“ Every man of the present day, if we go deep enough into the contradiction between his conscience and his life, is in a state of despair. ”
Leo Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894). copy citation
| Author | Leo Tolstoy |
|---|---|
| Source | The Kingdom of God Is Within You |
| Topic | contradiction despair |
| Date | 1894 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Constance Garnett |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/4602/pg4602-images.html |
Context
“People are astonished that every year there are sixty thousand cases of suicide in Europe, and those only the recognized and recorded cases—and excluding Russia and Turkey; but one ought rather to be surprised that there are so few. Every man of the present day, if we go deep enough into the contradiction between his conscience and his life, is in a state of despair.
Not to speak of all the other contradictions between modern life and the conscience, the permanently armed condition of Europe together with its profession of Christianity is alone enough to drive any man to despair, to doubt of the sanity of mankind, and to terminate an existence in this senseless and brutal world.”
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