Traveller and Peasant (Tolstoy)
Short summary
Russia, late 19th century. An old traveller, waiting for the next day's train, stayed overnight in a peasant's hut. The peasant complained bitterly about his hard life: nine family members survived on four bushels of corn, while rich landowners seized thousands of acres, leaving peasants landless. The traveller questioned why peasants spent 700 million roubles annually on vodka if life was so difficult. The peasant argued drinking was customary and unavoidable.
When the peasant blamed landowners for hoarding land, the traveller asked why peasants worked for them and served as their watchmen. The discussion turned to soldiers. The traveller argued that taking military oaths violated Christ's law against swearing, and killing contradicted the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill.' He insisted there were no enemies in God's law, only brothers to love. The traveller concluded with a stark choice:
You must serve either God or the devil. If it's to be the devil, go and drink, scold, fight, hate... If it is God, obey Him alone.
Detailed summary
Division into sections is editorial.
The travellers arrival and the peasants complaints about poverty
An old traveller found himself stranded at a railway station when no train was available until the following day. The station was crowded, so he asked a peasant woman for lodging and was permitted to stay the night in their hut. Inside the peasant dwelling, the traveller sat reading a book while the peasant, who had just returned from work, invited him to share supper.
The traveller declined the meal, and after the peasant finished eating and said grace, they began conversing. When asked about his circumstances, the peasant responded with deep despair about his family's situation.
Living? What's our life like?... As bad as can be! Why, because we've nothing to live on! Our life is so hard that if we wanted a worse one, we couldn't get it.
The debate about vodka consumption and peasant spending
The peasant explained his family's dire poverty, describing how nine family members survived on only four bushels of corn, forcing him to seek wage labor while facing declining pay rates. He complained about mounting taxes and the burden of supporting priests and landlords. The traveller expressed surprise, believing peasants were prospering based on newspaper reports of their spending 700 million roubles on vodka annually. The peasant defended this consumption, arguing that drinking was unavoidable due to social customs surrounding church feasts, weddings, and business dealings, even though he acknowledged vodka brought only evil.
Land ownership and the wealthy landowners control
When the traveller suggested there was plenty of land available, the peasant responded with frustration about land ownership. He described how a wealthy landowner had seized 5000 acres while peasant families could barely keep livestock due to lack of space. The peasant explained that this landowner used the land for profit, hiring laborers to work it and depositing the proceeds in banks.
There's land, right enough, but it's not ours. Your elbow's not far from your mouth, but just you try to bite it!
The traveller pressed further, learning that the laborers and watchmen protecting the land were themselves peasants. This led to a crucial realization that the traveller articulated:
So that the peasants work the rich man's land for him, and guard it for him from themselves?
The traveller suggested that peasants could simply refuse to work for the wealthy landowner, making the land free for those who needed it. However, the peasant warned that such action would bring military intervention, as soldiers would be sent to suppress any uprising.
Discussion of soldiers, military oaths, and the commandment against killing
The conversation turned to military service when the peasant pointed out that soldiers would enforce the landowner's rights. The traveller questioned why soldiers, who were also peasants, would shoot their own people. The peasant explained this was due to the military oath they swore. When asked about this oath, the peasant described how soldiers swore by the Cross and Gospels to lay down their lives for their country.
The traveller argued against taking such oaths, citing Christ's law. He opened his book and read from Matthew 5:33, showing that Jesus explicitly forbade swearing. The peasant worried that without oaths there would be no soldiers, but the traveller questioned what good soldiers actually did. When the peasant mentioned defending against foreign attacks, the traveller suggested that if rulers wanted to fight, they should do so themselves rather than involving common people.
The traveller emphasized that those who truly believed in God would never kill another person, regardless of circumstances. He read from the Sixth Commandment and passages from Matthew about loving enemies rather than hating them. The peasant struggled with these concepts, particularly regarding warfare and the distinction between enemies and neighbors.
Gods law versus human authority and the choice of whom to obey
The discussion moved to the fundamental question of authority. The traveller argued that authorities only had power because people obeyed them, and that disobedience would eliminate their power. The peasant found this concept difficult to accept, insisting that some authority was necessary. The traveller then posed a crucial question:
Of course it is! Only whom will you take for authority—the policeman, or God? Whom will you obey—the policeman, or God?
The peasant acknowledged that God was the highest authority and that living for God was paramount. The traveller explained that truly living for God meant refusing to participate in activities that harmed others - being a policeman, tax collector, watchman, or especially a soldier. When the peasant questioned why priests didn't teach these principles, the traveller advised focusing on one's own path rather than judging others.
Final reflections on living according to Gods will and the evenings end
The traveller concluded with a powerful reflection on the root of evil in human life:
I mean that our life is evil, only because we ourselves do evil. If one lived according to God's will, life would not be evil.
The peasant acknowledged the wisdom of these words, admitting they lived badly because they forgot God. As the evening concluded, he thanked the traveller for his good words and offered him a place to sleep on the oven, where his wife would prepare a bed.