Page:Tolstoy - Tales from Tolstoi.djvu/182

Tales from Tolstoi knows whose is the sin: 'tis for us not to forget Him, that's all. I speak not of my own thoughts, brothers. If ye are bidden return evil for evil, remember that God has laid down a law for us which bids us do contrariwise. Thou art about to do evil, but the evil will fall back on thee. It is not wise to slay a man. His blood sticks to thy soul. Kill a man, and thy soul will be stained with blood. Thou thinkest, I am killing a bad man; thou thinkest, I am putting down evil; but look now! thou art drawing upon thyself an evil worse than that Submit to misery, and misery will submit itself to thee."

So the muzhiks came to no determination, but separated, each with his own thoughts. Some thought as Vasily had spoken, others agreed with the words of Petr, that they ought not to do evil, but to suffer.

The muzhiks were preparing to keep the first day of the week, Easter Sunday, but on the eve of the festival the starosta came with the village scribe from the manor house, and said:

"Michal Semenovich, the overseer, has ordered the peasants to set to work to-morrow, and plough up the land for the oat-sowing."

Then the starosta went his rounds with the village scribe, and bade them all go out on the morrow to plough, some by the river and some by the high road. The muzhiks fell a-weeping, but they dared not disobey; in the morning they went out with their teams and began to plough. In the church God was glorified in the early mass, the people everywhere kept

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