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Elias
*Illustrated
"ELIAS" is a book by Leo Tolstoy. It belongs to his works dedicated to the subject of religion.
This book includes original illustrations of the story.
Here are some passages from this
"And Elias smiled and "If I were to speak to thee of good fortune and ill fortune thou wouldst not believe me — far better it would be if thou didst ask my old wife concerning this thing. She is a woman, and therefore what her heart feeleth that her tongue speaketh; she will tell thee the whole truth about this matter."
And the guest spake, turning towards the "Speak now, old woman! tell me, how judgest thou concerning thy former good fortune and thy present ill fortune?"
And Shem Shemagi answered from behind the "This is how I I and my old man lived together for fifty years; we sought after happiness and we could not find it, and only now this is the second year in which we have wanted for nothing, and we live as working folks and have found real happiness, and we want nothing else."
The guests were astonished and the host was astonished; he even rose up and threw aside the curtain to behold the old woman. And there the old woman stood with folded arms, and she was smiling, and she looked at her old man, and he smiled also.
And the old woman also "I speak the truth, I jest we sought happiness for half a hundred years, and while we were rich we did not find it at all; now that we have nothing left and live among working people we have found such happiness that we need nothing better."
"And in what, then, does your present happiness consist ?"
"It consists in while we were rich I and my old man had not a single quiet hour together, we had no time to talk, no time to think of our souls, no time to pray to God. So many cares were we saddled with. At one time guests came to see us, and it was a worry what to set before each and with what presents to gratify them lest they should speak scornfully concerning us. Then there was the trouble of seeing to it that the wolves did not rend the lambs or kids or that thieves did not chase away the horses. Even when we lay down it was not to sleep, for we feared that the sheep might overlay the lambs in the night. You might get up and go about at night, and no sooner would your mind be at ease than a fresh worry would how to find hay or pasturage in the winter time — and so it would go on. And all this was nothing to the disagreements between my old man and me. He would ‘We ought to do this,’ and then I would ‘No! we ought to do that!’ and so we began to curse each other, and that was sinful. Thus we lived, and went on from care to care, from sin to sin, and we found no happiness in life."
"Well, but now?"
"Now I and my old man rise up together, we converse lovingly and agree in all things, we have nought to quarrel about and nought to trouble us — our sole care is to serve our master. We labour according as we are able, we labour gladly, so that our master may have no loss and may prosper. We come to the house — there is dinner, there is supper, there is kumis. If it be cold there is the kizyak wherewith to warm ourselves, and there are furs. And there is time, when we wish it, to talk together, to think of our souls, and to pray to God. For fifty years we sought happiness, and only now have we found it."
The guests began to laugh."
"ELIAS" is a book by Leo Tolstoy. It belongs to his works dedicated to the subject of religion.
This book includes original illustrations of the story.
Here are some passages from this
"And Elias smiled and "If I were to speak to thee of good fortune and ill fortune thou wouldst not believe me — far better it would be if thou didst ask my old wife concerning this thing. She is a woman, and therefore what her heart feeleth that her tongue speaketh; she will tell thee the whole truth about this matter."
And the guest spake, turning towards the "Speak now, old woman! tell me, how judgest thou concerning thy former good fortune and thy present ill fortune?"
And Shem Shemagi answered from behind the "This is how I I and my old man lived together for fifty years; we sought after happiness and we could not find it, and only now this is the second year in which we have wanted for nothing, and we live as working folks and have found real happiness, and we want nothing else."
The guests were astonished and the host was astonished; he even rose up and threw aside the curtain to behold the old woman. And there the old woman stood with folded arms, and she was smiling, and she looked at her old man, and he smiled also.
And the old woman also "I speak the truth, I jest we sought happiness for half a hundred years, and while we were rich we did not find it at all; now that we have nothing left and live among working people we have found such happiness that we need nothing better."
"And in what, then, does your present happiness consist ?"
"It consists in while we were rich I and my old man had not a single quiet hour together, we had no time to talk, no time to think of our souls, no time to pray to God. So many cares were we saddled with. At one time guests came to see us, and it was a worry what to set before each and with what presents to gratify them lest they should speak scornfully concerning us. Then there was the trouble of seeing to it that the wolves did not rend the lambs or kids or that thieves did not chase away the horses. Even when we lay down it was not to sleep, for we feared that the sheep might overlay the lambs in the night. You might get up and go about at night, and no sooner would your mind be at ease than a fresh worry would how to find hay or pasturage in the winter time — and so it would go on. And all this was nothing to the disagreements between my old man and me. He would ‘We ought to do this,’ and then I would ‘No! we ought to do that!’ and so we began to curse each other, and that was sinful. Thus we lived, and went on from care to care, from sin to sin, and we found no happiness in life."
"Well, but now?"
"Now I and my old man rise up together, we converse lovingly and agree in all things, we have nought to quarrel about and nought to trouble us — our sole care is to serve our master. We labour according as we are able, we labour gladly, so that our master may have no loss and may prosper. We come to the house — there is dinner, there is supper, there is kumis. If it be cold there is the kizyak wherewith to warm ourselves, and there are furs. And there is time, when we wish it, to talk together, to think of our souls, and to pray to God. For fifty years we sought happiness, and only now have we found it."
The guests began to laugh."
