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part05+-第18部分

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only to refer to the improvements in criminal law。〃 To this he



agreed cordially; and declared the abolition of torture in



procedure and penalty to be one great gain; at any rate。







We spoke of the present condition of things in Europe; and I told



him that at St。 Petersburg the opinion very general among the



more thoughtful members of the diplomatic corps was that war was



not imminent; that the Czar; having himself seen the cruelties of



war during the late struggle in the Balkans; had acquired an



invincible repugnance to it。 He acquiesced in this; but said that



it seemed monstrous to him that the peace of the empire and of



Europe should depend upon so slender a thread as the will of any



one man。







Our next walk was taken across the river Moskwa; on the ice; to



and through the Kremlin; and as we walked the conversation fell



upon literature。 As to French literature; he thought Maupassant



the man of greatest talent; by far; in recent days; but that he



was depraved and centered all his fiction in women。 For Balzac;



Tolstoi evidently preserved admiration; but he cared little;



apparently; for Daudet; Zola; and their compeers。







As to American literature; he said that Tourgueneff had once told



him that there was nothing in it worth reading; nothing new or



original; that it was simply a copy of English literature。 To



this I replied that such criticism seemed to me very shallow;



that American literature was; of course; largely a growth out of



the parent stock of English literature; and must mainly be judged



as such; that to ask in the highest American literature something



absolutely different from English literature in general was like



looking for oranges upon an apple…tree; that there had come new



varieties in this growth; many of them original; and some



beautiful; but that there was the same sap; the same life…current



running through it all; and I compared the treatment of woman in



all Anglo…Saxon literature; whether on one side of the Atlantic



or the other; from Chaucer to Mark Twain; with the treatment of



the same subject by French writers from Rabelais to Zola。 To this



he answered that in his opinion the strength of American



literature arises from the inherent Anglo…Saxon religious



sentiment。 He expressed a liking for Emerson; Hawthorne; and



Whittier; but he seemed to have read at random; not knowing at



all some of the best things。 He spoke with admiration of Theodore



Parker's writings; and seemed interested in my reminiscences of



Parker and of his acquaintance with Russian affairs。 He also



revered and admired the character and work of William Lloyd



Garrison。 He had read Longfellow somewhat; but was evidently



uncertain regarding Lowell;confusing him; apparently; with some



other author。 Among contemporary writers he knew some of



Howells's novels and liked them; but said: 〃Literature in the



United States at present seems to be in the lowest trough of the



sea between high waves。〃 He dwelt on the flippant tone of



American newspapers; and told me of an interviewer who came to



him in behalf of an American journal; and wanted simply to know



at what time he went to bed and rose; what he ate; and the like。



He thought that people who cared to read such trivialities must



be very feeble…minded; but he said that the European press is; on



the whole; just as futile。 On my attempting to draw from him some



statement as to what part of American literature pleased him



most; he said that he had read some publications of the New York



and Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture; and that he knew and



liked the writings of Felix Adler。 I then asked who; in the whole



range of American literature; he thought the foremost。 To this he



made an answer which amazed me; as it would have astonished my



countrymen。 Indeed; did the eternal salvation of all our eighty



millions depend upon some one of them guessing the person he



named; we should all go to perdition together。 That greatest of



American writers wasAdin Ballou! Evidently; some of the



philanthropic writings of that excellent Massachusetts country



clergyman and religious communist had pleased him; and hence came



the answer。







The next day he came over to my hotel and we went out for a



stroll。 As we passed along the streets I noticed especially what



I had remarked during our previous walks; that Tolstoi had a



large quantity of small Russian coins in his pockets; that this



was evidently known to the swarms of beggars who infest the



Kremlin and the public places generally; and that he always gave



to them。







On my speaking of this; he said he thought that any one; when



asked for money; ought to give it。 Arguing against this doctrine;



I said that in the United States there are virtually no beggars;



and I might have gone on to discuss the subject from the



politico…economical point of view; showing how such



indiscriminate almsgiving in perpetual driblets is sure to create



the absurd and immoral system which one sees throughout



Russia;hordes of men and women who are able to take care of



themselves; and who ought to be far above beggary; cringing and



whining to the passers…by for alms; but I had come to know the



man well enough to feel sure that a politico…economical argument



would slide off him like water from a duck's back; so I attempted



to take him upon another side; and said: 〃In the United States



there are virtually no beggars; though my countrymen are; I



really believe; among the most charitable in the world。〃 To this



last statement he assented; referring in a general way to our



shipments of provisions to aid the famine…stricken in Russia。



〃But;〃 I added; 〃it is not our custom to give to beggars save in



special emergencies。〃 I then gave him an account of certain



American church organizations which had established piles of



fire…wood and therefore enabled any able…bodied tramp; by sawing



or cutting some of it; to earn a good breakfast; a good dinner;



and; if needed; a good bed; and showed him that Americans



considered beggary not only a great source of pauperism; but as



absolutely debasing to the beggar himself; in that it puts him in



the attitude of a suppliant for that which; if he works as he



ought; he can claim as his right; that to me the spectacle of



Count Tolstoi virtually posing as a superior being; while his



fellow…Russians came crouching and whining to him; was not at all



edifying。 To this view of the case he listened very civilly。







Incidentally I expressed wonder that he had not traveled more。 He



then spoke with some disapprobation of travel。 He had lived



abroad for a time; he said; and in St。 Petersburg a few years;



but the rest of his life had been spent mainly in Moscow and the



interior of Russia。 The more we talked together; the more it



became clear that this last statement explained some of his main



defects。 Of all distinguished men that I have ever met; Tolstoi



seems to me most in need of that enlargement of view and



healthful modification of opinion which come from meeting men and



comparing views with them in different lands and under different



conditions。 This need is all the greater because in Russia there



is no opportunity to discuss really important questions。 Among



the whole one hundred and twenty millions of people there is no



public body in which the discussion of large public questions is



allowed; the press affords no real opportunity for discussion;



indeed; it is more than doubtful whether such discussion would be



allowed to any effective extent even in private correspondence or



at one's own fireside。







I remember well that during my former stay in St。 Petersburg;



people who could talk English at their tables generally did so in



order that they might not betray themselves to any spy who might



happen to be among their servants。







Still worse; no one; unless a member of the diplomatic corps or



specially privileged; is allowed to read such books or newspapers



as he chooses; so that even this access to the thoughts of others



is denied to the very men who most need it。







Like so many other men of genius in Russia; then;and Russia is



fertile in such;Tolstoi has had little opportunity to take part



in any real discussion of leading topics; and the result is that



his opinions have been developed without modification by any



rational interchange of thought with other men。 Under such



circumstances any man; no matter how noble or gifted; having



given birth to striking ideas; coddles and pets them until they



become the full…grown; spoiled children of his brain。 He can at



last see neither spot nor blemish in them; and comes virtually to



believe himself infallible。 This characteristic I found in



several other Russians of marked ability。 Each had developed his



theories for himself until he had become infatuated with them;



and despised everything differing from them。







This is a main cause why sundry ghastly creeds; doctrines; and



sectsreligious; social; political; and philosophichave been



developed in Russia。 One of these religious creeds favors the



murder of new…born children in order to save their souls; another



enjoins ghastly bodily mutilations for a similar purpose; others



still would plunge the world in flames and blood for the



difference of a phrase in a creed; or a vowel in a name; or a



finger more or less in making t
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