ПСС. Том 67. Письма, 1894 г.

All the grandest undertakings have not only come to nought, but have turned against the very cause, which they were intended to serve; and that only owing to haste, to the desire of men to convert the greatest possible quantity of other men in the shortest possible time; or if they can not convert them, make them appear to be converted. Thus in the first instance Paul began to clip the demands of Christ & to adapt them to the existing order of things; this, but in enormous dimensions, Constantine⁵ in order to make them accessible to himself & his nation. Thus dealt all those introducers of Christianity into England, France, Russia, who almost compulsorily christened their people. And thus do pervert christianity all founders & organisators of sects from the Mormons⁶ to the Salvation Army. This haste has always been and continues to be the great drawback to the spreading of Christianity.

Let us with all our strength keep to the whole truth for ourselves in the full light in which it is unfolded to us, and this light will inevitably enlighten those around us, & this same truth will inevitably unite us all together without our troubling ourselves about it; because there is only one truth and men can unite only into them.

What profound and good undertakings were those of St. Simon,⁷ Fourier,⁸ Proudhon,⁹ Robert Owen¹⁰ and of hundred of other founders of communities in America, and what is now left of them? And how insignificant was the life of the Nasareth carpenter,¹¹ who was hung for words which displeased the authorities of his time, and yet how enormous the results.¹²

Anarchism is a striking sign of the times. It is the beginning of the ruin of old order of things. And when the old is coming to ruin, it is impossible to build. All that is possible is to prove, to explain, to demonstrate the lawfulness of this ruin, the possibility and necessity of a new construction and to show the foundations upon which it can be done. In times like ours, when the existing order is falling to pieces under its own weight, what the men are especially in want of is a¹³ beacon, which would attract them. And it is this beacon of true (genuine) Christianity which we must endeavour not to obscure. This is the most important and fruitful work we can do.

Let us therefore retain for it all our strength. Let us retain our chief exertion, all our efforts and all our attention in order not to deviate from the truth, not to diminish it, not voluntarily to yield to any compromise. If in our lives we may not be able to accomplish completely the truth which we know, then let the fault of this lie solely in our imperfection and weakness, but not in our voluntary diminishment or deterioration of the truth.

Let us seek the truth. Let us seek the kingdom of God & his righteousness, and steadily believe, that all these things (including our influence upon other men) shall be added unto us.

Your work is especially dear to me in that you are not afraid of professing the whole truth without those limitation, by the means of which it is rendered powerless. I very much appreciated therefore your article in the «Young Methodist».¹⁴ In order that fire should burn, that fire which Christ desired to send on the earth, it is necessary that it should be fire, and not an extinguished, only fumigating (smouldering) torch.

Дорогой друг,

Получил два ваши письма и газеты, которые вы присылаете, и благодарю вас за то и другое.

На предпоследнее письмо ваше, в котором вы пишете, что скоро у вас составится община, community, я хотел отвечать вам следующее:

Конечно, нельзя не желать наибольшего распространения того, что считаешь истиной, и не только отвлеченной истиной, но истиной практической, такой, признание которой избавит людей от их бедствий и даст им величайшее благо; но, как ни странно сказать это, ничто не препятствовало столько распространению истины, как слишком поспешное желание заставить других принять ее.

Меня всегда поражали мало замеченные вообще слова Христа своим 70 ученикам, когда они вернулись с проповеди и хвалились своими успехами, говоря, что везде бесы повинуются им: «Не ищите того, чтобы бесы повиновались вам, а того, чтобы имена ваши были написаны на небесах». Другими словами: не ищите внешнего, видимого всем успеха, не перечисляйте своих прозелитов, как церковники и армия спасения,¹ а ищите того, чтобы быть в истине, никогда не отступать от нее, и успех, может быть и невидимый, будет, наверное будет, потому что, когда человек отыщет истину, действие неизбежно будет, хотя бы оно было и невидимо для него. То же говорят и слова: «Ищите царства божия и правды его, а остальное приложится вам», и слова: «Будьте чисты, как голуби, и мудры, как змии».