Al Owski’s Reviews > The Gospel in Tolstoy: Selections from His Short Stories, Spiritual Writings & Novels > Status Update

“We Christians do not lead others into temptation by the sight of accumulated wealth, for we rarely possess more than enough for our daily bread. A hungry man, driven to despair and ready to commit a crime for a piece of bread, if he comes to us will find all he wants without committing any crime, because that is what we live for- to share all we have with those who are cold and hungry.”

“by leading a Christian life a person preserves himself from all these crimes, which result on the one hand from the struggle for money and possessions, and on the other from the unequal concentration of riches in the hands of the few. Our one way of checking theft and murder is to keep for ourselves only as much as is indispensable for life, and to give to others all the superfluous products of our toil.”

“You would not wish people to be like prisoners who only refrain from crime because they are watched by their jailers. But no laws or restrictions or punishments make people averse to doing evil or desirous of doing good. That can only be attained by destroying evil at its root, which is in the human heart.”

“Crime and evil can be successfully opposed only by the Christian method of love, and not by the heathen methods of revenge, punishment, and violence. I am sure you would like people to abstain from evil voluntarily and not from fear of punishment.”

“Legal justice is considered the highest virtue, and the office of Judge is held in peculiar respect. Yet in spite of this it is known that there is now no city in the world so steeped in crime and corruption as Rome. Remember Roman history: in olden times when the laws were very primitive the Roman people possessed many virtues, but in our days, despite the... law, the morals of the citizens are becoming worse...”

“The violence of a brigand inflicted on a traveler is as atrocious to us as the violence of an army to its prisoners, or of a judge to those who are executed, and we cannot intentionally participate... Nor can we profit by the labor of others enforced by violence. Violence is reflected on us, but our participation in violence consists not in inflicting it but in submissively enduring its infliction on ourselves.”

“We neither know nor understand anything about political matters. We only know one thing, and we know that with certainty, that our welfare lies solely in the good of others, and we seek that welfare. The welfare of all human beings lies in their union with one another, and union is attained not by violence but by love.”

“The deception of the Christians, or their delusion - for I do not wish to judge them - consists in not wishing to recognize human nature. Only an old man who has outlived all his passions could fully carry out their teaching.”

“"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well" (Matt. 6:33).
The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity by contributing to the establishment of the kingdom of God, which can only be done by the recognition and profession of the truth by every human being.
"...for behold, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21)”

“A man cannot be placed against his will in a situation opposed to his conscience... And therefore knowing that your position is repugnant to your heart and your head, and to your faith, and even to the science in which you believe, you cannot help reflecting upon the question whether in retaining it, and above all trying to justify it, you are doing what you ought to do.”