Page:Complete Works of Count Tolstoy - 18.djvu/480

 only for the sake of lust, and so not in proper time, is fornication; but they are not right when they say that intercourse with one's wife for the purpose of bringing forth children and in spiritual love is a sin. It is not a sin, but God's will.

Mutilation is, in my opinion, like this. Let us say a man was living intemperately and was in the habit of distilling liquor and brewing beer out of his grain, and of getting intoxicated, and that he suddenly felt that this was bad and sinful, and, instead of giving up his bad habit and learning to do what was proper,―to use the grain for feeding man and beast,―he decided that there was one way of getting rid of the sin, and that was, to burn his grain, and went and did so. What would happen would be this: the sin would still remain the same in him, and his neighbours would still proceed brewing beer and distilling liquor, while he would be unable to feed himself, or his family, or other good people.

With good reason Christ praised the children and said that the kingdom of God was theirs and that what was hidden from the wise was revealed to them. We know that ourselves: if there were no children, if children were not born anew, there would be no hope for the kingdom of God upon earth. Only in them is all the hope. We are all soiled, and it is difficult for us to be cleansed, but with every new generation, with every family, there come new innocent souls that may remain such. The river is turbid and dirty, but many clean springs fall into it, and there is hope that the water will become purified.

It is a great question, and I am glad to think about it. I know this much lustful fornication and mutilation are equally bad and sinful. But the second, mutilation, is worse. In fornication there is no pride, but there is shame, while in mutilation people have no shame, and pride themselves on this, that they have once for all violated the law of God in order not to succumb to temp-