Once some guests were gathered in a rich man's
home, and it happened that a serious conversation
about life arose.
They talked about persons absent and persons present, and they could not hit upon a single one contented
with his life.
Not only did each one find something to complain of
in his fortune, but there was not one who would consider
that he was living as a Christian ought to live. All
confessed that they were living worldly lives, concerned
only about themselves and their families, thinking little
about their neighbors, and still less about God.
Thus talked the guests, and all agreed in blaming
themselves for their godless, unchristian lives.
" Then why do we live so ? " cried one youth. " Why
do we do w... (From: Wikisource.org.)
This morning I underwent a medical examination in the government council room. The opinions of the doctors were divided. They argued among themselves and came at last to the conclusion that I was not mad. But this was due to the fact that I tried hard during the examination not to give myself away. I was afraid of being sent to the lunatic asylum, where I would not be able to go on with the mad undertaking I have on my hands. They pronounced me subject to fits of excitement, and something else, too, but nevertheless of sound mind. The doctor prescribed a certain treatment, and assured me that by following his directions my trouble would completely disappear. Imagine, all that torments me disappearing completely! Oh, there is nothing I would... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
CHAPTER I. The Old Horse
We had an old, old man, Pimen Timofeitch. He was ninety years of age. He lived at his grand- son’s house, but did no work. His back was bent ; he walked with a stick, and found it hard to drag one leg after the other. All of his teeth were gone ; his face was wrinkled ; his lower lip trembled. When he walked and when he talked, he had no control over his lips, so that it was impossible to make out what he was saying.
There were four brothers of us, and we all liked to ride horseback ; but we had no gentle horses fit for us to ride. We were permitted to ride only on one old horse whose name was Voronok. [1]
One time mother gave us permission to have a ride, and we all ran with our tutor to ... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
There dwelt once upon a time in the Ufimsk
government a Bashkir named Elias. The father
of Elias had left him a poor man. His father had
only gotten him a wife a year before, and then died.
In those days Elias owned seven mares, two cows,
and twice ten sheep. But Elias was now the master,
and began to spread himself out; from morn to eve
he labored with his wife, rose up earlier and lay
down later than all other men, and grew richer every
year. Five-and-thirty years did Elias continue to
labor, and won for himself great possessions.
Elias now had two hundred head of horses, a
hundred and fifty head of horned cattle, and one
thousand two hundred sheep. Many men-servants
pastured the tabuns[1] and the herds of Elia... (From: Wikisource.org.)
There once lived, in the Government of Oufá, a Bashkír named Ilyás. His father, who died a year after he had found his son a wife, did not leave him much property. Ilyás then had only seven mares, two cows, and about a score of sheep. He was a good manager, however, and soon began to acquire more. He and his wife worked from morn till night; rising earlier than others and going later to bed; and his possessions increased year by year. Living in this way, Ilyás little by little acquired great wealth. At the end of thirty-five years he had 200 horses, 150 head of cattle, and 1,200 sheep. Hired laborers tended his flocks and herds, and hired women milked his mares and cows, and made kumiss [1], butter and che... (From: Wikisource.org.)
A population of twelve thousand people - Christians of the Universal Brotherhood," as the Dukhobors, who live in the Caucasus, call themselves
are at the present moment in the most distressing circumstances.
Without entering into argument as to who is right: whether it be the governments who consider that Christianity is compatible with prisons, executions, and above all, with wars and preparations for war ; or whether it be the Dukhobors, who acknowledge as binding only the Christian law (which renounces the use of any force whatever, and condemns murder), and who therefore refuse to serve in the army, one cannot fail to see that this controversy is very difficult to settle. No government could allow some people to shun duties which a... (From: Wikisource.org.)
The Assyrian King, Esarhaddon, had conquered the kingdom of King Lailie, had destroyed and burnt the towns, taken all the inhabitants captive to his own country, slaughtered the warriors, beheaded some chieftains and impaled or flayed others, and had confined King Lailie himself in a cage.
As he lay on his bed one night, King Esarhaddon was thinking how he should execute Lailie, when suddenly he heard a rustling near his bed, and opening his eyes saw an old man with a long gray beard and mild eyes.
'You wish to execute Lailie?' asked the old man.
'Yes,' answered the King. 'But I cannot make up my mind how to do it.'
'But you are Lailie,' said the old man.
'That's not true,' replied the King. 'Lailie is Lailie, and I am I.'
'You... (From: Wikisource.org.)
In the olden time there lived a good master. He had
much of everything, and many slaves served him.
And the slaves praised their master. They said:
"There is no master better than our master under
heaven. He clothes and feeds us well, and gives us
work to do according to our strength; he offends none
by word of mouth, and bears no grudge for anything.
