wards Christ. This great
Christian was not a Christian through obedience to Christ. Though he
devoted a considerable part of his life to studying, expounding, and
diffusing the gospels, he never said, "This or that is true because the
gospels say so." Tolstoy's outlook was, "The gospels are true because
they say this or that." You yourself must be the judge, your free reason
must be the judge, of truth.

There is a writing known to few, for I believe it is still unpublished.
It is the _Relation by Mihail Novikov the Peasant, concerning the Night
of October 21, 1910, spent by him at Yasnaya Polyana_. The date was a
week before Tolstoy fled from his home. We read how Tolstoy conversed at
Yasnaya Polyana with a number of peasants. Among these were two village
lads who had just been called up for military service, and military
service was the topic of discussion. One of the young men, a social
democrat, said that he was going to serve, not throne and altar, but
state and nation. (We see that Tolstoy was fortunate in that he did not
die before making the acquaintance of the "socialist patriots," before
hearing a disquisition on "the art of turning the coat.") Some of the
other peasants protested. Tolstoy enquired what were the limits of the
state, declaring that for himself the whole world was his fatherland.
The other conscript quoted texts from the Bible, texts in defence of
killing. These did not convince Tolstoy, seeing that texts can be found
apt for every occasion. He spoke as follows:

"Not because Moses or Christ has forbidden us to do ill to our neighbour
or to ourselves, not for such a reason must we refrain from doing ill.
It is our duty to refrain because it is contrary to the nature of man to
do this ill either to himself or to his neighbour. Be careful to note
that I say it is contrary to the nature of man. I am not speaking of
beasts.... In yourself you must find God, that he may enable you to see
what is good and what is evil, what is possible and what is impossible.
But as long as we allow ourselves to be guided by an external authority,
be it that of Moses and Christ for one man, that of Mohammed for
another, and that of the socialist Marx for another, we shall not cease
to be at enmity one with another."

I wish to make these words of power widely known. As I have repeatedly
declared, the worst evil with which the world is afflicted is not the
power of the wicked but the weakness of the good. Now this we