No More Learning

LADY. Obviously. Butwhatareyourarguments? POLITICIAN. I think you will agree that it is quite
possible to live an enjoyable life in a society in which there was not a single person chaste, or dis-
interested,orunselfish. I,atanyrate,couldalways live in such society without feeling in the least uncomfortable.
LADY. In Monte Carlo, for instance ?
POLITICIAN. In Monte Carlo, or anywhere else. Nowhere is there any need for even a single
exponent of the higher morals. Now, you try to live in company where you cannot find a single
polite man.
? PROGRESS 55 GENERAL. I don't know what kind of company
1
you are talking about, but in the Khiva campaign or in the Turkish campaign we should have fared ill if we had had no other virtue save politeness.
POLITICIAN. You may just as well say that some-
thing besides politeness is necessary for a traveller
inCentralAfrica. Iamspeakingofaregularevery-
day life in a civilised human society. For this life
no higher virtues and no Christianity, so called, are
necessary. (ToMr. Z. ) Youshakeyourhead?
MR. Z. I have just recollected a sad incident, of
which I was informed the other day.
LADY. What is it ?
MR. Z. My friend N. died suddenly. GENERAL. Is he the well-known novelist? MR. Z. That's the man.
POLITICIAN. The notices about his death in the Press were rather obscure.
MR. Z. Obscure they were, indeed.
LADY. But what made you think of him just at this moment? Was he killed by somebody's im-
politeness ?
MR. Z. Not at all !
He died through his own
excessive politeness and through nothing else. GENERAL. Once more, it seems, it is impossible
for us to agree.
. LADY. Tell us the story, please, if you can.
MR. Z. There is nothing to conceal about it. My
1 A words in Russian the word for " " play upon ; company
stands also for "campaign. " (Translator. )
? 56 SOLOVIEV
friend believed that politeness, if not the only virtue, is at least the first inevitable stage of social morality.
He regarded it his duty to carry out all its prescrip- tions in the strictest possible manner. For instance,
amongst other things he held it to include the reading of all the letters he received, even though they were sent by strangers, and also of all the books and pamphletssenthimwithdemandsforreviews. He
scrupulously answered every letter and as scrupu- lously wrote all the reviews demanded by his corre-
spondents. Hecompliedwithalltherequestsand responded to all appeals made to him. As a result
he found himself busy all day long attending to other people's affairs, and for his own work had to be satisfied with the night time. More than this, he accepted every invitation and saw all the visitors whocaughthimathome. Solongasmyfriendwas young and could easily stand the effects of frequent
friendly potations, this galley-slave existence he had created for himself owing to his politeness
merely annoyed him, and did not lead to tragedy : wine brought joy to his heart and saved him from
despair. Whenhefelthewouldhanghimselfrather than stand it any longer, he would fetch out a bottle, from which he drew1 that which him 1
helped drag his chains more cheerfully. But he was by no means
a robust man, and at the age of forty-five had to
In his new state of sobriety he found his hard labour worse than
give up drinking strong liquors.
1 A words in Russian. play upon
(Translator. )
? PROGRESS 57
hell itself, and now I am told that he has committed suicide.
LADY. Do you mean to say that this was the result
solely of his politeness ? It was simply that he was out of his senses.
MR. Z. I have no doubt that the poor fellow had
losthisspiritualandmentalbalance. Buttheword ""
simply Ithinkishardlyapplicabletohiscase. GENERAL. I, too, have known similar cases of
madness. Theywoulddriveusmadtooifwecared to examine them carefully : there is precious little that is simple about them.
POLITICIAN. One thing is clear, however, and that
is, politeness has nothing to do with the case. Just
as the Spanish crown is not responsible for the mad-
1
ness of Councillor Popristchin, so the duty of
politeness is not answerable for the madness of your friend.
MR. Z. I quite agree. I am by no means opposed
to politeness, I merely object to making any kind of absolute rule.
