HADIX)N 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHER 
 
 TALES. 
 
 OTHER 
 
 TALES 
 
 Tolstoy 
 
 TOLS 
 
DUKE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/esarhaddonothert01tols 
 
ESARHADDON 
 
 AND OTHER TALES 
 

M 
 
ESARHADDON 
 
 AND OTHER TALES 
 
 / 
 
 By LEO TOLSTOY 
 
 Translated by 
 
 LOUISE AND AYLMER MAUDE 
 with an 
 
 Introduction Containing Letters by Tolstoy 
 
 Written and translated for the benefit of 
 the Jews impoverished by riots in 
 Kishinef and Gomel 
 
 FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 
 30 LAFAYETTE PLACE 
 NEW YORK 
 1905 
 
W- 73 - 
 
 Translation, Copyright, 1903 
 By 
 
 FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 
 New York 
 

 CONTENTS 
 
 ' PAGE 
 
 Introduction, 7 
 
 Preface, 21 
 
 Esarhaddon, King of Assyria, . . 23 
 
 Work, Death, and Sickness, . . 41 
 
 Three Questions, 50 
 
 5 
 
 65949 
 
INTRODUCTIOM 
 
 T errible outbreaks of anti- 
 Jewish feeling, more or less 
 connived at by the authori- 
 ties, have led to many Jews being 
 killed and many more being left 
 destitute, first at Kishinef, and later 
 on at Gomel, during the present 
 year. 
 
 The three tales, allegories, or leg- 
 ends, included in this publication, 
 have been contributed by Tolstoy 
 for the benefit of the sufferers. 
 They were intended, in the first 
 place, for publication in a Miscel- 
 lany which was projected for the 
 
 7 
 
 65949 
 
Introduction 
 
 benefit of the Jewish sufferers by a 
 talented Jewish writer, S.N. Rabin- 
 dvitch, better known in Russia 
 under his pseudonym of Schalem 
 Meichem. In order, however, to 
 obtain as much as possible, it was 
 subsequently arranged to publish 
 them simultaneously in several lan- 
 guages. 
 
 The following letters from Tol- 
 stoy to S. N. Rabindvitch tell their 
 own tale: 
 
 “ The terrible crime committed in 
 Kishinef has astonished and pained 
 me. I have in part expressed my 
 attitude to this shameful business in 
 a letter addressed to a Jewish ac- 
 quaintance of mine, of which I en- 
 
 8 
 
Introduction 
 
 close a copy. A few days ago we 
 sent from Moscow a collective letter 
 to the Mayor of Kishinef, express- 
 ing our feeling about this terrible 
 affair. 
 
 “ I shall be very glad to contribute 
 to your Jewish Miscellany, and I 
 will try to write something suitable 
 to the circumstances. 
 
 “ U nfortunately, what I most wish 
 to say, namely, that the guilt — not 
 only of the Kishinef horrors, but of 
 all the discord apparent in a certain 
 small part (not the peasants) of the 
 Russian people — lies solely with 
 the Government. But that is just 
 what I may not say in any publica- 
 tion printed in Russia. 
 
 “Ydsnaya Polyana, 
 
 “6 May, o.s., 1903.” 
 
 9 
 
Introdtiction 
 
 The following is the letter to a 
 Jewish friend referred to in the pre- 
 ceding: 
 
 “ I have received your letter, and 
 I receive many such. The writers 
 all, like you, demand of me the ex- 
 pression of an opinion about the 
 Kishinef events. But I think that 
 some misunderstanding underlies 
 these appeals. It is thought that 
 my voice carries weight, and a de- 
 mand is therefore made that I should 
 express my opinion about occur- 
 rences so important, and having 
 such complex causes, as this Kishi- 
 nef crime. The mistake lies in ex- 
 pecting of me the activity of a pub- 
 licist, whereas I am a man entirely 
 occupied with one very definite 
 question, having nothing in com- 
 
 10 
 
Introduction 
 
 mon with current events — namely, 
 the question of religion and its ap- 
 plication to life. To demand of me 
 a public expression of opinion on 
 contemporary events, is as unjustifi- 
 able as to demand it of any more or 
 less well-known specialist. I may, 
 and do, utilize some event of the 
 day to illustrate a thought I may be 
 dealing with; but to express opin- 
 ions as a publicist on all contem- 
 porary events — even tho they be 
 very important — would be impossi- 
 ble for me, even if I considered it 
 desirable to do so. Were I to at- 
 tempt it, I should have to express 
 immature and commonplace opin- 
 ions, and to repeat what others have 
 already said; then, obviously, the 
 importance that people attribute to 
 my opinions, and that makes them 
 
 II 
 
Introduction 
 
 direct their demands to me, would 
 not exist. 
 
