The Gospel in Brief

***The Gospel in Brief*** () is a work by Russian author Leo Tolstoy. It is a shortened and unified version of the four gospels of the New Testament, presented as one story of the life and teaching of Jesus. Tolstoy first created this synthesis in 1892 and later published it in book form as _The Gospel in Brief_ in 1896.

The 1896 book is based on material that Tolstoy had included in a longer work in 1892. In _The Gospel in Brief_, Tolstoy leaves out many of the supernatural elements of the original biblical gospels, such as Jesus's divine birth and his miracles. Instead, he concentrates on Jesus's moral and spiritual teachings, especially those that Tolstoy himself thought were most important. Because of this, many readers see _The Gospel in Brief_ as a clear expression of Tolstoy's own understanding of Christianity.

Tolstoy’s version is often said to be the result of his detailed study of the original Koine Greek text of the New Testament.

Tolstoy’s reading of the life and teaching of Jesus was very different from the official teaching of the Russian Orthodox Church. He strongly criticized the Church and its connection with the state. In 1901, partly because of books like _The Gospel in Brief_ and other writings on religion, the Church excommunicated him.

## History

In 1892, Tolstoy published a long work titled _A Translation, Harmony, and Analysis of the Gospels_. This book compared and arranged the four New Testament gospels, but it was complex and aimed more at serious students than at ordinary readers. Tolstoy worried that this large and detailed volume would not reach laypeople. To make his ideas easier to understand, he took only the introductions and summaries of the twelve chapters from _A Translation, Harmony, and Analysis of the Gospels_. He combined these shorter parts into a new, much more compact version. This shorter book was published in 1896 as _The Gospel in Brief_.

## Influence

Austrian–British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein was deeply influenced by _The Gospel in Brief_. He called it a "magnificent work". After finding the book by chance in a Polish bookshop, he began to carry it with him "constantly, like a talisman".

Wittgenstein took the book with him during his service in World War I and recommended it to other soldiers. His passion for the book was so strong that other soldiers came to know him as "the man with the Gospels". In a letter to Ludwig von Ficker, Wittgenstein wrote:

> "Are you acquainted with Tolstoy's _The Gospel in Brief_? At its time, this book virtually kept me alive... If you are not acquainted with it, then you cannot imagine what an effect it can have upon a person."

Some modern scholars suggest that the twelve-part structure of _The Gospel in Brief_ may have influenced the numbered structure of Wittgenstein's own major work, the _Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus_.

## In popular culture

In 2014, playwright Scott Carter wrote a play titled _The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord_. The play shows Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy together in purgatory. All three had written their own versions or interpretations of the gospels: Jefferson wrote _The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth_ (often called the Jefferson Bible), Dickens wrote _The Life of Our Lord_, and Tolstoy wrote _The Gospel in Brief_. In the play, the three men must argue about their religious views and reach a shared theological understanding before they can enter heaven.

## Infobox (book)

- **name**: The Gospel in Brief
- **author**: Leo Tolstoy
- **language**: Russian language, Russian
- **country**: Russia
- **genre**: Biblical genre, Religion
- **isbn**: 0803294328
- **orig lang code**: ru
- **translator**: Isabel Florence Hapgood
- **image**: The Gospel in Brief.jpg
- **release date**: 1896
- **media type**: Print
- **pages**: 215
- **wikisource**: The Gospel in Brief