What I BelieveOriginally published in 1885, What I Believe is part of series of books by novelist Leo Tolstoy that outline his personal interpretation of Christian theology. After a midlife crisis at age 50, he began to believe in the moral teachings of Christianity, while rejecting mysticism and organized religion. He believed that pacifism and poverty were the paths to enlightenment. His precepts of nonviolence even influenced Mohandas Gandhi. Students of religion, political science, and literature alike will gain new understanding from the ideas presented in this book. Students of literature will get to understand more deeply one of the greatest novelist in history, while those interested in religion and politics can see how Tolstoy's philosophy came to influence the world at large. Russian writer COUNT LEV ("LEO") NIKOLAYEVICH TOLSTOY (1828-1910) is best known for his novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877). |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 59
Page 6
... give it its proper position and influence . I only passed from ' Nihilism ' to the Church be- cause I felt the impossibility of living without faith- without a knowledge of what is good and evil , resting on something more than my ...
... give it its proper position and influence . I only passed from ' Nihilism ' to the Church be- cause I felt the impossibility of living without faith- without a knowledge of what is good and evil , resting on something more than my ...
Page 11
... give up my coat - they shall take my all . They shall even take away my life . Yet life is given to me : why should I thus lose it ? This cannot be what Christ requires of us . ' Then I said to myself , ' Perhaps in these words Christ ...
... give up my coat - they shall take my all . They shall even take away my life . Yet life is given to me : why should I thus lose it ? This cannot be what Christ requires of us . ' Then I said to myself , ' Perhaps in these words Christ ...
Page 12
... give away our cloak , in order to make us suffer ; but He teaches us not to resist evil , and warns us that so doing may involve personal suffering . Does a father , on seeing his son set out on a long journey , tell him to pass ...
... give away our cloak , in order to make us suffer ; but He teaches us not to resist evil , and warns us that so doing may involve personal suffering . Does a father , on seeing his son set out on a long journey , tell him to pass ...
Page 18
... give , when I knew that Christians , in our days , far from turning the other cheek when smitten , never let an opportunity escape of smiting a Hebrew on both cheeks . I was greatly interested to know if there were any law like this in ...
... give , when I knew that Christians , in our days , far from turning the other cheek when smitten , never let an opportunity escape of smiting a Hebrew on both cheeks . I was greatly interested to know if there were any law like this in ...
Page 25
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Other editions - View all
What I Believe: Translated from the Russian by Constantine Popoff Leo Tolstoy No preview available - 1999 |
Common terms and phrases
acknowledge amongst anger answer believe brethren Christ says Christ's doctrine Christ's words Christian Church clear clearly commandments of Christ commit adultery condemn consider contrary courts of law creed dead death deeds deprive destroy disciples Divine doctrine of Christ earth enjoined Epistle of James eternal law existence explain faith Father fellow-creatures follow forbids fulfil give given Gospel according happiness hath Hebrew language Hebrews human idea individual interpretation John John Chrysostom judge kill kingdom kingdom of God labour law of Christ light likewise love thy neighbour Luke mankind Matt Matthew meaning Mosaic law Moses neighbour never oath obey peace perish Pharisees precept prophets punishment rational resist evil resist not evil Sadducees salvation saved say unto sense suffering swear Talmud taught teaching of Christ thee things Thou shalt tion tooth true truth understand understood verse violence whosoever wife written law