 “As to the Jews and the terrible 
 Kishinef events, my relation to them 
 must, I think, be apparent to all 
 who are interested in my view of 
 life. 
 
 “ My relation to the Jews can not 
 be other than as toward brothers, 
 whom I love, not because they are 
 Jews, but because we and they are 
 all sons of one father — God; and 
 this love needs no effort on my part, 
 for I have met and am acquainted 
 with ver}^ excellent members of the 
 Jewish race. 
 
 “ My attitude toward the Kishinef 
 crime, also, is naturally defined by 
 my religious outlook on life. Even 
 before I had heard all the terrible 
 details which I afterward learned — 
 
 12 
 
Introduction 
 
 from the first mention in the news- 
 papers — I understood the horror of 
 what had happened, and experienced 
 the depressing and mixed feeling of 
 pity for the innocent victims of the 
 mob’s brutality, consternation at 
 such brutality on the part of people 
 supposed to be Christians, a feeling 
 of aversion and loathing toward the 
 so-called educated people who in- 
 cited the crowd and sympathized 
 with its conduct, and, above all, ab- 
 horrence of the real culprit in the 
 whole matter, namely, our Govern- 
 ment, with its priesthood which stu- 
 pefies the people and makes fanatics 
 of them, and its robber band of offi- 
 cials. The Kishinef crime is merely 
 a direct consequence of the propa- 
 ganda of lies and violence carried 
 on with such intensity and such in- 
 
 13 
 
Introduction 
 
 sistence by the Russian Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 “ The attitude of the Government 
 to this event is only a fresh proof of 
 its coarse egotism, which does not 
 stop at any cruelties when repress- 
 ing a movement it thinks danger- 
 ous; and of its complete indiffer- 
 ence (comparable to the indifference 
 of the Turkish Government to the 
 Armenian massacres) to the most 
 terrible cruelties, so long as its own 
 interests are not involved. 
 
 “ That is all I could say about the 
 Kishinef affair, and I have said it 
 all long ago. 
 
 “ If you ask me, further: How I 
 think the Jews should act.? my reply 
 is again one which flows naturally 
 from that Christian teaching which 
 I try to understand and to follow. 
 
 14 
 
Introduction 
 
 “ The Jews, like all men, need but \ 
 one thing for their welfare: to fol- \ 
 low in life, to the greatest possible \ 
 extent, the universal rule of doing i 
 to others as you wish them to do to 
 you ; and to resist the Government, 
 not by violence (that method should 
 be abandoned to the Government), 
 but by a good life, excluding not 
 only all violence toward one’s neigh- 
 bor, but all participation in violence, 
 and all utilization for one’s own ad-^ 
 vantage of the organs of violence in- 
 stituted by Government. 
 
 “ That is all — and it is very old 
 and well known — that I have to say 
 about the terrible Kishinef occur- 
 rences. 
 
 “Yasnaya Polyana, 
 
 “ 27 April, O.S., 1903.” 
 
 IS 
 
Introduction 
 
 The next is again a letter to the 
 editor of the Miscellany: 
 
 “ I send you Three Tales, to be 
 translated into Yiddish and printed 
 in the Jewish Miscellany which 
 you are publishing to aid the Jews 
 who suffered in Kishinef. 
 
 “ I shall be very pleased if these 
 tales at all help the success of that 
 publication. 
 
 “ With much respect, and every 
 wish to aid. 
 
 “Yasnaya Polyana, 
 
 “20 August, O.S., 1903.” 
 
 The following is part of another 
 letter from Tolstoy to the same 
 editor: 
 
 “ I am of course very pleased that 
 non-Jewish editions should in any 
 
 x6 
 
Introduction 
 
 degree increase the help obtainable 
 for the sufferers. But I can not 
 depart from the rule I have laid 
 down for myself once for all, namely, 
 to let everybody freely print what 
 they like of my writings. I there- 
 fore give in aid of the sufferers only 
 what I can give : the right of first 
 publication. . . . Do not send me 
 any proofs, or else I am afraid I 
 shall let the temptation to correct 
 run away with me, and shall delay 
 your publication. 
 
 “ Yasnaya Polyana, 
 
 “7 September, o.s., 1903.” 
 
 With reference to this question 
 of Tolstoy’s repudiation of all rights 
 in his publications after they have 
 once been published, it may be well 
 
 17 
 
Introduction 
 
 to reproduce what I have already 
 said in the Preface to the “ Revised 
 Edition ” of Sevastopol and Other 
 Military Tales. 
 
