Tolstoy’s Pacifism By Colm McKeogh

Polyana, with its four thousand acres and 330 serfs. For eighteen months he lived on his estate, studying agriculture and seeking to improve the lot of his serfs. His concern for right living expressed itself through a search for rules, including rising at five in the morning and retiring no later than nine or ten in the evening, to eat nothing sweet, to care nothing for praise, to scorn honors and wealth, and to express love for people daily. But he was too young to live his father's life, and his humanitarian attempts foundered on the serfs' stubborn suspicions. Disillusioned, he attempted a radical change in his mode of existence, residing in Moscow from 1848 and moving in the most exclusive social circles. His rules of conduct were supplanted by new “Rules for Society” (“to control the conversation at all times, speak in a loud voice, slowly and distinctly; always contrive to begin and end the discussion. Seek out the society of people more highly placed than I. In a conversation, do not shift from French to Russian or Russian to French. At dances, invite the most important ladies and do not be discouraged by a refusal. Be as cold as possible and let no feeling show”). ⁷ He followed some friends to St. Petersburg in 1849 and half-heartedly tried to enroll as a student in the law faculty at the university. ⁸ Carousing, gambling, and visiting prostitutes brought no peace of mind. Troubled by his conscience, and aged not yet twenty-three, he felt a need for renewal. The result was his flight from aristocratic society to the Caucasus, to military experience and budding literary fame.