"The longer I live — especially now when I clearly feel the approach of death — the more I feel moved to express what I feel more strongly than anything else, and what in my opinion is of immense importance, namely, what we call the renunciation of all opposition by force, which really simply means the doctrine of the law of love unperverted by sophistries. Love, or in other words the striving of men’s souls towards unity and the submissive behavior to one another that results therefrom, represents the highest and indeed the only law of life, as every man knows and feels in the depths of his heart (and as we see most clearly in children), and knows until he becomes involved in the lying net of worldly thoughts… Any employment of force is incompatible with love."
I read that Tolstoy truly believed and extolled the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:38-42:
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right
cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak
also.
And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."
I think this is truly the essence of Christianity, everything else is secondary.
But I'm not sure if Tolstoy actually expressed this belief in his actions or he merely intellectualised and lamented on love. Love is not something to be spoken of, nor to ruminate on. It is all in the doing.
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