 “Tolstoy himself wants nothing 
 for his works, and, when the Russian 
 original has once been printed, he al- 
 lows any one to reprint it, translate it, 
 or re-translate it into any language. 
 The translators have, of course, a 
 right to their own versions ; and in 
 ho\v far they, like Tolstoy, may be 
 prepared to forego payment or pro- 
 tection of their work, is a question 
 of conscience which will be decided 
 variously, according to the needs, 
 views, and circumstances of the in- 
 dividuals concerned.” 
 
 i8 
 
Introduction 
 
 The present translators, having in 
 view the publication of a revised 
 translation of Tolstoy’s works in 
 English, do not wish to abandon 
 control of their versions. But they 
 will devote any profits that may ac- 
 crue from the present publication to 
 the relief of the suffering Russian 
 Jews. 
 
 In the first of these tales Tolstoy 
 has used the names of real people. 
 Esarhaddon (or Assur-akhi-iddina) is 
 mentioned three times in the Bible 
 (2 Kings xix. 37 ; Isa. xxxvii. 38, and 
 Ezra iv. 2), and is also alluded to in 
 2 Chron. xxxiii. ii,as “the king of 
 Assyria, which took Manasseh 
 among the thorns, and bound him 
 
 19 
 
Introduction 
 
 with fetters, and carried him to 
 Babylon.” His son Assur-bani-pal, 
 whom he promoted to power before 
 his own death, is once mentioned in 
 the Bible, under the name of Asnap- 
 per (Ezra iv. lo). Of Lailie history 
 does not tell us much ; but in Ernest 
 A. Budge’s History of Esarhaddon 
 we read; “A king, called Lailie, 
 asked that the gods which Esarhad- 
 don had captured from him might be 
 restored. His request was granted, 
 and Esarhaddon says, ‘ I spoke to 
 him of brotherhood, and entrusted 
 to him the sovereignty of the dis- 
 trict of Bazu.’ ” 
 
 AYLMER MAUDE. 
 
 20 
 

 
 PREFACE 
 
 T he idea of the tale Esarhad- 
 don. King of Assyria ^VS) not 
 my own, but was borrowed 
 by me from a tale by an anonymous 
 author, printed in the German maga- 
 zine Theosophischer Wegweiser, No. 
 5, 1903, and entitled Das bist Dti. 
 
 With reference to the tale Three 
 Questions, an explanation of an op- 
 posite kind is needful. There is a 
 story by Leskdf on the same theme, 
 and it might be supposed that I had 
 borrowed the fundamental thought 
 from him. In reality, however, it is 
 one which was expressed and pub- 
 
 21 
 
Preface 
 
 lished by me (in the Flower Garden, 
 published by the Mediator) fifteen 
 years ago. It pleased Leskdf, and 
 he, with my consent, made use of it. 
 
 LEO TOLSTOY. 
 
 Yasnaya Polyana, 
 
 25 August, 1903. 
 
 22 
 
ESARHADDON, KING OF 
 ASSYRIA 
 
 T he Assyrian King Esarhad- 
 don conquered the kingdom 
 of King Lailie, destroyed 
 and burnt all the towns, took all the 
 inhabitants captive to his own coun- 
 try, slaughtered the warriors, and 
 kept King Lailie himself in a cage. 
 
 Lying on his bed at night. King 
 Esarhaddon thought how best to 
 execute Lailie, when suddenly he 
 heard a rustling near his bed, and, 
 opening his eyes, saw an old man 
 with a long gray beard and mild 
 eyes. 
 
 23 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 “You wish to execute Lailie?” 
 asked the old man. 
 
 “Yes,” answered the king. “ But 
 I can not decide how to execute 
 him.” 
 
 “ But Lailie — is yourself,” said the 
 old man. 
 
 “ That’s not true,” replied the 
 king. “ I am I, and Lailie is 
 Lailie.” 
 
 “You and Lailie are one,” said 
 the old man. “ It only seems to you 
 that you are not Lailie, and that 
 Lailie is not you.” 
 
 “ What do you mean by ‘ it only 
 seems’.'*” said the king. “Here 
 am I, lying on a soft bed; around 
 me are obedient men-slaves and 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 women-slaves, and to-morrow I shall 
 feast with my friends as I did to- 
 day ; while Lailie will sit like a bird 
 in a cage, and to-morrow he will be 
 impaled, and with his tongue hang- 
 ing out will wriggle till he dies, and 
 his body will be torn in pieces by 
 dogs.” 
 
 “You can not destroy his life,” 
 said the old man. 
 
 “And how about the fourteen 
 thousand warriors I killed, and with 
 whose bodies I built a mound ? ” 
 said the king. “ I am alive, but 
 they no longer exist: that shows 
 that I can destroy life.” 
 
