Anyone who lacks the desire for agreement, nor strives to prove others wrong and himself right, is bound to be an outsider. Such an individual will never adapt to any environment, though he may participate superficially in any of them. Identification, however, is impossible for him, and no one will be able to see in him a kindred spirit. Such impulses are components of normal human relationships: they unite and separate, but ultimately they categorize; to lack them is to shield oneself from any connection.
Category: Notes
Old Age Seems to Call for Serenity
Old age seems to call for serenity just as youth calls for passion. However, a young man who goes against the nature of youth seems to us to be superior to it, whereas an elderly man who does the same seems to us to be out of step with his age. It is strange because there are countless cases in which conflict seems to be ingrained in an individual’s nature, so that to abandon it would be, for him, to die. Thus, we observe those who, with white hair, remain fierce, passionate, and always embroiled in some struggle. Certainly, it is not for other men to judge them; but old age seems more authentic when it cultivates and radiates peace.
The Failure of Tolstoy’s Life
All the contradictions, the dehumanization, and the very failure of Tolstoy’s life as recounted by Paul Johnson are very sad. However, it would be unwise to take his account as a summary of Tolstoy’s life: the biography lacks the literary testimony. And, without a doubt, the image we form of Tolstoy changes when we compare the two. On the one hand, there is the outward appearance, the actions, and all manner of human weaknesses and flaws that tend to surface when a man is called upon to act. All of this is regrettable. However, when we read a few lines by Tolstoy, we realize there is something different about him. It is not a matter of literary genius, but of the absolute impossibility that such a profound understanding of human nature could not have entailed an awareness of his own contradictions, his own dehumanization, and his own failure. It is impossible to imagine that Paul Johnson’s Tolstoy did not experience an excruciating inner conflict. And, upon noticing this, only the devil is incapable of empathy.
It Is Very Difficult to Imagine an Atheist…
It is very difficult to imagine an atheist who has been so unfortunate as to have never, in his entire life, encountered an example of exemplary virtue. For, undoubtedly, it is one thing to perform an isolated act, and quite another to have virtue so deeply ingrained in one’s very nature that the act occurs frequently, spontaneously, and without reflection. And if there is one thing that experience demonstrates, it is that such natures are always linked to religion. Hence, if the atheist is at all sincere, he is forced to ask himself whether religion does not, to some extent, determine the capability to exemplify virtue through one’s personality. And if he admits that he would like to possess at least a little of what abounds in such examples, he will undergo an existential crisis. Unfortunately, no matter how much he may want to, he will not be able to change the lessons that experience has taught him.