“ we cannot persuade ourselves and others that we do not know that men do not like dying of hunger, bereft of the right to gain their subsistence from the earth on which they live ”
Leo Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894). copy citation
| Author | Leo Tolstoy |
|---|---|
| Source | The Kingdom of God Is Within You |
| Topic | hunger subsistence |
| Date | 1894 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Constance Garnett |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4602/pg4602-images.html |
Context
“And therefore just as a brigand caught in broad daylight in the act cannot persuade us that he did not lift his knife in order to rob his victim of his purse, and had no thought of killing him, we too, it would seem, cannot persuade ourselves or others that the soldiers and policemen around us are not to guard us, but only for defense against foreign foes, and to regulate traffic and fêtes and reviews; we cannot persuade ourselves and others that we do not know that men do not like dying of hunger, bereft of the right to gain their subsistence from the earth on which they live; that they do not like working underground, in the water, or in stifling heat, for ten to fourteen hours a day, at night in factories to manufacture objects for our pleasure. One would imagine it impossible to deny what is so obvious.”
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