He is not like other masters who torment their slaves
and treat them worse than cattle, and punish them
whethesr they commit faults or not, and have not a good
word to say to them. Our master has our welfare at
heart, and does good to us, and speaks well to us.
We want no better life than the life we lead"
Thus did the slaves praise their master. And the
Devil was w... (From: Wikisource.org.)
There lived in olden times a good and kindly man. He had this world's goods in abundance, and many slaves to serve him. And the slaves prided themselves on their master, saying:
'There is no better lord than ours under the sun. He feeds and clothes us well, and gives us work suited to our strength. He bears no malice, and never speaks a harsh word to any one. He is not like other masters, who treat their slaves worse than cattle: punishing them whether they deserve it or not, and never giving them a friendly word. He wishes us well, does good, and speaks kindly to us. We do not wish for a better life.'
Thus the slaves praised their lord, and the Devil, seeing it, was vexed that slaves should live in such love and harmony with their master... (From: Wikisource.org.)
Excommunication
February 22, 1901
[missing introduction about the Gates of Hell not prevailing against the holy Church]
In our days, God has permitted a new false teacher to appear - Count Leo Tolstoy. A writer well known to the world, Russian by birth, Orthodox by baptism and education, Count Tolstoy, under the seduction of his intellectual pride, has insolently risen against the Lord and His Christ and against His holy heritage, and has publicly, in the sight of all men, repudiated the Orthodox Mother Church, which reared and educated him, and has devoted his literary activity, and the talent given to him by God, to disseminating among the people teachings repugnant to Christ and the Church, and to destroying in the minds... (From: Wikisource.org.)
In the city of Vladimir lived a young merchant named Askenov. He owned two stores and a dwelling-house.
Askenov was attractive in person, blond, curly-headed, and a lover of jollity and song. He drank in his youth, and when intoxicated he quarreled. But when once married he drank very rarely.
One day in summer he decided to attend the fair at Nijni-Novogorod. As he was bidding his family farewell, his wife said to him:
"Ivan, do not go to-day; I had a bad dream about you."
Askenov began to laugh, and replied:
"You fear I will commit some folly at the fair."
His wife answered: "I do not myself exactly know what I fear; only I had a bad dream. I saw you as you came from the city. You took off your cap, and all at once I saw that your he... (From: Wikisource.org.)
THE HEAD AND TAIL OF THE SERPENT
THE serpent's Tail was disputing with the serpent's
Head as to which should go first.
The Head said :
"You cannot go first ; you have no eyes or ears."
The Tail replied :
" But at all events I have the strength to make you
go. If I wanted, I could twine around a tree, and you
could not stir."
The Head said :
" Let us part company."
And the Tail tore itself away from the Head, and
crawled away in its own direction.
But as soon as it had left the Head, it came upon a
cranny and fell into it.
II
FINE THREADS
A MAN bade a spinner spin fine threads. The spinner
spun fine threads ; but the man declared that the threads
were not good, and that he wished the very finest of fine... (From: Wikisource.org.)
It was the Carême de l’Assomption,[3] and consequently no one was surprised at my commencing a season of devotion.
During this whole week Sergius Mikaïlovitch did not once come to see us, and far from being surprised, alarmed, or angry with him, I was content, and did not expect him before my birthday. Throughout this week I rose very early every day, and while the horses were being harnessed I walked in the garden, alone, meditating upon the past, and thinking what I must do in order that the evening should find me satisfied with my day, and proud of having committed no faults.
When the horses were ready, I entered the droschky, accompanied by Macha or a maid-servant, and drove about three versts to church. I... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
This winter I received a letter from Mrs. Sokolof with an account of the needs of the peasants in the Voronezh Government, and I transmitted this letter, together with a memorandum of my own, to the Russkiya Vyedomosti[1] and since then several persons have sent me their contributions to aid the starving peasants. These small contributions I have forwarded partly to a good acquaintance of mine in the Zemlyansky District, two hundred rubles ; the monthly contribution of Smolensk physicians and certain other small offerings I dispatched to the Chernsky District in the government of Tula, to my son and his wife, for the distribution of help in their locality. But in April I received new and quite important contributions : Mrs. Mevi... (From: Archive.org.)
"What can be more horrible than country festivals?" In nothing can the whole barbarism and ugliness of the life of the people be shown with such distinctness as in country festivals. Men live on weekdays; they eat and drink moderately of wholesome food, they labor industriously; they mingle in friendly intercourse. Thus pass weeks, sometimes months, and suddenly this good life is interrupted without any apparent cause. On some special day all simultaneously knock off work, and from noontime on begin to eat rich food to which they are not accustomed; they begin to drink beer and vodka. All drink; the aged compel young men and even children to drink. All congratulate one another, kiss one another, embrace one another, shout, sing songs. Now t... (From: Wikisource.org.)
