The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-11-18


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his attention that he was able to silence
the demands of his soul for truly
religious conception of life.
At fifty he was n rich man with large
landed estates, an aristocrat, member
Of noble family. He was one of the
most distinguished writer's of the world,
and his books are translated into all
the principal languages. He had de-
voted wife and fine family of chill.
dren growing up around him. Would
it be possible to find a man more hap.
! PLY situated3 And yet he related in
his own writing that at fifty he could
scarcely keep himself from committing
suicide. He felt he had no religion, did
not know what he was living for, saw
nothing in the future but death.
| But Tolstoi was no coward, and sui.
! eide is cowardice He made up his mind
to find the truth if truth was to be
found. He began to read and study; he
applied to his friends, to the professors
in the college, and the priests in the
churches. For several years he strug
gled with the great questions of life
and death, of good and evil, but he OBJ
tanned little satisfaction. He was
practical man, and he wanted prac-
teal religion that would change the life
of those that protested it, but as he
looked around him he saw religious peo-
pie living much like the irreligious.
He was sure that they were deceiving
themselves with their forms and cere-
monies. He set to work then upon the
study of the Gospels for himself and
tried to permeate his mind with the
spirit of the teachings of Jesus. He
became particularly attracted by the
Sermon on the Mount, and read it again
and again, and, gradually its meaning
grew clearer and clearer to him.
He then determined to dedicate the
remainder of his days to such works
of love as he could perform. He looked
upon his past life in the light of his
new love, and he felt profoundly dis.
gusted with it. Was it possible to love
his neighbor as himself and go on liv-
ing in luxury while his neighbors were
overwhelmed by poverty7 Was it CON
sistent with Christ's teaching for him
to live as one of a small society of
rich and aristocratic people, scorning
nine-tenths of mankind as their infe.
riors, refusing to sit at table with them,
or to,regard them as brothers, and these
too, the very people who provided them
with the necessities and Injuries of
lifeY No. 1t was not He would have
done with it all. He would cease to
separate himself from the mass of his
fellows by his dress, his manners and
his occupation, and he would admit him
self to be what God made him, simple
human being like all the rest Accord.
ingly he began to simplify his ways of
living to wear a peasant % dress, to
work with his hands TO do without the
Injuries to which he had been accus. !
toned. His love extended beyond men
to the animal world. He did not TAX +,
up shooting again, for he would not |
find pleasure in causing pain, and there |
are so many pleasures which hurt no |
onel lie stopped taking meat, for he
did not like the idea of Strengthening |
animals, and he soon found, as many !
Others have done, that he was Just as
well and strong on vegetarian diet as
he had been before on meat diet. He |
went on writing as literary man, but |
no longer for fame or for money, but |
rather to make his new discovery known
to the world.
In 1901 Tostoi was communicated |
by the Holy Synod of the Russian
church, something which disturbed 9th.
ers much more than it did him, five
hundred students marching to the Ka.
zan cathedral and demanding that they
be also accommodated.
Latterly, however, the lightness Of the
has lessened, while the
Russian government, even, had not
dared to deal with this world Is man
as it did to lesser men who spoke or
wrote as he did.