 “ How do you know they no 
 longer exist.? ” 
 
 25 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 “ Because I do not see them. 
 And the chief thing is, that they 
 were tormented, but I was not. It 
 was bad for them, but well for 
 me.” 
 
 “ That, also, only seems so to you. 
 You tortured yourself, but not 
 them.” 
 
 “ I do not understand,” said the 
 king. 
 
 “ Do you wish to understand?” 
 
 “ Yes, I do.” 
 
 “ Then come here,” said the old 
 man, pointing to a large font full of 
 water. 
 
 The king rose and approached 
 the font. 
 
 “ Strip, and enter the font.” 
 
 26 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 Esarhaddon did as the old man 
 bade him. 
 
 “ Now, as soon as I begin to 
 pour this water over you,” said 
 the old man, scooping up water 
 into a jug, “dip your head under 
 water.” 
 
 The old man tilted the jug over 
 the king’s head, and the king dipped 
 his head under water. 
 
 And as soon as King Esarhaddon 
 dipped under water, he felt that he 
 was no longer Esarhaddon, but 
 some one else. And, feeling him- 
 self to be that other man, he saw 
 himself lying on a rich bed, beside 
 a handsome woman. He had never 
 seen her before, but he knew that 
 
 27 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 she was his wife. The woman 
 raised herself and said to him : 
 
 “ Dear husband Lailie, you were 
 wearied by yesterday’s work, and 
 have slept longer than usual, and 
 I have guarded your rest and 
 have not roused you. But now 
 the princes await you in the 
 Great Hall. Dress and go out to 
 them.” 
 
 And Esarhaddon — understanding 
 from these words that he is Lailie, 
 and not feeling at all surprised at 
 this, but only wondering that he did 
 not know it before — rises, dresses, 
 ar'd goes into the Great Hall where 
 the princes await him. 
 
 The princes greet their King 
 
 28 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 Lailie, bowing to the ground, and 
 then they rise, and at his word sit 
 down before him ; and the eldest of 
 the princes begins to speak, and 
 says that it is impossible longer to 
 endure all the insults of the wicked 
 King Esarhaddon, and that they 
 must make war on him. . But Lailie 
 disagrees with him, and gives orders 
 that envoys shall be sent to Esar- 
 haddon to remonstrate with him; 
 and he dismisses the princes from 
 the audience. Afterward he ap- 
 points men of note to act as ambas- 
 sadors, and impresses on them what 
 they are to say to King Esarhad- 
 don. Having finished this busi- 
 ness, Esarhaddon — feeling that he 
 
 29 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 is Lailie — rides out to hunt wild 
 asses. The hunt is successful. He 
 kills two wild asses himself, and, 
 having returned home, feasts with 
 his friends, and watches a dance of 
 slave girls. The next day he goes 
 into the courtyard, where he is 
 awaited by petitioners, suitors, and 
 prisoners brought for trial ; and 
 there he decides the cases submitted 
 to him. Having finished this busi- 
 ness, he again rides out for his 
 favorite amusement, hunting. And 
 again he is successful: this time per- 
 sonally killing an old lioness and 
 taking her two cubs. After the 
 hunt he again feasts with his friends, 
 and is entertained with music and 
 
 30 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 dances, and the night he spends with 
 the wife he loves. 
 
 So he lives for days and weeks, 
 awaiting the return of the ambassa- 
 dors he had sent to that King Esar- 
 haddon — who used to be himself. 
 The ambassadors only return after 
 a month has passed, and they return 
 with their noses and ears cut off. 
 
 King Esarhaddon had ordered 
 them to tell Lailie that what had 
 been done to them — his ambassa- 
 dors — would be done to him also, 
 unless he immediately sent a certain 
 tribute of silver, gold, and cypress- 
 wood, and unless he came himself 
 to make obeisance to him. 
 
 Lailie, formerly Esarhaddon, 
 
 31 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 again assembles the princes, and 
 consults them as to what he should 
 do. They all, with one accord, say 
 that it is necessary to make war 
 against Esarhaddon without waiting 
 for him to attack them. The king 
 agrees, and, taking his place at the 
 head of the army, he starts on the 
 campaign. The campaign lasts 
 seven days. Each day the king 
 rides round the army, and rouses 
 the courage of his warriors. On the 
 eighth day his army meets Esarhad- 
 don’s army in a broad valley, by the 
 side of a river. Lailie’s army fights 
 bravely, but Lailie, formerly Esar- 
 haddon, sees that the enemy swarm 
 down from the mountains like ants, 
 