POLITICIAN. Absolute rules, like everything else absolute, are only an invention of men who are
lacking in common sense and the feeling of reality. Therearenoabsoluterulesforme. Irecogniseonly
necessaryrules. Forinstance,Iknowperfectlywell that if I disregard the rules of cleanliness the result
will be unpleasant to myself and to everyone else.
1 The hero of Gogol's The Diary of a Madman. (Translator. )
? 58 SOLOVIEV
As I have no desire to experience any objectionable sensations myself or to make other people experience
them, I invariably observe the rule of washing myself daily, of changing my linen, and so forth, not because this is recognised by others, or by myself, or because it is something sacred which it is a sin to disregard, but simply because any disregard of this rule would be ipso facto materially inconvenient. The same
applies to politeness in general, which, properly speaking, includes cleanliness as a part of it. It is
much more convenient to me, as to everybody else, to observe rather than to break the rules of politeness. So I follow them. It suited your friend's fancy to
imagine that politeness required from him answers to all letters and requests without considering his
personal comforts and advantage. That sort of
thing is surely not politeness at all, but merely an absurd kind of self-denial.
MR. Z. An abnormally developed conscientious- ness gradually became with him a mania, which
eventually brought him to his ruin.
LADY. But it is awful that a man should have
died because of such a foolish idea. How is it that you could not bring him to his senses ?
MR. Z. I tried my best and had a powerful ally inapilgrimfromMountAthos. He,bytheway, was half a madman himself, but he had a remarkable personalityallthesame. Myfriendesteemedhim greatly and often asked his advice in spiritual
matters. Thepilgriminstantlyperceivedtherootof
? PROGRESS 59
all the trouble. I knew the man very well and I wassometimespresentattheirconversations. When my friend began telling him of his moral doubts and to ask whether he was right in this or wrong in that,
Barsanophius would immediately interrupt him with :
"
What, you are distressed about your sins ? Give
it up, my dear fellow, it is nothing. Let me tell you this : sin five hundred and thirty-nine times a day ifyoulike,but,forHeaven'ssakedon'trepent. To sin first and then to repent ? Why, anybody can do that. Sin, by all means and often! But repent? Never !
For, if sin be evil, then to remember evil
means to be vindictive, and nobody approves of that. And the worst vindictiveness of all is to remember your own sins. It is far better that you should re- membertheevildonetoyoubyothers therewould be some benefit in this, as you would be careful with such people in future. But as for your own sins forget them utterly. It is by far the better way. There is only one mortal sin despondency, because it gives birth to despair, and despair is not even a sin, it is the death of spirit itself. Now, what other sins are there? Drunkenness? But a clever man drinks only so much as he has room for. If he has nomoreroomleft,heleavesoffdrinking. Now,a foolwillgetdrunkevenwithspringwater. Soyou see the real cause lies not in the strength of wine, butintheweaknessofman. Somepeopleareabso-
lutely scorched up with vodka, and not only in- ternally, but externally as well. They go black all
? 60 SOLOVIEV
over and little flashes of blue flame flicker all over them; I have seen this with my own eyes. Now, how can you speak of the presence of sin when all the time hell itself is visibly coming out from you? And as to transgressions of the seventh command- ment, let me tell you candidly that it is as difficult to censure them as it is impossible to praise them.
But I can hardly recommend them ! There is ecstatic pleasure in it one cannot deny it but at the end it brings despondency and shortens one's life. If you don't believe me, see what a learned German doctor writes. " Here Barsanophius would take an old- fashioned book from a shelf and would begin turn-
'
ing over the leaves.
thing, my dear fellow," he would say. "The Microbiotica, by Giifeland ! Look here, page 1 76. " And he would slowly read passages in which the German author earnestly warns his readers against
'
You see now? Whyshouldthenaclevermansufferanyloss? While one is young and thoughtless all sorts of
things are pictured by the imagination. But later on no, it is too costly an amusement. And as for
recalling the past and grieving over it and sighing
'
innocence and spotted the purity of my soul and
extravagant waste of the vital forces.
The title alone is worth some-
Alas ! why have I damned myself ? I have lost my
' body !
