his pocket4 ,we
 stopped4 ,i read it4  ,you should have 
seen what took place yesterday at the   
station1 he said2 it was dreadful4      
,wives1 children1 more than a thousand  
of them1 weeping4 ,they surrounded the  
train1 but were allowed no further4     
,strangers wept1 looking on4 ,one woman 
from ,toula gasped and fell down dead4  
,five children4 ,they have since been   
placed in various institutions2 but the 
father was driven away all the same4444 
,what do we want with this ,manchuria1  
or whatever it is called8 ,there is     
sufficient land here4 ,and what a lot of
 people and of property has been        
destroyed4  ,yes1 the relation of men to
 war is now quite different from that   
which formerly existed1 even so lately  
as the year '#gg4 ,that which is now    

taking place never took place before4   
,the papers set forth that1 during the  
receptions of the ,tsar1 who is         
travelling about ,russia for the purpose
 of hypnotizing the men who are being   
sent to murder1 indescribable enthusiasm
 is manifested amongst the people4 ,as a
 matter of fact1 something quite        
different is being manifested4 ,from all
 sides one hears reports that in one    
place three ,reservists have hanged     
themselves2 in another spot1 two more2  
in yet another1 about a woman whose     
husband had been taken away bringing her
 children to the conscription           
committee-room and leaving them there2  
while another hanged herself in the yard
 of the military commander4 ,all are    
dissatisfied1 gloomy1 exasperated4 ,the 
words1 ,for the ,faith1 the ,king1 and  
the ,fatherland1 the ,national ,anthem1 
and shouts of ,hurrah no longer act upon
 people as they once did4 ,another      
warfare of a different kind--the        
struggling consciousness of the deceit  

and sinfulness of the work to which     
people are being called--is more and    
more taking possession of the people4   
,yes1 the great strife of our time is   
not that now taking place between the   
,japanese and the ,russians1 nor that   
which may blaze up between the white and
 yellow races1 not that strife which is 
carried on by mines1 bombs1 bullets1 but
 that spiritual strife which without    
ceasing has gone on and is now going on 
between the enlightened consciousness of
 mankind now waiting for manifestation  
and that darkness and that burden which 
surrounds and oppresses mankind4  ,in   
,his own time ,jesus yearned in         
expectation1 and said1 ,i came to cast  
fire upon the earth1 and how ,i wish    
that it were already kindled4 ,luke xii4
 #di4  ,that which ,jesus longed for is 
being accomplished1 the fire is being   
kindled4 ,then do not let us check it1  
but let us spread and serve it4  #ac    
,may1 #aijd4  ,i should never finish    
this paper if ,i were to continue to add

 to it all that corroborates its        
essential idea4 ,yesterday the news came
 in of the sinking of the ,japanese     
ironclads2 and in the so-called higher  
circles of ,russian fashionable1 rich1  
intellectual society they are1 without  
the slightest conscientious scruples1   
rejoicing at the destruction of a       
thousand human lives4 ,yet to-day ,i    
have received from a simple seaman1 a   
man standing on the lowest plane of     
society1 the following letter3#c  ,much 
respected ,lyof ,nikolaevitch1 ,i greet 
you with a low bow1 with love1 much     
respected ,lyof ,nikolaevitch4 ,i have  
read your book4 ,it was very pleasant   
reading for me4 ,i have been a great    
lover of reading your works4 ,well1     
,lyof ,nikolaevitch1 we are now in a    
state of war1 please write to me whether
 it is agreeable to ,god or not that our
 commanders compel us to kill4 ,i beg   
you1 ,lyof ,nikolaevitch1 write to me   
please whether or not the truth now     
exists on earth4 ,tell me1 ,lyof        

,nikolaevitch4 ,in church here a prayer 
is being read1 the priest mentions the  
,christ-loving army4 ,is it true or not 
that ,god loves war8 ,i pray you1 ,lyof 
,nikolaevitch1 have you got any books   
from which ,i could see whether truth   
exists on earth or not8 ,send me such   
books4 ,what they cost1 ,i will pay4 ,i 
beg you1 ,lyof ,nikolaevitch1 do not    
neglect my request4 ,if there are no    
books then send me a letter4 ,i will be 
very glad when ,i receive a letter from 
you4 ,i will await your letter with     
impatience4 ,good-by for the present4 ,i
 remain alive and well and wish the same
 to you from the ,lord ,god4 ,good      
health and good success in your work4   
#c ,the letter is written in a most     
illiterate way1 filled with             
mistakes in orthography and punctuation4
                                        
7,trans47