The Autobiography of Countess Sophie Tolstoi/Preface
PREFACE
By Vasilii Spridonov
The manuscript of the autobiography of Sophie Andreevna Tolstoi exists among the documents of the late director of the Russian Book Chamber, Professor Semen Afanasevich Vengerov,[1] which, in accordance with the will of the deceased, have been handed over to the Book Chamber. The Book Chamber is now in the Petrograd Institute of Librarians and the documents form a special section in the Institute under the title: "The Archives of S. A. Vengerov."
The history of the manuscript is as follows:— At the end of July, 1913, S. A. Vengerov sent a letter to S. A. Tolstoi asking her to write and send him her autobiography, which he proposed to publish. We do not know the details of S. A. Vengerov's letter, but from the replies of S. A. Tolstoi which are printed below we may conclude that the late Vengerov enclosed in his letter to S. A. Tolstoi a questionnaire, and that, besides the usual questions which he was accustomed to Page:Autobiography of Sophie Tolstoi.djvu/14 Page:Autobiography of Sophie Tolstoi.djvu/15 Page:Autobiography of Sophie Tolstoi.djvu/16 Page:Autobiography of Sophie Tolstoi.djvu/17 Page:Autobiography of Sophie Tolstoi.djvu/18 Page:Autobiography of Sophie Tolstoi.djvu/19 Page:Autobiography of Sophie Tolstoi.djvu/20 Page:Autobiography of Sophie Tolstoi.djvu/21 Page:Autobiography of Sophie Tolstoi.djvu/22 Page:Autobiography of Sophie Tolstoi.djvu/23 was in every one's eyes and ears, caught up by the newspapers and spread over the whole world, recorded in diaries and reminiscences as material for future judgment upon her. Forty-eight years is a long road. Many unnecessary words were spoken in that time, many incautious movements made. And for everything she will be made to answer before the court of mankind. S. A. T. knew this, and with an anxious heart she prepared herself for the judgment. The Autobiography and L. N. Tolstoi's Letters to his Wife are the last words of the accused. We should listen to them carefully and with attention, weighing every word. If S. A. T. bears a responsibility before all mankind, each of us before our conscience has a responsibility for whatever verdict we may pass upon her. We must judge sternly, but justly.
S. A. T.'s wish has been carried out. In the autobiography printed below two new chapters are substituted for the first half of Chapter III. in the original draft, and an independent Chapter V. has been made out of the last half of the original third chapter. Passages cut out of this third chapter are given in note 20.
Our notes are given at the end of the autobiography.
- ↑ See Appendix I.