 32 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 overrunning the valley and over- 
 whelming his army ; and in his char- 
 iot he flings himself into the midst 
 of the battle, hewing and felling the 
 enemy. But the warriors of Lailie 
 are but as hundreds, while those of 
 Esarhaddon are as thousands ; and 
 Lailie feels he is wounded, and that 
 they have taken him prisoner. Nine 
 days he (with other captives) travels, 
 bound, and guarded by the warriors 
 of Esarhaddon. On the tenth day 
 he is brought to Nineveh and placed 
 in a cage. Lailie suffers less from 
 hunger and from his wound than 
 from shame and impotent anger. 
 He feels how impotent he is to 
 avenge himself on his enemy for all 
 
 33 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 that he suffers. The one thing he 
 can do is not to give his enemies the 
 pleasure of seeing his sufferings; 
 and he firmly resolves to endure 
 courageously, without a murmur, all 
 they can do to him. For twenty 
 days he sits in his cage, awaiting ex- 
 ecution. He sees his relations and 
 friends led to death ; he hears the 
 groans of those who are executed: 
 some have their hands and feet cut 
 off, others are flayed alive, but he 
 shows neither disquietude, nor pity, 
 nor fear. He sees the wife he loved, 
 bound, and led away by eunuchs. 
 He knows she is being taken as a 
 slave to Esarhaddon. And he bears 
 that, too, without a murmur. But 
 
 34 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 now two executioners open his cage 
 door, and having strapped his arms 
 tight behind him, lead him to the 
 place of execution, which is soaked 
 with blood. Lailie sees a sharp 
 stake dripping with blood, from 
 which the corpse of one of his 
 friends has just been torn, and he 
 understands that this has been done 
 that the stake may serve for his own 
 execution. They strip Lailie of his 
 clothes. He is startled at the lean- 
 ness of his once strong, handsome 
 body. The two executioners seize 
 that body by its lean thighs ; they 
 lift him up and are about to let him 
 fall upon the stake. 
 
 “ This is death, destruction ! ” 
 
 35 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 thinks Lailie, and, forgetful of his 
 decision to remain bravely calm to 
 the end, he sobs and prays for 
 mercy. But no one listens to him, 
 
 “ But this can not be,” thinks he. 
 “ Surely I am asleep. It is a 
 dream.” And he makes an effort 
 to rouse himself. “ Surely I am not 
 Lailie, but Esarhaddon.” 
 
 “You are indeed Lailie and also 
 Esarhaddon,” declares a voice, and 
 he feels that his execution has be- 
 gun. He cries out, and at the same 
 moment lifts his head out of the 
 font. . . . The old man stands over 
 him, pouring on to his head the last 
 drops from the jug. 
 
 “ Oh, how terribly I have suf- 
 
 36 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 fered, and for how long!” said 
 Esarhaddon. 
 
 “Long?” replied the old man; 
 “you have only dipped your head 
 under water and lifted it again ; see, 
 the water is not yet all out of the 
 jug. Have you now understood? ” 
 
 Esarhaddon did not reply, but 
 only looked at the old man with 
 terror. 
 
 “ Have you now understood,” 
 continued the old man, “ that Lailie 
 is you, and the warriors you put to 
 death were you also? And not the 
 warriors only, but the animals you 
 slew when hunting and ate at your 
 feasts were also you. You thought 
 life dwelt in you alone, but I have 
 
 37 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 drawn aside the veil of the delusion, 
 and have let you see that by doing 
 evil to others you have done it to 
 yourself also. Life is one in them 
 all, and you have in yourself but a 
 portion of this common life. And 
 only in that one part of life that is 
 in you can you make life better or 
 worse — can you increase or decrease 
 ^iL You can only improve life in 
 yourself by destroying the barriers 
 ! that divide your life from that of 
 others, and by considering others as 
 yourself, and loving them. To de- 
 stroy the life that dwells in others is 
 beyond your power. The life of 
 those you have slain has vanished 
 from your eyes, but is not destroyed. 
 38 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 You thought to lengthen your own 
 life and to shorten theirs, but you 
 can not do this. Life knows neither 
 time nor space. The life of -a mo- 
 ment, and the life of a thousand 
 years, your life, and the life of all 
 the visible and invisible beings in 
 the world, are equal. To destroy 
 life, or to alter it, is impossible ; for 
 e life i s the one thing that exists. All 
 else but seems to us to be.” 
 
 Having said this the old man van- 
 ished. 
 
 Next morning King Esarhaddon 
 gave orders that Lailie and all the 
 prisoners should be set at liberty, 
 and that the executions should 
 
 cease. 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 On the third day he called his son 
 Assur-bani-pal, and gave the king- 
 dom over into his hands; and he 
 himself went into the desert to think 
 over what he had learnt. After- 
 ward he began to go about as a 
 wanderer through the towns and 
 villages, preaching to the people 
 that all life is one, and that men 
 only harm themselves when they 
 wish to do evil to others. 
 