- GenresShort Stories
Unknown Binding
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About the author
Leo Tolstoy
8,101 books28.8k followersLev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой; most appropriately used Liev Tolstoy; commonly Leo Tolstoy in Anglophone countries) was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist fiction. Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.
His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 24, 2020
Leo Tolstoy's Elias is a very poignant short story about wealth gained and lost by an elderly couple. How they must not be to happy about this was answered which astonished their master and his guests. This story rings of true Bible worth, meaning the prophets of The Old Testament could not being a better proverb in this subject.
I did not read this edition but from a collection of short stories by different authors.
💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢SPOILER ALERT 💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢
“Do not laugh, friends. It is not a matter for jesting—it is the truth of life. We also were foolish at first and wept at the loss of our wealth; but now God has shown us the truth, and we tell it, not for our own consolation, but for your good.” And the Mullah said: “That is a wise speech. Elias has spoken the exact truth. The same is said in Holy Writ.” And the guests ceased laughing and became thoughtful. "
Elias and his wife worked hard to gain wealth and missed out on life's happiness. Their children's treatment was extremely saddening.
Their time for each other and God brought happiness to them.
I did not read this edition but from a collection of short stories by different authors.
💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢SPOILER ALERT 💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢💢
“Do not laugh, friends. It is not a matter for jesting—it is the truth of life. We also were foolish at first and wept at the loss of our wealth; but now God has shown us the truth, and we tell it, not for our own consolation, but for your good.” And the Mullah said: “That is a wise speech. Elias has spoken the exact truth. The same is said in Holy Writ.” And the guests ceased laughing and became thoughtful. "
Elias and his wife worked hard to gain wealth and missed out on life's happiness. Their children's treatment was extremely saddening.
Their time for each other and God brought happiness to them.
May 26, 2021
Leo Tolstoy's short stories are built upon a lesson message that he wants to convey via his stories. Message in this story is about finding and recognising happiness in life.
February 3, 2026
Mission 2026: Binge reviewing (and rereading on occasion) all previous Reads, I was too slothful to review, back when I read them’
Greatest Short Stories / Short Novels
What is it all about (spoiler free)
Told in the plain, almost folkloric voice Tolstoy perfected in his later years, ‘Elias’ traces the life of a man who rises from obscurity to wealth and social standing, only to encounter a radical shift in fortune. The story observes this arc without drama or embellishment, focusing instead on how external change quietly reshapes inner life—beliefs, relationships, and one’s sense of self in the world.
Why is it among the greatest?
Because ‘Elias’ exemplifies Tolstoy’s rare ability to fuse moral philosophy with narrative humility. There is no grand sermon here, only the steady accumulation of lived experience. Tolstoy interrogates success, failure, and humility with almost surgical restraint, allowing the story’s ethical force to emerge naturally.
The prose is spare, the structure elemental, yet the implications are vast: wealth distorts not only society but also the soul; loss, paradoxically, can clarify. Its greatness lies in its quiet authority—this is wisdom that does not shout because it does not need to.
Why read it in the present time and thereafter?
Because the anxieties ‘Elias’ addresses—status, accumulation, collapse, reinvention—are the defining tensions of contemporary life. In an era obsessed with upward mobility and terrified of decline, Tolstoy offers a counter-narrative that feels almost subversive.
The story invites readers to reconsider what constitutes success and whether peace is more likely to be found in abundance or in release. ‘Elias’ endures because it speaks to a universal rhythm of gain and loss, reminding us that dignity is not guaranteed by what we have, but by how we endure its disappearance.
Most recommended.
Greatest Short Stories / Short Novels
What is it all about (spoiler free)
Told in the plain, almost folkloric voice Tolstoy perfected in his later years, ‘Elias’ traces the life of a man who rises from obscurity to wealth and social standing, only to encounter a radical shift in fortune. The story observes this arc without drama or embellishment, focusing instead on how external change quietly reshapes inner life—beliefs, relationships, and one’s sense of self in the world.
Why is it among the greatest?
Because ‘Elias’ exemplifies Tolstoy’s rare ability to fuse moral philosophy with narrative humility. There is no grand sermon here, only the steady accumulation of lived experience. Tolstoy interrogates success, failure, and humility with almost surgical restraint, allowing the story’s ethical force to emerge naturally.
The prose is spare, the structure elemental, yet the implications are vast: wealth distorts not only society but also the soul; loss, paradoxically, can clarify. Its greatness lies in its quiet authority—this is wisdom that does not shout because it does not need to.
Why read it in the present time and thereafter?
Because the anxieties ‘Elias’ addresses—status, accumulation, collapse, reinvention—are the defining tensions of contemporary life. In an era obsessed with upward mobility and terrified of decline, Tolstoy offers a counter-narrative that feels almost subversive.
The story invites readers to reconsider what constitutes success and whether peace is more likely to be found in abundance or in release. ‘Elias’ endures because it speaks to a universal rhythm of gain and loss, reminding us that dignity is not guaranteed by what we have, but by how we endure its disappearance.
Most recommended.
May 14, 2025
La suerte va y viene. Vivir sin preocupaciones como el fin último.
September 16, 2025
This strikes so true, irrelevant of the time period. The more you have, the more you worry, and the more you forget to observe and live.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews