. A thousand years of Russian history. to build his navy.) had been so violently per-secuted during his fathers reign, he followed a pohcy oflaissez jaire. He told the Church that kindness was a betterway of reclaiming the erring than persecution; that if peoplecould not be persuaded by means of reason, they would notchange their faith for fire and sword ; besides this, he would notincrease their national importance by making martyrs of Tsars compelling energy proved a strain on the moreindolent and phlegmatic members of the aristocracy, and heknew that unless he estabHshed his reform
. A thousand years of Russian history. to build his navy.) had been so violently per-secuted during his fathers reign, he followed a pohcy oflaissez jaire. He told the Church that kindness was a betterway of reclaiming the erring than persecution; that if peoplecould not be persuaded by means of reason, they would notchange their faith for fire and sword ; besides this, he would notincrease their national importance by making martyrs of Tsars compelling energy proved a strain on the moreindolent and phlegmatic members of the aristocracy, and heknew that unless he estabHshed his reforms on a secure basis,they would collapse on his death. The spread of education wasthe means he emploj^ed to prevent this threatened was this attempt at compulsory education which chieflyoffended the sensibilities of his people: his views on thematter were diametrically opposed to those of the clergy—theguardians of Russias salvation and integrity—and his fewecclesiastical supporters hailed from Kiev, where progressive 8. 114 A THOUSAND YEARS OF RUSSIAN HISTORY Latin influences predominated. While to the Tsar sciencewas the jemmy which was to break open the lock of the irongates behuid which his nation had been kept for centuries inutter darkness, all its latent treasures of mind and soul hiddenfrom sight, to his opponents science was merely an instru-ment of the Evil One. The Oriental habit of dolce far niente hitherto prevalentin Russia had inevitably led to mental stagnation. Outof this state of inaction the powerful hand of the greatmaster mind washed to draw his people with one mightypull ; he therefore sent young noblemen abroad to studyscience, and insisted upon education for the children ofGovernment officials. AU servants of the State were forcedto have their children educated; for unless they were ableto read and wTite, or had mastered a craft the acquisitionof which had occupied their time too fully to admit of book-learning, they were prohibited from m
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