Page:Tolstoy - Pamphlets.djvu/172

Rh only one of His manifestations; one of the sides from which we see God. God manifests Himself in me by the desire for good.

The God contained in man at first seeks to free Himself by expanding, enlarging the being in whom He is contained; then, realising the unsurmountable limitations of that being, He seeks to free Himself by emerging from it and enveloping other beings.

The rational being is not containable by the life of the individual, but the moment it becomes rational seeks to emerge from that life.

The Christian teaching shows to man that the essence of his life is not his separate being but God, contained in this being. And God is recognised in man through reason and love.

Above all, the desire for personal welfare, self-love, exists in man only while reason has not awakened in him. As soon as reason has awakened, it becomes clear to man that the desire for the welfare of himself, his separate being, is fruitless; because welfare is unrealisable for the separate inert being. As soon as reason appears the desire for only one kind of welfare becomes possible — universal welfare;