New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-11-20


with human progress and including doc
trine of non-resstance, the application OF
which could result only in the permanent
enslavement of all who accepted it.
The literary genius which was deeply
implanted in TOlstoyS nature could not,
however, he completely suppressed. The
writer prOfessed contempt for those works
of his which had brought him fame, but
he continued to produce. In his later years
he devoted his pen to the instruction OF
the Russian masses, confinlng himself
largely TO short stories, all of which
are didactic in purpose. Of these may
be named Where Does Evil Come
From?' The Weavers.'' The Two Old
Men, What Makes Men Live?'' "A True
Story A Fire Which Burns Never Goes
out" Ivan the Simple The Power OF
Darkness a dramatic poem, and The
erful and impressive sketch. The Power
Of Darkness is weird. grim and striking,
but its realism is more repulSlYe than ITS
teaching is clear. TOlstoy's short stories
are for the most part addressed 10 the
crude mental capacities of the peasantry'
and therefore they are highly colored;
with homely illusions to and figures
taken from popular legend and supersti-
ton. They have attained large ClrcuIa-
ton and a wide popularity, but 1t Is cyl
dent that the mujk read them principally
scription. and that the morals inculcated
made little impression IN / he hreuIZeI
Sonata" the author exemplifed the ten
denotes of his new socialism by running
amuck a the marriage institution FROM
his point of view the attack was Justlhed,
all extant civilization being as hopetessIy
wrong in his eyes as In those or the
anarchists though the remedies proposed
by him are milder, if not less destructive,
in their ultimate implications. For mar
riage abuses he would substitute universal
cellbacy. thus arriving by roao OF nIe
own at Arthur SchopenhaUer's goal-the
termination of all life by the exercise OF
denial of the will to live
In October. 1892 Count TOlStOy deposited
his memoirs and diaries with the curator
of the Rumyanzoff Museum, on condition
that they should not be published until
ten years after his death. Shortly after
he legally made over his entire fortune to
his wife and children. At latest reports,
the counts memoirs and diaries had
either nysteriOusly disappeared from the
museum or else had been so carefully put
away that they could not be found, IN
1893 he published The Kingdom OF COD
Within U.s. work on the social question:
and in 1894 Patriotism and Christianity
ance These articles appeared in THE
London Daily Chronicle" Since that time
his influence hai steadily increased. HIS
views were adopted by various advanced
societies, among others by the Brother
recovery from severe illness IN 1893 ne
wrote powerful vindication OF the
Doukhobor sect who We're then suffering
great persecution in Russia This was
published in The London Times. as &C
cess was denied him to the Russian press
by the censor. During 1895 he also pub
Iished The Four Gospels Harmonized. a
translation of the introduction or Which
was first published in this country in the
columns of The Tribune. That year also
saw the publication of his striking sh 19pt
story entitled Master and Man In 1898
Count ToIstoy published a volume en-
titled What Is Art?" in which he main
tanned that beauty is not the chief aim or
art but that its object is rather the eX-
preston of the emotions and sentiments
of the artist IN such a way that they are
communicated to others. its value depend
ing on that of the sentiment which it con-
tdinS-
When his novel Resurrection" was pub
fshed it was announced that Count
Tolstoy would devote the proceeds from
the sales to the aid of the 'Doukhobors in
their search for religious freedom by emf
grafton to Canada. He was eXCommuni-
Gated by the Russian Synod. March 3. 1901.
In 1902. when the award of the Nobel
literary prize 10 the French poet Prud-
honrne was announced, many Swedish men
Of art and letters, who had hoped that
Count Tolstoy would be the recipient, unit
ed in an address of sympathy. which was
sent to him as he lay i'll in bed. To this
letter Count Tolstoy returned the following
characteristic reply:
'Chers ct honores confreres: I am very
glad that the Nobel prize was not awarded
to ne In the first place because I am rid
Of q great embarrassment, viz, that of dis
posing Of this money, which, in my humble
opinion, can produce nothing but evil; and.
in the second place because it has given
me the great pleasure OF receiving this eX-
preston of sympathy from so many people
whom-though personally unknown TO me
7 highly esteem
Count Tolstoy's views in regard TO the
future of his country became more and
more pessmistic. Speaking Of the eff
forts of the government to conciliate the
people by qualified concessions he declared.
in September 1906, They have promised
the peasants what it is impossible to grant
And if il were possible, why should the
peasants again form a separate class and
be the only possessors of the land? Why
should not a bootuaker a nobleman
have the use of the land if he needs It? II
thew really wish to do something, why don't
they adopt Henry Georges scheme?" AS
recently as December, 1906, he expressed
the belief that the present deadlock would
continue for some time perhaps with
more and more violent upheavaIs. until the
peonle are ultimately driven into realiZa-
ton of the folly of their ways and in their
extremity turn with a new understanding,
TO the Infinite" In letter, written few
days later TO Paul Sabatier. apropos of the
latter's recent book on the disestablish-
OF the Church in France, Tolstoy went 50
far as TO predict the possible reduction of
all the Chritian countries of the West to a
state of vassalage TO the Japanese and
other Oriental peoples. For. only in the
East" he SAID, ARE religion and patriotism
synonymous"
His latest non-political publication was
a remarkable criticism Of the plays or
Shakespeare. In which he professed to be
able TO detect no indications of genius. He
advanced the theory that the esteem in
which the poet and his work were held
in E,urope and America could be attrib-
uted only to process OF hypnotic sugges-
ton. due originally to the influence OF
Goethe and his school
In spite of severe attacks or illness
Count ToIstov continued 10 keep in touch
with what was going on in the world, out
side of Russia. as well as within. In March.
1897 he sent a letter of sympathy To
the meeting held in this city. in memory
of Ernest II. Crosby, whom he greatly
admired. and in June he took occasion TO
characterize the Hague conference as
only a disgusting manifestation of Chris