ACT I
PEASANT [plowing. Looks up] It's noon. Time to unharness.
Gee up, get along! Fagged out? Poor old
beast! One more turn and back again, that will be the
last furrow, and then dinner. It was a good idea to bring
that chunk of bread with me. I'll not go home, but sit
down by the well and have a bite and a rest, and Peggy
can graze awhile. Then, with God's help, to work again,
and the plowing will be done in good time.
Enter Imp; hides behind a bush.
IMP. See what a good fellow he is! Keeps calling on
God. Wait a bit, friend,—you'll be calling on the Devil
before long! I'll just take away his chunk. He'll miss
it before long, and will begin to hunt for it. He'll be
hungry, and then he'll swear and call on the D... (From: Gutenberg.org.)
Here are my first recollections (which I cannot reduce to order, not knowing what came first, what afterwards, while of some I know not whether they were dreams or reality). But here they are.
I am tied down; I want to raise my arms, but I cannot do it, and I wail and weep and my cry is disagreeable to myself; but I cannot stop. It must be that some one stands bending over me, but I don’t remember who. And all this takes place in a semi-darkness. But I remember that there are two. My crying has an effect on them, they are alarmed at my cry, but they do not unloose me as I wish, and I cry louder than ever. It seems to them necessary (that is, that I be tied down), while I know that it is not necessary, and I want to prove it to ... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
Once students found Confucius by the river. The teacher was sitting on the shore and was looking closely at the water, observing how it ran.
Students were surprised and asked:
“Teacher, what’s the use to observe how water flows? There’s nothing special in it, that’s how it always was and will be”.
Confucius replied:
“You’re right: this is the most common phenomenon, it always took place and will continue, and everybody understands it.
But not everybody understands that the flow of water is similar to a teaching. I was looking at the water and was thinking about it. Waters flow incessantly, they flow day and night until they merge together in a large ocean. Similarly, the ... (From: Wikisource.org.)
Note by translator M. S. Morozov.
Preface by Leo Tolstoy I happened to be drinking tea this winter in a cook-shop where I am known. It was four o'clock in the afternoon, and being a regular customer, a newspaper was as usual handed to me, as a special mark of respect.
Having put on the spectacles my old eyes require, I dived into the paper and became absorbed in an article about Leo Tolstoy.
It was quiet in the place, there were few customers and I gave myself up entirely to the reading.
My reading was interrupted by an old man in a peasant's coat, wearing bark shoes, and with a small bag on his arm, who came up and softly touched my shoulder, saying:
"Won't you give me a kopeck[1]? I'm hungry!"
I was vexed at the fellow's impertin... (From: Wikisource.org.)
Vladimir Grigorevich,
I have read your article and, in addition that I fully agree with what is expressed in it, I wanted to say about it the following.
"There are no more hopeless deaf than those who don't want to hear".
Revolutionaries say that the purpose of their activity is the destruction of that oppressing social order which abuses and corrupts people. But in order to destroy this violent system, first of all it’s necessary to have financial means; and for that need to have at least some likelihood of success of such destruction.
And there is no slightest likelihood of that. The existing governments has long ago learned their enemies and the risks to which they are exposed, and therefore long time ago they took and now vig... (From: Wikisource.org.)
Part 1
On May 3, 1882, 3-masted ship "Lady of Winds" sailed from port Le Havre to Chinese seas. It’s unloaded in China, took the new cargo, delivered it to Buenos Aires, and from there took goods to Brazil.
Crossings, damage repairs, a lull for several months, winds pushing ship away from its way, sea adventures and tribulations detained it so that it sailed for four years in foreign seas and only by May 8, 1886 arrived to Marseille with a cargo of tin boxes with American canned goods.
When the ship exited Le Havre, it had a captain, his assistant and fourteen sailors aboard. During the journey one sailor died, four got missing in different adventures and only nine returned to France. To replace the retired sail... (From: Archive.org.)
"Ye have heard that it hath been said: an eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth ; but I say unto you : That ye resist not evil."
Matt. v. 38, 39.
"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay." Rom. xii. 19.
A poor muzhik had a son born unto him. The muzhik rejoiced, and went to his neighbor to beg him to be a sponsor for his child. The neighbor refused ; he would not be a sponsor to a poor man's child. Then the poor muzhik went to another neighbor, and he refused likewise. He went round the whole village, and nobody would be a sponsor for him. The muzhik set out for another village, and there met him on the road a wayfaring man, and the wayfaring man stopped and greeted him :
Part 1
" Hail to thee, little muzhik ! " cried he, " ... (From: Wikisource.org.)