A confession and other religious writings
by Leo Tolstoy
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As a result of his controversial works criticizing the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church, Tolstoy was excommunicated in 1901, dismissing the event lightly as he continued his search for a practical religion. "A Confession and Other Religious Works" is the product of years of introspection, resulting in a drastic reorientation of Tolstoy's beliefs and values. He felt undeserving of the wealth and fame he had accumulated, while millions around him were illiterate and show more afflicted, and therefore sought an acceptable faith wherein he could find the answers to life's most profound questions. In this autobiographical work of exceptional emotional honesty, he records his various attempts to find those answers in areas of science, philosophy, eastern wisdom, and the opinions of his fellow novelists. As a result of this process, Tolstoy recognizes in ordinary people a deep religious conviction, in which he may find the true answers to questions without which life, to him, is impossible. This collection includes Tolstoy's "Confession" as well as the following three other religious essays: "What is Religion? and What is its Essence?", "Religion and Morality", and "The Law of Violence and The Law of Love." show lessTags
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In St Augustinian style Tolstoy takes us through his own crisis of faith. After growing up wealthy in Russia the author felt that there was something fundamentally wrong with the European philosophy of the time and beautifully sets out his doubts and fears on paper. This volume also contains his other Religious writings expressing views way ahead of his times. Views that would see him at odds with the Orthodox Russia church but which express an ideology as relevant now as it was then.
It is amazing some of the observations Tolstoy makes in this book. Reminiscent of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, re: vanity of vanities... excellent thought- and discussion-provoker.
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2,478+ Works 129,086 Members
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born on September 9, 1828 in Russia. He is usually referred to as Leo Tolstoy. He was a Russian author who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. Leo Tolstoy is best known for his novels War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877). Tolstoy's fiction includes dozens of short stories and several show more novellas such as The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Family Happiness, and Hadji Murad. He also wrote plays and numerous philosophical essays. Tolstoy had a profound moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870's which he outlined in his work, A Confession. His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him to become a fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist. His ideas of nonviolent resistance which he shared in his works The Kingdom of God is Within You, had a profund impact on figures such as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. On September 23, 1862 Tolstoy married Sophia Andreevna Behrs. She was the daughter of a court physician. They had 13 children, eight of whom survived childhood. Their early married life allowed Tolstoy much freedom to compose War and Peace and Anna Karenina with his wife acting as his secretary and proofreader. The Tolstoy family left Russia in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and the subsequent establishment of the Soviet Union. Leo Tolstoy's relatives and descendants moved to Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and the United States. Tolstoy died of pneumonia at Astapovo train station, after a day's rail journey south on November 20, 1910 at the age of 82. (Bowker Author Biography) Count Leo Tolstoy was born in 1828 on the family estate of Yasnaya Polyana in the Tula province. He married in 1862 & was the father of 13 children. Tolstoy managed the estate of Yasnaya Polyana & ran its peasant schools, while writing his great novels, "War & Peace" (1869) & "Anna Karenina" (1877). He died in 1910. (Publisher Provided) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A confession and other religious writings
- Original publication date
- 1987 [Jane Kentish English translation]; 1882
- People/Characters
- Leo Tolstoy
- First words
- I was baptized and brought up in the Orthodox Christian faith.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)This is what I wanted to say to my fellow men before I die.
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, General Nonfiction, Philosophy, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 201 — Religion Religion Religious mythology, general classes of religion, interreligious relations and attitudes, social theology
- LCC
- PG3366 .A17 — Language and Literature Slavic languages and literatures. Baltic languages. Albanian language Slavic. Baltic. Albanian Russian literature Individual authors and works 1800-1870 Tolstoi
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 634
- Popularity
- 45,607
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.14)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 4
