Life Is Worth Living and Other Stories/Preface
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
In compiling this second volume of our translation of Count Tolstoï's works we have endeavored to select only such stories as have a direct bearing upon the great problems of life and death, religion and morality, time and eternity. While it is not assumed that the author's religious views, in their entirety, are to be found between the covers of this little book, yet herein those fundamental doctrines of Christianity upon which we all agree are given an application that is unique. These stories are based upon the simple teachings of Christ—not one of them containing a line that is calculated to infringe upon the sensitive distinctions of sectarianism, or to controvert in the slightest degree the principles of any Christian denomination. This volume is peculiarly adapted, therefore, to the use of Sabbath-schools, both Protestant and Catholic—though it may be read with equal profit by adults in all walks of life: by those who believe in the reality of a Divine Providence; that if a man die he shall live again; and that, aside from all theological controversy, the saving of our souls in this present world is but a simple matter after all.
The story, "Life Is Worth Living," is an allegory. It describes the experiences of a poor cobbler and his wife who "entertained an angel unawares." Through the presence of their celestial visitor they learned the three great truths which constitute the basis of man's existence—of what we are made, and what is essential and what is non-essential to our human life. During the course of this very strange narrative Count Tolstoï gives incidentally some excellent pictures of Russian life and of the hardships endured by the peasantry in winter.
"Two Old Men" is a most entertaining and instructive tale of a couple of aged comrades who undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Their object in taking the long journey was to pay their devotions to God in that Mecca for pilgrims, and was the outcome of a long-standing agreement between them. The old men were bosom friends, though they differed materially from each other in manner and temperament. It is interesting to follow the differences also in their respective methods of putting their Christian principles into practice, while much information concerning the sights to be seen in the ancient city gives an added value to the story. The author's description of a terrible famine in Little Russia is especially interesting in view of the present starving condition of the peasantry throughout the Czar's empire.
Translated literally, the title of the third tale might be rendered thus: "Where Love Is There God Is Also;" but I have condensed it into "God Is Love" to meet the requirements of English usage. It tells of a poor shoemaker who, in his humble way, found many opportunities for doing good to others, and illustrates the certainty of the heavenly reward that awaits those who, according to their means, give effective expression to the Golden Rule.
"The Candle," the concluding story of the volume, is one of those pathetic little touches of nature which we find among Tolstoï's earlier writings. It illustrates the superstitious awe with which the lighted candle is regarded by every devout adherent of the Greek Church, and tells with deep pathos of that perversity of humankind indicated in the adage of "the beggar on horseback." A man having arisen from the level of a serf to the dignity of superintendent of a noble's estate becomes even more cruel and tyrannical in his treatment of the unfortunate slaves than those masters who had experienced no other condition than that of being born into the Russian nobility. The alleged efficacy of the burning candle in exorcising evil spirits is shown in the conquest of this man's wickedness by the religious act of a humble peasant.
It is hoped that this little book will do much toward dissipating the many aspersions which, by some writers, have been cast against the alleged religious convictions of Count Tolstoï, for it shows that the author is a man whose interpretation of the Gospel is based upon common sense and human experience—rather than upon any spiritual revelation or the ritualism of ecclesiastics.
For the charming literary flavor that pervades these stories thanks are due to my accomplished wife, whose bright editorial skill in the revision of the manuscripts has been of invaluable service.