part05+-第27章

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As　to　the　moral　side；　the　stream　of　his　thought　was　usually



limpid；　but　at　times　it　became　turbid　and　his　better　ideas　seemed



to　float　on　the　surface　as　iridescent　bubbles。







Had　he　lived　in　any　other　country；　he　would　have　been　a　power



mighty　and　permanent　in　influencing　its　thought　and　in　directing



its　policy；　as　it　is；　his　thought　will　pass　mainly　as　the



confused；　incoherent　wail　and　cry　of　a　giant　struggling　against



the　heavy　adverse　currents　in　that　vast　ocean　of　Russian　life：







　　　　　　　　　　〃The　cry　of　some　strong　swimmer　in　his　agony。〃











The　evolution　of　Tolstoi's　ideas　has　evidently　been　mainly



determined　by　his　environment。　During　two　centuries　Russia　has



been　coming　slowly　out　of　the　middle　agesindeed；　out　of　perhaps



the　most　cruel　phases　of　mediaeval　life。　Her　history　is；　in　its



details；　discouraging；　her　daily　life　disheartening。　Even　the



aspects　of　nature　are　to　the　last　degree　depressing：　no



mountains；　no　hills；　no　horizon；　no　variety　in　forests；　a　soil



during　a　large　part　of　the　year　frozen　or　parched；　a　people　whose



upper　classes　are　mainly　given　up　to　pleasure　and　whose　lower



classes　are　sunk　in　fetishism；　all　their　poetry　and　music　in　the



minor　key；　old　oppressions　of　every　sort　still　lingering；　no　help



in　sight；　and；　to　use　their　own　cry；　〃God　so　high　and　the　Czar　so



distant。〃







When；　then；　a　great　man　arises　in　Russia；　if　he　gives　himself



wholly　to　some　well…defined　purpose；　looking　to　one　high　aim　and



rigidly　excluding　sight　or　thought　of　the　ocean　of　sorrow　about



him；　he　may　do　great　things。　If　he　be　Suvaroff　or　Skobeleff　or



Gourko　he　may　win　great　battles；　if　he　be　Mendeleieff　he　may



reach　some　epoch…making　discovery　in　science；　if　he　be　Derjavine



he　may　write　a　poem　like　the　〃Ode　to　God〃；　if　he　be　Antokolsky　he



may　carve　statues　like　〃Ivan　the　Terrible〃；　if　he　be　Nesselrode



he　may　hold　all　Europe　enchained　to　the　ideas　of　the　autocrat；　if



he　be　Miloutine　or　Samarine　or　Tcherkassky　he　may　devise　vast



plans　like　those　which　enabled　Alexander　II　to　free　twenty



millions　of　serfs　and　to　secure　means　of　subsistence　for　each　of



them；　if　he　be　Prince　Khilkoff　he　may　push　railway　systems　over



Europe　to　the　extremes　of　Asia；　if　he　be　De　Witte　he　may　reform　a



vast　financial　system。







But　when　a　strong　genius　in　Russia　throws　himself　into



philanthropic　speculations　of　an　abstract　sort；　with　no　chance　of



discussing　his　theories　until　they　are　full…grown　and　have　taken



fast　hold　upon　him；if　he　be　a　man　of　science　like　Prince



Kropotkin；　one　of　the　most　gifted　scientific　thinkers　of　our



time；the　result　may　be　a　wild　revolt；　not　only　against　the



whole　system　of　his　own　country；　but　against　civilization　itself；



and　finally　the　adoption　of　the　theory　and　practice　of　anarchism；



which　logically　results　in　the　destruction　of　the　entire　human



race。　Or；　if　he　be　an　accomplished　statesman　and　theologian　like



Pobedonostzeff；　he　may　reason　himself　back　into　mediaeval



methods；　and　endeavor　to　fetter　all　free　thought　and　to　crush　out



all　forms　of　Christianity　except　the　Russo…Greek　creed　and



ritual。　Or；　if　he　be　a　man　of　the　highest　genius　in　literature；



like　Tolstoi；　whose　native　kindliness　holds　him　back　from　the



extremes　of　nihilism；　he　may　rear　a　fabric　heaven…high；　in　which



truths；　errors；　and　paradoxes　are　piled　up　together　until　we　have



a　new　Tower　of　Babel。　Then　we　may　see　this　man　of　genius



denouncing　all　science　and　commending　what　he　calls　〃faith〃；



urging　a　return　to　a　state　of　nature；　which　is　simply　Rousseau



modified　by　misreadings　of　the　New　Testament；　repudiating



marriage；　yet　himself　most　happily　married　and　the　father　of



sixteen　children；　holding　that　aeschylus　and　Dante　and　Shakspere



