The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-02
ATM SHOULD NOT MARRY.
Count Tolstoi Convinced That Cell

-. ro1s.oi Convinced That Cell
bscv is Right and Marriage wrong
T,,,,s1oti,, in the Eew York Herald
! So there is not and cannot be such an
,,stitution as christian marriage, JUST as
+bara cannot be such thing as christian
liturgy Matt, vi, 5-l2; john. Nv, ~ nor
Iitu, - teachers. nor church fathers
Mat xiii. $40, nor christian armies,
oh-;stian la courts, nor christian states:
~ is what was always taught and believed
- +-ne christians of the first and following
o9Dtn~ies A christians ideal IS not mar
,ioge hut love for God and for his nelg nDof.
CTnssouently in the eyes OF christian re-
lations in marriage not only DO not conStl-
+,te a lawful, right and happy state. as our
society and our churches MAINTAIN, OUT, on
the contrary, are always fan
Snch a thing as christian marriage never
-vas and never could be. Christ did not
,,,rrv nor did he establish marriage;
neither did his disciples marry. But If
christian marriage cannot exist there Is
ench a thing as a christian view or mar
riege. And this IS how 1t may De formula
tad- clristi IN and by this term | un-
6arstand not those who call themselves
CHRISTIANS merely because they were bap-
tizad and still receive the sacrament once a
vaar. but those whose lives are shaped and
regulated by the teachings of Christi
christian. / say, cannot view the marriage
relation otherwise than as deviation from
the doctrine of Christ-as a sin. This Is
cla,rly laid down in Matthew, ", %, and
the ceremony called christian marriage
does not alter its character one Jot. A
christian will never, therefore, desire mar
rage but will always avoid 1t.
If the light of truth dawns upon chris
tian when he is already married, or if,
being christian, from weakness he enters
into marital relations with the ceremonies
of the church, or without them, he has no
other alternative than to abide with his
wife and the wife with her husband, if it
is She who is christian) and to aspire to
pether with her to free themselves of their
sin. This is the christian view of marriage;
and there cannot be any other for a man
who honestly endeavors to shape his life in
accordance with the teachings of Christ.
To try many persons the thoughts have
uttered here and in The Kreutzer Sonata"
will seem strange, vague, even contradict
ory. They certainly do contradict, not
each other, but the whole tenor of our lives,
and involuntarily doubt arises, son which
side is truth-on the side of the thoughts
which seem true and well founded, or on
the side of the lives of others and myselfg'
|. too, was weighed down by that same
doubt when writing "The Kreutzer Son
ata" | had not the faintest presentiment
that the train of thought l had started
would lead me. whittier it did. was terri
fed by my own conclusions and was at first
disposed to reject it, but it was impossible
not to hearken to the voice of my reason
and my conscience. And SO, strange though
they may appear to many, opposed as they
undoubtedly are to the trend and tenor of
our lives, and incompatible though they
may prove with what I have heretofore
thought and uttered, have no choice but
to accept them. But man is weak" peo-
pie will object His task should be regu-
lated by his strength"
This is tantamount to saying, "My hand
is weak. cannot draw straight line
that is, line which will be the shortest
line between two given points so, In
order to make it more easy for myself, l,
intending to draw straight, will choose
for my model crooked line"
The weaker my hand the greater the
need that my model should be perfect.
LEON TOLSToI.