Page:Complete Works of Count Tolstoy - 13.djvu/156

 mouth and speaking we must understand the manifestation of God’s will, for we, too, manifest our intimate thoughts by means of our lips and through speech. By his food and drink—our agreement with the will of God, for by means of the sense of taste we satisfy the necessary demands of our being. By smelling—the acceptance of our thoughts as directed toward God, and of our hearty disposition, for by means of the sense of smell do we become aware of perfume. By his face we must understand his manifestation in his works, for our faces also manifest us. By his hands—his active force, for we, too, do everything useful and, especially, everything costly with our own hands. By his right hand—his succour in just works, for we, too, in performing more noble and important deeds, such as demand a greater force, most generally make use of the right hand. By his touch—an exact knowledge and investigation of the smallest and the hidden, because those who are touched by us cannot conceal anything upon their bodies. By his feet and walking—his coming and appearance, in order to aid the needy, or defend them against enemies, or to do some other act, even as we walk with our feet to some destination. By his oath—the inalterableness of his counsel, for between us, too, mutual agreements are confirmed by an oath. By his anger and fury—his loathing and hatred of evil, for we, too, become angry and hate what is contrary to our will. By his forgetfulness, sleep, and dreaming—his slowness in wreaking vengeance on his enemies, and his delaying his succour until the proper time.” (pp. 99 and 100.)

These explanations and refutations of the anthropomorphists, independently of the arbitrariness and unintelligibility of the explanations (as, for example, why by food and drink is to be understood our agreement with the will of God), these explanations descend lower and lower into the sphere of petty, often stupid, dialectics, and farther