Page:Iván Ilyitch and Other Stories (1887).djvu/13

Rh the ruler of a country, even though he be fortified on the throne with wealth and power, is, nevertheless, at the mercy of a little child who has the wit to control and utilize the sentiment of the whole people.

The story of Vasarga is four centuries old, and Russia has not even a constitution. Will Count Tolstoï’s theories of non-resistance and communism, of the blessings of poverty and service, be in practice four hundred years hence?

These stories will be regarded both seriously and as curiosities, for it is impossible not to read between the lines. The only wonder is, that the censor who forbade ‘‘My Religion’’ should have allowed the skazka entitled “Iván Durák.’’ The implication of criticism on the whole military system of Russia is not even covert. The question of regicide is plainly discussed in “A Candle.’’ Though regicide itself is condemned, it is not dubious who is meant by the prikáshchik of the story. Count Tolstoï’s whole system of philosophy is concretely revealed in these allegorical tales: it is not necessary here to discuss the strength or weakness of his logic. But there are few who will not be touched by the moral which Count Tolstoï conveys by means of these curious tales.

In the translation of these stories, no attempt has been made to make smooth, easy reading: the effort has been rather to reproduce the crisp, sharp staccato of the Russian. When Count Tolstoï says, On shol, shol, the rendering is, He went, went; and the delib-