 40 
 
WORK. DEATH, AND 
 SICKNESS 
 
 T his is a legend current 
 among the South American 
 Indians. 
 
 God, say they, at first made men 
 so that they had no need to work : 
 they wanted neither houses, nor 
 clothes, nor food, and they all lived 
 till they were a hundred, and did not 
 know what illness was. 
 
 When, after some time, God 
 looked to see how people were liv- 
 ing, he saw that, instead of being 
 happy in their life, they had quar- 
 reled with one another, and, each 
 
 41 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 caring for himself, had brought 
 matters to such a pass that far from 
 enjoying life they cursed it. 
 
 Then God said to himself, 
 “ This comes of their living sepa- 
 rately, each for himself.” And to 
 change this state of things, God so 
 arranged matters that it became im- 
 possible for people to live without 
 working. To avoid suffering from 
 cold and hunger, they were now 
 obliged to build dwellings, and to 
 dig the ground, and to grow and 
 gather fruits and grain. 
 
 “ W ork will bring them together,” 
 thought God. “ They can not make 
 their tools, and sow and gather their 
 harvests, and spin and weave, and 
 (^42 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 make their clothes, each one by 
 himself. 
 
 “ It will make them understand 
 that the more heartily they work to- 
 gether the more they will obtain, 
 and the better they will live ; and 
 this will unite them.” 
 
 Time passed on, and again God 
 came to see how men were living, 
 and whether they were now happy. 
 
 But he found them living worse 
 than before. They worked together 
 (that they could not help), but not 
 all together, having broken up into 
 little groups. And each group tried 
 to snatch work from another group, 
 and they hindered one another, 
 wasting time and strength in their 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 struggles, so that things went ill 
 with them all. 
 
 Having seen that this, too, was 
 not well, God decided so to arrange 
 things that man should not know 
 the time of his death, but might die 
 at any moment ; and he announced 
 this to them. 
 
 f “ Knowing that each of them may 
 die at any moment,” thought God, 
 “ they will not, by grasping at gains 
 in a life that may end so soon, spoil 
 the hours of life that are allotted to 
 them.” 
 
 But it turned out othenvise. 
 When God returned to see how 
 people were living, he saw that 
 their life was as bad as ever. 
 
 44 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 Those who were strongest, avail- 
 ing themselves of the fact that men 
 might die at any time, subdued 
 those who were weaker, killing some 
 and threatening others. And it 
 came about that only the strongest 
 and their descendants did no work, 
 and suffered from the weariness of 
 idleness, while those who were 
 weaker had to work beyond their 
 strength, and suffered from lack of 
 rest. Each set of men feared and 
 hated the other. And the life of 
 man became yet more unhappy. 
 
 Having seen all this, God, to 
 mend matters, decided to make use 
 of one last means ; he sent sickness 
 of all kinds among men. God 
 
 45 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 thought that when all men were ex- 
 posed to sickness they would under- 
 stand that those who are well should 
 have pity on those who are sick, 
 and should help them, that when 
 they themselves fall ill, those who 
 are well may in turn help them. 
 
 And again God went away, but 
 when he came back to see how 
 men lived now that they were sub- 
 ject to sicknesses, he saw that their 
 life was worse even than before. 
 The very sickness that in God’s 
 purpose should have united men, 
 had divided them more than ever. 
 Those men who were strong enough 
 to make others work, forced them 
 also to attend to them in times of 
 
 46 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 sickness, but did not, in their turn, 
 look after other sick people. And 
 those who were forced to work for 
 others and to look after the sick, 
 were so worn out with work that 
 they had no time to look after their 
 own sick, but left them without at- 
 tendance. Moreover, people con- 
 sidered many of the illnesses infec- 
 tious, and, fearing to catch them, 
 they not only did not draw nearer 
 to the sick, but even separated 
 themselves from those who attended 
 the sick. 
 
 Then God said to himself : “ If 
 even this means will not bring men 
 to understand wherein their happi- 
 ness lies, let them be brought to it 
 
 47 
 
Esarhaddoii 
 
 J/hy their sufferings.” And God left 
 men to themselves. 
 
 And, left to themselves, men lived 
 long before they understood that 
 they could and should be happy. 
 Only in the very latest times a few 
 of them have begun to understand 
 that work ought not to be a bugbear 
 for some and like galley-slaver}^ 
 for others, but should be a common 
 and happy occupation, uniting all 
 men. They have begun to under- 
 stand, that, with death constantly 
 threatening each of us, the only rea- 
 sonable business of every man is to 
 spend the years, months, hours, and 
 minutes allotted him in unity and 
 love. They have begun to under- 
 48 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 stand that sickness, far from divid- 
 ing men, should, on the contrary, 
 give opportunity for loving union 
 with one another. 
 
