In Jess's essay, "Mysticism and Violence," he speaks of the impact that the reading of Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God is Within You had on him. Although he gave me a copy as a gift several years ago, I am just now starting a serious reading of the passionate, yet quite analytical defense of non-violence. Gandhi was profoundly affected by this book and they corresponded. In fact, the last long letter that Tolstoy wrote before his death was to Gandhi.
In the initial chapters, Tolstoy quotes from some incredible American voices writing in the 19th century and expresses his dismay at how soon they were forgotten. One author, Adin Ballou, wrote a pamphlet, "How Many Men are Necessary to Change a Crime into a Virtue?" As he says, "One man may not kill. If he kills a fellow-creature, he is a murderer. If two, ten, a hundred men do so, they, too, are murderers. But a government or a nation may kill as many men as it chooses, and that will not be murder, but a great and noble action...
Why is it that one man, ten, a hundred, many not break the law of God, but a great number may?"
This page was last updated: Saturday, March 5, 2005 at 3:37:04 PM Copyright 2008 The Polished Mirror
