Between 1875 and 1877, Leo Tolstoy, nobility by birth, wrote installments of Anna Karenina. While writing Anna Karenina,” he became obsessed with the meaning and purpose of life. This led Tolstoy to compose the essay, My Confession, detailing his agonizing religious and moral self-examination, published in 1882. He devoted another three years to the discovery of the meaning and purpose of life. At the close of the seven years of only non-fiction essays, Tolstoy resumed writing and publishing fictional works. However, he did write two more essays devoted to the meaning of life, What Then Must We Do (1886) and The Kingdom of God is Within You (1892). Tolstoy, in 1886 wrote a particularly intriguing tale of a bishop and three old men, The Three Hermits,” which reflects Tolstoy’s search for purpose and the meaning of life.
The Three Hermits is a journey, both physical and spiritual, similar to Tolstoy’s faith journey. “A bishop was sailing from Archangel to the Solovetsk Monastery, and on the same vessel were a number of pilgrims on their way to visit the shrine at that place…” (Tolstoy, p. 1). The story goes on to say that a fisherman on board relayed the tale of the three hermits who live on an island near where they currently were sailing. The Bishop becomes very curious, and insists upon meeting the hermits. The other pilgrims protest at the idea of stopping. The captain also objects and informs the bishop, “The old men are not worth your pains. I have heard said that they are foolish old fellows, who understand nothing, and never speak a word, any more than the fish in the sea” (Tolstoy, p.3). This passage makes an ironic point. The pilgrims travel to Solovetsk, home of a monastery considered one of the holy places in Russia, to pay homage and receive God’s favor, yet they are unwilling to learn from people close to God, much like the people of Tolstoy’s time, too wrapped up in the church’s doctrine to see the way to God. Tolstoy wrote in Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand, a chapter of The Kingdom of God is Within You that Christians must aspire to the Kingdom of God, not the kingdoms of the world, meaning that the idols and relics of the church are worthless, people should instead visit God through meaningful prayer, good deeds, and work. The tale continues on to say, “the cable was quickly let out, the anchor cast and the sails furled… Then...
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...rought to life in a fable. The Three Hermits span time in understanding the journey to the meaning of life. To this day, the puzzle never has been solved and may never be solved. In the immortal words of Tolstoy, “If you are content with the old world, try to preserve it, it is very sick and cannot hold out much longer. But if you cannot bear to live in everlasting dissonance between your beliefs and your life, thinking one thing and doing another, get out of the medieval witted sepulchers, and face your fears. I know very well it is not easy” (The Anarchist Library, p.1).
Works Cited
Tolstoy, Leo. The Three Hermits. Democritus University of Thrace. 8 January 2000 <http://platon.ee.duth.gr/data/maillist-archives/orthodoxia/1998aj/msg00429.html>.
Leo Tolstoy. The Anarchist Library. 12 January 2000 <http://flag.blackened.net/daver/anarchism/tolstoy/>.
Forster, Stephen. The Gulag's Archipelago. 12 January 2000 <http://gemini.u-aizu.ac.jp/~anatol/projects/travel/russia/solovki-archipelago.html>.
Crosswalk.com: Bible Study Tools. Crosswalk.com Network. 14 January 2000 <http://www.biblestudytools.net>.
“Tolstoy, Leo.” World Book. Chicago: World Book Inc., 1998.
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A. The Epic of Russian Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1950. 309-346. Tolstoy, Leo. "
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