Page:The Complete Works of Lyof N. Tolstoi - 08 (Crowell, 1899).djvu/392

378 give him speedy relief. Julius with joy received the physician. He proved to be none other than the stranger whom Julius had met when he started to join the Christians.

After he had examined his wounds, the physician prescribed certain simples for renewing his strength.

"Shall I be able to work with my arm?" asked Julius.

"Oh, yes, to drive a chariot, or to write; yes."

"But I mean hard work—to dig?"

"I was not thinking about that," said the physician, "because such work is not necessary to one in your position."

"On the contrary, it is very necessary to me," said Julius; and he told the physician that since the time he had last seen him he had followed his advice, had made trial of life, but life had not given him what it had promised him, but, on the contrary, had disillusioned him, and that he now was going to carry out the plan of which he had spoken to him at that time.

"Yes, evidently they have put into effect all their powers of deception and entangled you, if you, in your position, with your responsibilities, especially in regard to your children, cannot see their fallacies."

"Read this," was all that Julius said, producing the manuscript he had been reading. The physician took the manuscript and glanced at it.

"I know this," said he; "I know this fraud, and I am surprised that such a clever man as you are can fall into such a snare."

"I do not understand you. Where lies the snare?"

"The whole thing is in life; and here these sophists and rebels against men and the gods propose a happy path of life in which all men would be happy; there would be no wars, no executions, no poverty, no licentiousness, no quarrels, no evil. And they insist that such a condition of men would come about when men should fulfil the precepts of Christ; not to quarrel, not to commit fornication, not to blaspheme, not to use violence, not to bear ill-will against one another. But they make a mistake in taking the end for the means. Their