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222 him; the French consulted him on matters of art, or the separation of Church and State.

But he had not three hundred disciples, and he knew it. Moreover, he did not take pains to make them. He repulsed the attempts of his friends to form groups of Tolstoyans.

“We must not go in search of one another, but we must all seek God… You say: ‘Together it is easier.’—What? To labour, to reap, yes. But to draw near to God—one can only do so in isolation… I see the world as an enormous temple in which the light falls from on high and precisely in the middle. To become united we must all go towards the light. Then all of us, come together from all directions, will find ourselves in the company of men we did not look for; in that is the joy.”

How many have found themselves together under the ray which falls from the dome? What matter! It is enough to be one and alone if one is with God.

“As only a burning object can communicate fire to other objects, so only the true faith and life of a man can communicate themselves to other men and to spread the truth.”

Perhaps; but to what point was this isolated faith able to assure Tolstoy of happiness? How far he