Well, this, I can assure you, is mere foolish- ness. Itsimplymeansthatyoudeliveryourselfright into the hands of the Devil for his eternal amuse- ment. It flatters him, naturally, that your soul cannot
? PROGRESS 61
go forward and upward, but stays marking time in the same old filthy spot. But here is my advice
to you : as soon as he starts disturbing you by this
sort of repentance, you simply spit and rub it with '
your foot, saying, See now, all my grievous sins, here they are. Ah, what a lot they mean to me.
What rot !
'
I can assure you he will leave you
alone I speak from experience. . . . Well, what
other sins have you got ? Are you thinking of trying
stealing? And if you did steal there is no very
great harm in it : nowadays everybody steals. There- fore, you mustn't think anything of such a trifle at
all. The one thing to beware of is despondency. Should the memory of your past sins torment you, so that you wonder whether you have done harm to
anybody or anything, then go to a theatre, or perhaps join some jolly friends, or read something funny. If, however, you insist on my giving you a rule, here is, then, one : Be firm in your faith, not through fear of sins, but because it is a joyful thing for a
clever man to live with God ; without God a man is utterly wretched. Try to understand the word of God. If you read it carefully there is comfort and
happiness in every verse. Say your prayers with real uplifting of your soul once or twice every day.
You never by any chance forget to wash yourself? No? Well, a sincere prayer is better for a man's
soulthananyamountofsoapisforhisbody. Fast for the health of the stomach and your other organs.
Just now every doctor is prescribing this for people
? 62 SOLOVIEV
onthewrongsideofforty. Don'tworryaboutother people's business, and don't go in for organised
charity,ifyouhaveyourownoccupation. Butgive alms to the poor you meet, and never stay to count
the cost. Give without stint to churches and monas- teries. Do not reckon the amount; in Heaven's clearing-house they will count it all up themselves. And then, you will be healthy in body and soul, and as for those hypocrites who would poke their noses into everybody's soul, because they find their own so hollow with these you must never even
speak. "
Such talks as these had a very good effect on my
poor friend, but even they could not at the last raise
him from the mire of despondency; besides, lately
he seldom met Barsanophius.
POLITICIAN. Do you know that this pilgrim of
yours says in his way practically what I have been
saying ?
LADY. Somuchthebetter. Butwhatawonderful
"
moralist he is, indeed !
Sin, if you must, but above
allneverrepent. " Itappealstomemightily! GENERAL. I suppose he did not talk like this to
everyone?
In dealing with a murderer or a scoundrel he must surely have adopted quite a different tone.
MR. Z. That should be obvious. But as soon as he observes a man overwhelmed with moral doubts he at once becomes a philosopher and even a fatalist. He once delighted a very clever and educated old
? PROGRESS 63
lady. Though she was Russian by faith, she was
educated abroad, and having heard a great deal
about our Barsanophius, she looked to him as to
"
un directeur de conscience" He, however, did not let her talk much about the worries of her soul.
"And why do you worry yourself about all this rubbish? Who wants to hear it? I am only a
common peasant, and yet it bores me to death.
How can you imagine, then, that God can take any interest in it ? And what is the good of talking about
it?
You are too old and too weak to begin improve-
ment now. " She afterwards herself told me this
conversation, laughing and weeping at the same
time. True, she tried to argue with him, but he
completely persuaded her by a story from the life of two ancient hermits Barsanophius narrated it
to me and N. very often. It is a very fine story, only it will perhaps take too long to tell it.
LADY. Tell us in brief.
MR. Z. Well, I will. Two hermits had gone out into the Nitrian desert to save their souls. Their caves were not far distant from each other, but they themselves never talked together, except that they
occasionally sang psalms, so that each could hear
the other. In this way they spent many years, and their fame began to spread in Egypt and the sur-
rounding countries. It came to pass that one day the Devil managed to put into their minds, both at the same time, one and the same desire, and without saying a word to each other they collected their
? 64 SOLOVIEV
work, baskets and mats made of palm leaves and branches, and went off to Alexandria. They sold their work there, and then for three days and three
nights they sought pleasure in the company of drunkards and libertines, after which they went
back to their desert.
