Печатается по листу 31 копировальной книги. Впервые опубликовано в «Летописях», 2, стр. 146. Дата определяется почтовым штемпелем получения письма адресата: «Москва, 13/I 1896» и тем, что данное письмо оттиснуто в копировальной книге между письмами, датированными Толстым 4 и 28 января.
Михаил Аркадьевич Сопоцько — см. т. 52, стр. 344, и т. 67.
Ответ на два письма из Пудожа Олонецкой губ., оба от 7 января 1896 г.
1896 г. Января 28. Москва.
My dear Sir,
I thank you for sending me your article.1 It is a great joy for me to know, that you believe in the practicability of Christ[‘s] teaching and that you intend to preach to your countrymen Christianity as it is presented in the Sermon on the Mount. That is a great purpose and I do not know a greater, to which a man could devote his life. But to be sincere with you I must say, that in your article, as well as in your letter,2 I can see that you have not quite made up your mind which master you will serve: God or Mammon; will you try to obtain the personal, familial or national welfare, or try only to fulfil the will of God, making no difference between men and nations. You say, that you will try to do what you can to break down the walls of partition through sectarianism and different religious systems, and through ultra strong patriotism. You say the same usual patriotism in your article — as if there can be two kinds of patriotism — the one good, the other, the ultra strong, bad patriotism. To say that patriotism can be good, is a great delusion, and if you suppose, that any kind of patriotism can be good, you open the door to the greatest evils. Patriotism and Christianity are two opposite terms and can not be united. I have written an article in form of a letter to an English correspondent about this subject,3 and if it interests you, you can read it in the English papers, or I can send it to you. To save the far East from all the evils of patriotism would be the greatest boon to the world, and therefore we Christians, who believe in Christ’s teaching as it is preached inthe Sermon of the Mount, we must employ all our forces to attain this aim and to be strong and work and make no compromises.
