. The complete works of Count Tolstoy. is this the only means for freeing men fromtheir wretchedness, but its apphcation is also necessary,because it coincides with the moral law of every separateindividual of our time. If a man of our time has cometo understand that every protection of property and per-sonahty by means of violence is attained only by thethreat of killing and by killing itself, he can no longercalmly use what is acquired through murder or the threatof killing, much less can he take part in murder or thethreat of killing. Thus, what is demanded for the hbera-tion of men from th
. The complete works of Count Tolstoy. is this the only means for freeing men fromtheir wretchedness, but its apphcation is also necessary,because it coincides with the moral law of every separateindividual of our time. If a man of our time has cometo understand that every protection of property and per-sonahty by means of violence is attained only by thethreat of killing and by killing itself, he can no longercalmly use what is acquired through murder or the threatof killing, much less can he take part in murder or thethreat of killing. Thus, what is demanded for the hbera-tion of men from their calamities is also necessary for thegratification of the moral feeling of every so there can no longer be any doubt for every sepa- 74 THE SLAVERY OF OUR TIME rate individual that both for the common good and for thefulfilment of the law of his life he must not take part inviolence, must not justify it, must not make useof it. WHAT IS RELIGION And in What Does Its Essence Consist?1902 Photogravure from a Photograph. WHAT IS RELIGION? In all human societies there always, at certain periodsof their life, arrives a time when religion at first deflectsfrom its fundamental meaning, then, deflecting more andmore, loses its fundamental meaning and finally congealsin once for all established forms, and then its action uponthe hves of men grows constantly less and less. During such periods the cultured minority, not believ-ing in the existing religious teaching, only pretends to bebelieving in it, as it finds this necessary in order to retainthe popular masses in the established structure of life;but the popular masses, though through inertia abidingin the once established forms of religion, in their lives areno longer guided by the demands of rehgion, but only bythe popular customs and state laws. Thus it has been many times in various human socie-ties, but there has never before happened what now isgoing on in our Christian society. It never happenedbefore that the
Size: 1300px × 1921px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthortolstoyl, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookyear1904