And one of them cried out in bitterness and
agony of soul :
"
prayers and penance can atone for such madness,
The other man, however, was walking by his side
and singing psalms in a cheerful voice.
""
Brother," said the repentant one, have you
gone mad? "
"" Why do you ask that ?
"" But why aren't you afflicting yourself ?
"What is it that I should feel afflicted about? "
"
I am lost eternally !
Cursed am I !
For no
All my years of fasting and
such abominations !
prayer gone for nothing ! I am ruined, body and
" soul !
Have you forgotten Alex- "Well, what about Alexandria? Glory to God
"
But we, what did we do in Alexandria? " "You know well enough yourself; we sold our baskets, worshipped St. Mark, visited other churches, called on the pious governor of the city, conversed
with the good prioress Leonilla, who is always kind to monks.
Listen to him! andria? "
who preserves that famous and pious city !
"
? night in the patriarch's court. " "
PROGRESS 65
"
But didn't we spend the night in a house of ill fame? "
" God save us !
No!
We spent the evening and
He has lost his mind. .
Holy martyrs !
Where then did we treat ourselves to wine ?
:' We ofwineandfoodatthe partook
. .
patriarch's table on the occasion of the Presentation of the
Blessed Virgin. "
"
Poor, miserable creature !
And who was it
"
whom we kissed, not to mention worse things ?
" We were honoured with a holy kiss on departing by the Father of Fathers, the most blessed arch- bishop of the great city of Alexandria and the whole
of Egypt, Libya and Pentapolis, and judge of the World, Cyrus-Timotheus, with all the fathers and brothers of his God-chosen clergy. "
" Are you making a fool of me?
Or is it that the
Devil himself has entered your soul as punishment
for the abominations of yesterday? They were
wretched libertines, you blackguard, that you
" kissed !
:'
entered :
Well, I don't know which of us the Devil has
whether he has entered me, who am
rejoicing in the gifts of God and in the benevolence
of the godly priests, and am praising my Maker, as
should every other living thing or whether he has entered you, who are now raving like a madman and calling the house of our blessed father and pastor a house of ill fame, all the time insulting
"
F
? 66 SOLOVIEV
him and his God-loved clergy by calling them libertines. "
"
Accursed mouth of Apollinarius that you are !
At this the hermit who had been bewailing his lapse from virtue fell upon his comrade and began beatinghimwithallhismight. Whentheoutburst was over, they walked silently to their caves. All
night long the repentant one was wearing himself out with grief, filling the desert with his groans and
cries, tearing his hair, throwing himself on the ground and dashing his head against it, whilst the
other was quietly and happily singing his psalms. Next morning the repentant hermit was struck by
"
Oh, heretic you are ! You offspring of Arian !
"
a sudden thought :
By my many years of self-
denial I had been granted a special blessing of the
Holy Spirit which had already begun to reveal itself
in miracles and apparitions. Now, if after this I
gave myself up to the abominations of the flesh, I
must have committed a sin against the Holy Spirit,
which, according to the word of God, is for all
eternity unpardonable. I cast a pearl, pure as heaven,beforetheswineofmyreason thosedevils
and they have crushed it to powder. Now they will most certainly turn on me and tear me to pieces. If, however, I am irrevocably doomed, what can I
" do here in the desert ?
And so he went to Alex-
andria and gave himself up to a wanton life. It so
happened that soon he badly wanted money, and, in company with other dissolute fellows like him-
? PROGRESS 67
self, he murdered and robbed a wealthy merchant. The crime was discovered ; he was tried by the city court and sentenced to death. He died an un-
repentant sinner.