WT^WTr'>rT^>^Tr'WTr'>fTr'»?Tr’»r' 
 
 THREE QUESTIONS 
 
 I T once occurred to a certain 
 king, that, if he always knew 
 the right time to begin ever}- 
 thing, if he knew who were the 
 right people to attend to and whom 
 to avoid, and, above all, if he al- 
 ways knew what was the most im- 
 portant thing to do, he would never 
 fail in any of his undertakings. 
 
 And this thought having occur- 
 red to him, he had it proclaimed 
 throughout his dominions that he 
 would give a great reward to any 
 one who would teach him how to 
 know the right time for eveiy^ action. 
 
 50 
 
Esarhaddon and Other Tales 
 
 and who were the most necessary 
 people, and how to be sure what 
 was the most important thing to do. 
 
 And learned men came to the 
 king, but they all gave different an- 
 swers to his questions. 
 
 In reply to the first question, 
 some said that, to know the right 
 time for every action, one must 
 draw up, in advance, a table of the 
 days, months, and years — and 
 strictly follow this table. Only 
 thus, said they, could everything be 
 done at its proper time. Others 
 declared that ’ it was impossible to 
 decide beforehand the right time for 
 every action; but, not letting one- 
 self be absorbed in idle pastimes. 
 
 51 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 one should always attend to all that 
 goes on, and then do what is most 
 needful. Others, again, said that, 
 however attentive the king might 
 be to what was going on, it was im- 
 possible for one man to decide cor- 
 rectly the right time for ever)^ 
 action, but that he should have a 
 council of wise men, who would 
 help him to fix the proper time for 
 everything. 
 
 But then, again, others said, 
 there were some things which could 
 not wait to be laid before a council, 
 but about which one had to decide 
 at once whether to undertake them 
 or not. But to decide thus, one 
 must know beforehand what is go- 
 
 52 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 ing to happen. Only magicians 
 could know that; and, therefore, in 
 order to know the right time for 
 every action, one must consult the 
 magicians. 
 
 Equally various were the answers 
 to the second question. Some said, 
 the people the king most needed 
 were his councilors; others, that 
 those most needed were the priests ; 
 others, that he needed the doctors 
 most; while some said that the war- 
 riors were the most necessary. 
 
 To the third question, as to what 
 was the most important occupation, 
 some replied that the most impor- 
 tant thing in the world was science. 
 Others said it was skill in warfare, 
 
 53 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 and others again, that it was relig- 
 ious worship. 
 
 All the answers being different, 
 the king agreed with none of them, 
 and gave the reward to no one. 
 But, in order to find the right an- 
 swers to his questions, he decided 
 to consult a hermit widely renowned 
 for his wisdom. 
 
 The hermit lived in a wood, never 
 went out anywhere, and received 
 only common folk. So the king 
 put on simple clothes, and, before 
 reaching the hermit’s cell, dis- 
 mounted from his horse, and, leav- 
 ing his bodyguard behind, went on 
 alone. 
 
 When the king approached, the 
 
 54 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 hermit was digging some beds in 
 front of his hut. Seeing the king, 
 he greeted him and went on digging. 
 The hermit was thin and weak, and 
 each time he stuck his spade into 
 the ground and turned a little earth, 
 he breathed heavily. 
 
 The king went up to him and 
 said; 
 
 “ I have come to you, wise her- 
 mit, to ask you to answer me three 
 questions: What time must one use 
 and not neglect, lest one repent it.? 
 Who are the people one most needs, 
 and, therefore, to whom should one 
 pay most attention.? and. What 
 affairs are the most important, and 
 should be first attended to .? ” 
 
 55 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 The hermit listened to the king, 
 but answered nothing; he just spat 
 on his hand and recommenced dig- 
 ging. 
 
 “You are tired,” said the king; 
 “let me have the spade: I’ll work 
 awhile for you.” 
 
 “ Thanks ! ” said the hermit, and 
 giving the spade to the king, he sat 
 down on the ground. 
 
 When he had dug two beds, the 
 king stopped and repeated his ques- 
 tions. The hermit again gave no 
 answer, but rose, stretched out his 
 hand for the spade, and said : 
 
 “ Now rest awhile. Let me work 
 a bit.” 
 
 But the king did not give him 
 
 56 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 the spade, and continued digging. 
 One hour passed, and another. The 
 sun began to sink behind the trees, 
 and the king at last struck his spade 
 into the ground and said : 
 
 “ I came to you, wise man, for an 
 answer to my questions. If you can 
 give me none, tell me so, and I will 
 go home.” 
 
