Tolstoy letter to Swedes

Gentlemen,

The fact that the Nobel Prize was not accorded to me was doubly pleasant: first, because it saved me from the painful necessity of dealing in some way with money, - generally regarded as very necessary and useful, but which I regard as the source of every kind of evil; and secondly, because it has afforded to people whom I respect, the opportunity of expressing their sympathy with me, for which I thank you all from my heart.