At the same time his old friend, continuing his
life of devotion, attained to the highest degree of
and became famous for his miracles, so that by the virtue of his mere word, women who had had no children for many years gave birthtomen-children. Whenfinallythedayofhis death arrived, his decrepit and withered body sud-
denly became resplendent with the beauty of youth. A wondrous light surrounded it; from it proceeded
the perfume of sweet spices. After his death a
monastery was built up over his relics, and his name
passed from the Alexandrian Church to the Byzan-
tine, and so to the church calendars of Kiev and
"
It proves that I am telling the truth," Barsanophius used to say, in conclusion, "when I say that there is only one sin which does harm, and
that is despondency. " You see, every other crime the pilgrims both committed, but only one met his doom he who gave himself up to grief.
GENERAL. You see, even monks have to be cheerful; whereas nowadays some would like to see soldiers bemoan their sins.
MR. Z. After all, then, though we have departed
from the question of politeness, we have again
approached our main subject.
LADY. And just at the psychological moment.
saintliness,
great
Moscow.
F2
? 68 SOLOVIEV
For here comes the Prince at last. We have been
talking, Prince, in your absence, about politeness. PRINCE. Please pardon me ; I could not get here
earlier. A bundle of all sorts of papers from our people, and various parcels of books, have arrived. I'll show you them by and bye.
LADY. Very well. Later, too, I will tell you the legend of two monks with which we have been con- soling ourselves in your absence. At present our Secret Monte-Carlist holds the floor. Now let us hear from you what you have to say about war after our discussion of yesterday.
POLITICIAN. From the. discussion of yesterday I have retained in my memory Mr. Z. 's reference to Vladimir Monomach, and the war story told by the General. Let these be our starting points for further discussion of the question. It is impossible to argue against the fact that Vladimir Monomach acted well when he fought and overcame the Polovtziens, and that the General also acted well when he annihilated the bashi-bazouks.
LADY. Then you agree with them?
POLITICIAN. I agree with that which I have the honour of stating before you now, viz. , that both Monomach and the General acted in the way in which, in the given circumstances, they should have acted. But what follows from this to help us in judging the circumstances themselves, or for the justification and immortalisation of war and mili- tarism ?
? PROGRESS 69
PRINCE. This is just what I was about to say. LADY. Then you agree with the Prince now, don't
you?
POLITICIAN. If you will allow me to explain my
view of the subject, you will see yourself with whom andwithwhatIdoagree. Myviewisonlyalogical conclusion drawn from actual life and the facts of history. How can one argue against the historical importance of war when it is the main, if not the only, instrument by which the State has been created and gradually consolidated? Show me a single State which was founded and made secure otherwise than by war.
LADY. What about the United States?
POLITICIAN. I thank you for an excellent example. I am, however, speaking of the creation of a State. The United States, as a European colony, was, of
course, founded not by war but by exploration, just as all other colonies were. But the moment this colony wished to become a State, it had to earn
its political independence by means of a long war.
PRINCE. From the fact that the State has been
created by war, which is, I agree, indisputable, you seem to conclude that war is all-important. In my
opinion, however, the only conclusion which can be
drawn from this fact is the unimportance of the
State for those people, of course, who no longer believe in the worship of violence.
POLITICIAN. Why all at once the worship of
? 70 SOLOVIEV
violence? What would it be for? Just you try to establish a stable human community outside the
compulsory forms of the State, or yourself reject in practice everything that takes its life from the State
then you will be able to speak legitimately of the unimportanceoftheState. Butuntilyoudoso,the
State, and everything for which you and I are in- debted to it, will remain a colossal fact, whilst your attacksagainstitremainbutemptywords. Now,I
say again that the supreme historical importance of war, as the principal condition in the creation of a
State, is beyond any doubt. But I ask you : Is it
not right to regard this great task of creating States as already completed in its broad outlines? As to
the details, these can be settled without having
recourse to such a heroic instrument as war. In
ancient times and during the Middle Ages, when the
world of European culture was merely an island in
the midst of an ocean of more or less barbarous
tribes, the military system was necessitated by the
very instinct of self-preservation. It was at that
time necessary to be always ready to repel any hordes which suddenly swooped down from an un-
suspected quarter to trample down the feeble growth of civilisation. At present it is only the non-
European element which can be described as the islands, for European culture has become the ocean whichisgraduallywashingtheseislandsaway. Our scientists, explorers, and missionaries have searched the whole earth without finding anything which is
? PROGRESS 71
likely to menace seriously our civilised world.