 “ Here comes some one running,” 
 said the hermit ; “ let us see who it 
 
 • M 
 
 IS. 
 
 The king turned round, and saw 
 a bearded man come running out of 
 the wood. The man held his stom- 
 ach with his hands, and blood was 
 flowing from under them. When 
 he reached the king, the runner 
 
 57 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 fell fainting on the ground and 
 only moaned feebly. The king and 
 the hermit unfastened the man’s 
 clothing. There was a large wound 
 in his stomach. The king washed 
 it as best he could, and bandaged it 
 with his handkerchief and with the 
 hermit’s towel. But the blood 
 would not stop flowing, and the 
 king again and again removed the 
 bandage soaked with warm blood, 
 and washed and rebandaged the 
 wound. When at last the blood 
 ceased to flow, the man revived and 
 asked for something to drink. The 
 king brought fresh water and gave 
 it to him. Meanwhile the sun had 
 quite set,, and it grew cool. So the 
 
 58 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 king, with the hermit’s help, carried 
 the wounded man into the hut and 
 laid him on the bed. Lying on the 
 bed the man closed his eyes and was 
 quiet; but the king was so tired 
 with his walk and with the work he 
 had done that he crouched down 
 on the threshold, and also fell asleep 
 — so soundly that he slept all 
 through the short summer night. 
 When he awoke in the morning, it 
 was long before he could make out 
 where he was, or who was that 
 strange bearded man lying on the 
 bed and gazing intently at him with 
 glittering eyes. 
 
 “ Forgive me ! ” said the bearded 
 man in a weak voice, when he saw 
 
 59 
 
Esarhaddon 
 
 that the king was awake and look- 
 ing at him. 
 
 “ I do not know you, and have 
 nothing to forgive you for,” said the 
 king. 
 
 “You do not know me, but I 
 know you. I am that enemy of 
 yours who swore to revenge himself 
 on you, because you executed my 
 brother and seized my property. I 
 knew you had gone alone to see the 
 hermit, and I resolved to kill you on 
 your way back. But the day passed 
 and you did not return. So I came 
 out from my ambush to discover 
 where you were, and I came upon 
 your bodyguard, and they recog- 
 nized me and wounded me. I ran 
 
 6o 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 away from them, but I should have 
 bled to death had you not dressed 
 my wound. I wished to kill you, 
 and you have saved my life. Now, 
 if I live, and if you wish it, I will 
 serve you as your most faithful 
 slave, and will bid my sons do the 
 same. Forgive me ! ” 
 
 The king was very glad to have 
 made peace with his enemy so easily, 
 and not only forgave him, but said 
 he would send his servants and his 
 own physician to attend him, and 
 promised to restore his property. 
 
 Having taken leave of the 
 wounded man, the king went out 
 into the porch and looked round for 
 the hermit. Before going away he 
 
Esarkaddou 
 
 wished once more to ask for an an- 
 swer to the questions he had put. 
 The hermit was outside, on his 
 knees, sowing vegetable seeds in the 
 beds that had been dug before. 
 
 The king approached him, and 
 said; 
 
 “ For the last time, I beg you to 
 answer my questions, wise man.” 
 
 “ Why, you have been answered,” 
 said the hermit, crouching on his 
 thin legs and looking up at the 
 king, who stood before him. 
 
 “Answered? What do you 
 mean?” asked the king. 
 
 “ Why, of course,” replied the 
 hermit, “ if you had not pitied my 
 weakness yesterday and dug these 
 
 62 
 
and Other Tales 
 
 beds for me, but had gone back 
 alone, that man would have at- 
 tacked you, and you would have 
 repented of not having stayed with 
 me. So the most important time 
 was when you were digging the 
 beds; and I was the most impor- 
 tant man ; and to do me good 
 was your most important business. 
 Afterward, when that man ran to 
 us, the most important time was 
 when you were attending to him, for 
 if you had not bound up his wounds 
 he would have died without having 
 made peace with you. So he was 
 the most important man, and what 
 you did for him was your most im- 
 portant business. Remember then ; 
 
 63 
 
Esarhaddo7i and Other Tales 
 
 there is only one time that is impor- 
 tant — now. It is the most impor- 
 tant time, because it is the only time 
 when we have any power. The 
 most necessary man is he with whom 
 you are, for no man knows whether 
 he will ever have dealings with any 
 one else: and the most important 
 affair is, to do him good, because for 
 that purpose alone was man sent 
 into this life.” 
 
 LEO TOLSTOY. 
 
 Yasnaya Polyana, 
 
 19 August, O.S., 1903. 
 
£ 
 
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