The Kingdom of God is Within You / Christianity and Patriotism / MiscellaniesTolstoy, Leo, graf
Religion
The Kingdom of God is Within You / Christianity and Patriotism / Miscellanies
Tolstoy, Leo, graf
Russian literature -- Translations into English
There are the same prosecutors and judges, and the same proceedings,
but it is getting clearer and clearer that, since civil cases are
decided on the basis of all kinds of considerations except that of
justice, and since criminal cases have no sense, because punishments
attain no purpose admitted even by the judges, these institutions
have no other significance than that of serving as a means for
supporting men who are not fit for anything more useful.
There are the same clergymen, and bishops, and churches, and
synods, but it is becoming clearer and clearer to all men that
these men have long ago ceased to believe in what they preach, and
that, therefore, they cannot convince any one of the necessity of
believing in what they themselves do not believe.
There are the same collectors of taxes, but they are becoming less
and less capable of taking away by force people's property, and it
is becoming clearer and clearer that people can without collectors
of taxes collect all that is necessary by subscribing it voluntarily.
There are the same rich men, but it is becoming clearer and clearer
that they can be useful only in proportion as they cease to be
personal managers of their wealth and give to society all, or at
least a part, of their fortunes.
When all this shall become completely clear to all, it will be
natural for men to ask themselves, "But why should we feed and
maintain all these kings, emperors, presidents, and members of all
kinds of Chambers and ministries, if nothing results from all their
meetings and discussions? Would it not be better, as some jester
said, to make a queen out of rubber?"
"And what good to us are the armies, with their generals, and music,
and cavalry, and drums? What good are they when there is no war
and no one wants to conquer any one, and when, even if there is a
war, the other nations do not let us profit from it, and the troops
refuse to shoot at their own people?"
"And what good are judges and prosecutors who in civil cases do not
decide according to justice and in criminal cases know themselves
that all punishments are useless?"
"And of what use are collectors of taxes who unwillingly collect the
taxes, while what is needed is collected without them?"
"And of what use is the clergy, which has long ago ceased to believe
in what it preaches?"
"And of what use is capital in private hands, when it can be of use
only by becoming the common possession?"
And having once asked themselves this, people cannot help but come
to the conclusion that they ought not to support all these useless
institutions.
But not only will the men who support these institutions arrive at
the necessity of abolishing them,--the men themselves who occupy
these positions will simultaneously or even earlier be brought to
the necessity of giving up their positions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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