Page:The Spirit of Russia by T G Masaryk, volume 2.pdf/236

210 Christian was lowly in spirit, and bowed humbly before the supreme will of the tsar.

Mysticism is the true knowledge of God; mysticism is true science. Mundane science is condemned by Leont'ev, since it seeks the useful, not God and eternal life. Leont'ev rails against utilitarianism and eudemonism. To be a true Christian, a man has no need of modern science, modern technique, modern institutions. The peasant who believes that the world is supported by three whales is not a dangerous character; illiteracy is Russia's good fortune; "we must strive with all our might against popular education." It is for the intelligentsia to learn from the peasant, not conversely. For this it is not necessary to love the folk; nor does it suffice to have a national or aesthetic sentiment for the folk, to love the folk-characteristics; but in matters ot principle we must be at one with the folk.

It is from this outlook of the rail of Athos that Leont'ev judges the world and its history, and judges in especial the relationship of Russia to Europe. Russia is of value only in so far as she has kept alive the principles of Byzantinism; Europe is going down to mental and physical destruction because she has betrayed these principles; in Russia, all traces of the European must be eradicated.

Leont'ev's philosophy of history is simple. Mankind and its individual parts (the nations) traverse three historical stages, childhood, manhood, and old age. In the first stage, primitive simplicity prevails; this is succeeded by the complicated organisation and differentiation of the prime; there succeeds in turn, the simplicity of levelling. In Europe, the Teutons in the days of the national migrations represent childhood and simplicity. During the middle ages, Europe attained her prime and exhibited the blossoming of all her energies. Since the eighteenth century enlightenment and the French revolution, Europe has been declining towards the tomb; in the name of democratic equality, liberalism (the new religion of the bourgeoisie) has been extinguishing all the natural differences by which the nations live. This law of evolution is conceived by Leont'ev biologically. He regards Kirěevskii's slavophil philosophy of history and the way in which Kirěevskii contrasted Russia and Europe as positively ridiculous. The decay of Europe, he says, is the natural decay of an organism.

But if this be so, surely we must regard the censured views