Page:Tolstoy - Essays and Letters.djvu/372

 356 ESSAYS AND LE^fTERS

say they believe, or have ' faith/ in propositions devoid of sense or involving a contradiction in terms. And the fact that you are blindly credulous towards your teachers is no proof that you have faith in what — being senseless and, therefore, supplying no meaning either to your imagination or your reason — cannot be an object of faith.

The well-known preacher, Pere Didon, in the intro- duction to his Vie de Jesus-Christ, announces that he believes, not in some allegorical sense but plainly, without explanations, that Christ, having risen, was carried up into the sky, and sits there at the right hand of his father.

An illiterate Samara peasant of my acquaintance, in reply to the question whether he believed in God, simply and firmly replied, as his priest told me : * No, sinner that I am, I don^t believe.' His disbelief in God the peasant explained by saying that one could not live as he was living if one believed in God : ' One scolds, and grudges help to a beggar, and envies, and over-eats, and drinks strong drinks. Could one do such things if one believed in God f

Pere Didon affirms that he has faith both in God and in the ascension of Jesus, while the Samara peasant says he does not believe in God, since he does not obey His commandments.

Evidently Pere Didon does not even know what faith is, and only says he believes : while the Samara peasant knows what faith is, and, though he says he does not believe in God, really believes in Kim in the very way that is true faith.

But I know that arguments addressed to the intellect do not persuade — only feeling persuades, and therefore, leaving arguments aside, I appeal to you — whoever you may be : popes, bishops, archdeacons, priests, or what not — I appeal to your feelings and to your conscience.

For you know that what you teach about the creation of the world, about the inspiration of the Bible by God,