Savages are being successfully exterminated, or are dyingout; whilstmilitantbarbarians,liketheTurks
and Japanese, are being civilised and losing their likingforwarfare. Inthemeanwhile,theprocessof uniting all the European nations in the common bond of civilised life . . .
LADY (in a whisper}. Monte Carlo. . . .
POLITICIAN. . . . In the common bond of civilised life has grown to such an extent that war amongst these nations would really be something in the nature of fratricide, which could not be excused on any grounds now that peaceful settlement of inter- nationaldisputeshasbecomepossible. Itwouldbe as fantastic in our time to solve such disputes by war as it would be to travel from St. Petersburg to
Marseilles in a sailing boat or in a coach driven by
a"troika. " Iquiteagree,ofcourse,that"Alonely sail is looming white in the blue mist of the sea" or "See the troika flitting wild" 1 sounds vastly more
poetic than the screeching of railway engines or criesof"Envoiture,messieurs! " Inthesameway
I am prepared to admit the aesthetic superiority of the "bristling steel of lances" and of "with swing-
ing step in shining array the army is marching
along" over the portfolios of diplomats and the cloth-covered tables of peaceful Congresses. But
the serious attitude towards this vital question must,
1 Quotations from popular poems by Lermontov and
Poushkin.
(Translator. )
? 7'2 SOLOVIEV
obviously, be entirely independent of the aesthetic
appreciation of the beauty which belongs not to real war (this, I can assure you, has very little of
the beautiful), but to its reflection in the imagina- tion of the poet and artist. Well, then, once it has been understood by everybody that war, however
interesting for poetry and painters (these, of course, could be well satisfied with past wars), is useless
now, for it is a costly and risky means of achieving ends which can be achieved at much less cost and in a more certain way by other methods, it follows
then that the military period of history is over. I amspeaking,ofcourse,engrand. Theimmediate disarmamentofnationsisoutofthequestion. But I firmly believe that neither ourselves nor our sons will ever see a great war a real European war and that our grandsons will learn only of little wars
somewhereinAsiaorAfrica andofthosefrom historical works.
Now, here is my answer with regard to Vladimir Monomach. When it became necessary to protect the future of the newly-born Russian State, first from the Polovtziens, then from the Tartars, and so on, war was a most necessary and important enterprise. Thesame,withcertainlimitations,may be applied to the period of Peter the Great, when it was necessary to ensure the future of Russia as a European Power. But after that its importance has been becoming ever more disputable, and at the
present day, as I have already said, the military
? PROGRESS 73
period of history is over in Russia, just as it is everywhere else. And what I have said about our
country can be applied, of course, mutatis mutandis, to the other European countries. In every one of them war was, in days gone by, the main and inevit-
able means of defending and strengthening the existence of the State and the nation, and has
everywhere lost its raison d'etre when once this object has been attained.
I may say, by way of parenthesis, that I am puzzled to find some modern philosophers dis-
cussing the rational basis of war, independently of the time. Has war any rational basis ? Oest selon.
Yesterday it probably had everywhere a rational basis ; to-day it has a rational basis only somewhere
in Africa and Middle Asia, where there are still savages. To-morrow it will be justified nowhere. It is remarkable that with the loss of its rational
basis war is, though slowly, losing its glamour. This can be seen even in a nation so backward in
the mass as our own.
Judge yourself : the other
day the General triumphantly pointed out the fact that all our saints are either monks or soldiers. I
ask you, however, to what historical period does all this military holiness or holy militarism actually belong? Is it not that very period in which war
was in reality the most necessary, salutary, and, if you will, most holy enterprise. Our saint-warriors
were all princes of the Kiev and Mongolian periods, but I fail to recollect any lieutenant-general amongst
? 74 SOLOVIEV
them. Now, what is the meaning of it all? You have two famous warriors, having exactly the same
personal right to saintship, and it is granted to one and refused to the other.