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- V. Tolstoi’s Table Talk
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CHAPTER V.
TOLSTOI’S TABLE TALK.
War—An Expensive Conscience-Modern Religious Sects—Religion and
Invention—The Russian Sectarians—“The Café of Surat”"—Attitude to
Political Governments—Western Literature and Mammon—Forthcoming
Books—Is Tolstoi a Christian?—The Nature of His Christianity.
At evening, sitting round the boiling samovar or the tea-table,
Count Tolstoi would converse with his friends on different
subjects. Out of kindness to me, the conversation was often carried
on in any of the Western languages, but when it grew
animated it insensibly glided into Russian, which I but
imperfectly understood. What I did not understand, however, was
for the most part kindly translated by one of the company.
Naturally, the terrible distress and the incidents of relief
work formed the staple matter of conversation, but at times
other topics were introduced. Here I give a merely fragmentary
account of some talks on more important subjects. Speaking
of modern militarism, Count Tolstoi asked me once about the
feeling of the people in my country towards the Russians.
I told him that the pagan idea that certain nations were our
natural enemies, and the abominable system of educating
children in that unchristian belief, was gradually giving way to
sounder and more Christian views, and added that our people
certainly had no enmity towards the Russian people, and that
many of our most thoughtful men were looking to Russia
when in these days they wanted to find those who could afford
to keep a conscience and follow its behests.
After a moment’s silence, the Count said, “I like that
expression—to afford to keep a conscience. But I tell you, it is very
expensive!” Then he spoke of his great hopes for the future,
from the gradual change in popular opinion in favour of
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