were　not　great　in　literature；　and　making　Adin　Ballou　a　literary



idol；　holding　that　Michelangelo　and　Raphael　were　not　great　in



sculpture　and　painting；　yet　insisting　on　the　greatness　of　sundry



unknown　artists　who　have　painted　brutally；　holding　that



Beethoven；　Handel；　Mozart；　Haydn；　and　Wagner　were　not　great　in



music；　but　that　some　unknown　performer　outside　any　healthful



musical　evolution　has　given　us　the　music　of　the　future；　declaring



Napoleon　to　have　had　no　genius；　but　presenting　Koutousoff　as　a



military　ideal；　loathing　sciencethat　organized　knowledge　which



has　done　more　than　all　else　to　bring　us　out　of　mediaeval　cruelty



into　a　better　worldand　extolling　a　〃faith〃　which　has　always



been　the　most　effective　pretext　for　bloodshed　and　oppression。







The　long；　slow；　every…day　work　of　developing　a　better　future　for



his　countrymen　is　to　be　done　by　others　far　less　gifted　than



Tolstoi。　His　paradoxes　will　be　forgotten；　but　his　devoted　life；



his　noble　thoughts；　and　his　lofty　ideals　will；　as　centuries　roll



on；　more　and　more　give　life　and　light　to　the　new　Russia。















CHAPTER　XXXVIII







OFFICIAL　LIFE　IN　ST。　PETERSBURG…1892…1894







The　difficulties　of　a　stranger　seeking　information　in　Russia　seem



at　times　insurmountable。　First　of　these　is　the　government　policy



of　suppressing　news。　Foreign　journals　come　to　ordinary



subscribers　with　paragraphs　and　articles　rubbed　out　with　pumice



or　blotted　out　with　ink；　consequently　our　Russian　friends　were



wont　to　visit　the　legation；　seeking　to　read　in　our　papers　what



had　been　erased　in　their　own；　and　making　the　most　amusing



discoveries　as　to　the　stupidity　of　the　official　censorship：



paragraphs　perfectly　harmless　being　frequently　blotted　out；　and



really　serious　attacks　on　the　government　unnoticed。







Very　striking；　as　showing　control　over　the　newspaper　press；　was



an　occurrence　during　my　first　summer　at　Helsingfors。　One　day　our



family　doctor　came　in；　and　reported　a　rumor　that　an　iron…clad



monitor　had　sunk；　the　night　before；　on　its　way　across　the　gulf



from　Reval。　Soon　the　story　was　found　to　be　true。　A　squadron　of



three　ships　had　started；　had　encountered　a　squall；　and　in　the



morning　one　of　theman　old…fashioned　iron…clad　monitorwas



nowhere　to　be　seen。　She　had　sunk　with　all　on　board。　Considerable



speculation　concerning　the　matter　arose；　and　sundry　very　guarded



remarks　were　ventured　to　the　effect　that　the　authorities　at



Cronstadt　would　have　been　wiser　had　they　not　allowed　the　ship　to



go　out　in　such　a　condition　that　the　first　squall　would　send　her



to　the　bottom。　This　discussion　continued　for　about　a　week；　when



suddenly　the　proper　authorities　served　notice　upon　the　press　that



nothing　more　must　be　said　on　the　subject。







This　mandate　was　obeyed；　the　matter　was　instantly　dropped；



nothing　more　was　said；　and；　a　year　or　two　afterward；　on　my



inquiring　of　Admiral　Makharoff　whether　anything　had　ever　been



discovered　regarding　the　lost　ship　and　its　crew；　he　answered　in



the　negative。







But　more　serious　efforts　than　these　were　made　to　control　thought。



The　censorship　of　books　was　even　more　strongly；　and；　if　possible；



more　foolishly；　exercised。　At　any　of　the　great　bookshops　one



could　obtain；　at　once；　the　worst　publications　of　the　Paris　press；



but　the　really　substantial　and　thoughtful　books　were　carefully



held　back。　The　average　Russian；　in　order　to　read　most　of　these



better　works；　must　be　specially　authorized　to　do　so。







I　had　a　practical　opportunity　to　see　the　system　in　operation。



Being　engaged　on　the　final　chapters　of　my　book；　and　needing



sundry　scientific；　philosophical；　and　religious　treatises；　such



as　can　be　bought　freely　in　every　city　of　Western　Europe；　I　went



to　the　principal　bookseller　in　St。　Petersburg；　and　was　told　that；