Bethink Yourselves!-Leo Tolstoy

What I Believe by Leo Tolstoy."The inner working of my soul, which I wish to speak of here, was not the result of a methodical investigation of doctrinal theology, or of the actual texts of the gospel; it was a sudden removal of all that hid the true meaning of the Christian doctrine – a momentary flash of light, which made everything clear to me. It was something like that which might happen to a man who, after vainly attempting, by a false plan, to build up a statue out of a confused heap of small pieces of marble, suddenly guesses at the figure they are intended to form by the shape of the largest piece; and then, on beginning to set up the statue, finds his guess confirmed by the harmonious joining in of the various pieces."Featured on War and Peace.Public-domain recording courtesy of LibriVox (librivox.org).This episode includes AI-generated content.

Slavery of Our Times by Leo Tolstoy.This little book shows, in a short, clear, and systematic manner, how the principle of Non-Resistance, about which Tolstoy has written so much, is related to economic and political life.Featured on War and Peace.Public-domain recording courtesy of LibriVox (librivox.org).This episode includes AI-generated content.

Family Happiness by Leo Tolstoy.After a brief romance, the 17 year old Marya falls in love with the much older Sergyei Mikhailitch, an old family friend, and the two are married. They share an initially blissful life but after moving to St. Petersburg, Marya becomes enchanted with society and a rift opens between the two.Featured on War and Peace.Public-domain recording courtesy of LibriVox (librivox.org).This episode includes AI-generated content.

What Men Live By and Other Tales (Version 2) by Leo Tolstoy.What is the purpose of life? How are we expected to live with others? What is all of this about anyway? And the answer to that question by the way is answered in a style that is uniquely and perfectly Tolstoy's. But these are not essays, but well written stories that tell about real people as they live real lives. The two stories in the middle, are much shorter but just as fascinating. Tolstoy was a deeply spiritual man and he always brought out the spiritual side of all the myriad questions he dealt with.Featured on War and Peace.Public-domain recording courtesy of LibriVox (librivox.org).This episode includes AI-generated content.

On Life by Leo Tolstoy.What is the "good life" for us mortal beings? Two months spent recovering from a severe injury allowed Tolstoy to develop and organise his thoughts on the subject. On Life is his philosophical answer where love, religion, and morality come together to ground us in reality.Featured on War and Peace.Public-domain recording courtesy of LibriVox (librivox.org).This episode includes AI-generated content.

War and Peace, Book 06 1808-1810 by Leo Tolstoy.Featured on War and Peace.This episode includes AI-generated content.

War and Peace, Book 07 1810-1811 by Leo Tolstoy.Featured on War and Peace.This episode includes AI-generated content.

My Confession by Leo Tolstoy."My Confession" is a brief autobiographical story of Leo Tolstoy's struggle with a mid-life existential crisis of melancholia. It describes his search for answers to the profound questions "What will come of my life?" and "What is the meaning of life?", without answers to which life, for him, had become "impossible." Tolstoy reflects on the arc of his philosophical life until then: his childhood abandonment of his Russian orthodox faith; his mastery of strength, will, power, and reason; and how, after he had achieved tremendous financial success and social status, life to him seemed meaningless. After despairing of his attempts to find answers in science, philosophy, eastern wisdom, and his fellow men of letters, he describes his turn to the wisdom of the common people and his attempts to reconcile their instinctive faith with the dictates of his reason.Featured on War and Peace.Public-domain recording courtesy of LibriVox (librivox.org).This episode includes AI-generated content.

War and Peace, Book 08 1811-1812 by Leo Tolstoy.Featured on War and Peace.This episode includes AI-generated content.

War and Peace, Book 16 First Epilogue 1813-1820 by Leo Tolstoy.Featured on War and Peace.This episode includes AI-generated content.