November
4 weekly readings
The Divine and the Human
Bozheskoe i chelovecheskoe
Leo Tolstoy
This novella, written in 1903-1904, explores the contrast between authentic spiritual transformation and ideological commitment through the intertwined fates of three men: a young revolutionary who fi
Christianity and the Division of Men
Khristianstvo i razdelenie lyudey
Peter Chelčický (from *The Net of Faith*, 15th century)
This excerpt is from Chelčický's masterwork *The Net of Faith* (*Síť víry*, c. 1440), which critiques the corruption of Christianity since the alliance of church and state under Constantine. Tolstoy g
The Demands of Love
Trebovaniya lyubvi
Leo Tolstoy
In this original essay, Tolstoy explores the impossible dilemma facing those who genuinely attempt to live by the principle of universal brotherhood within a society structured by violence and inequal
Bishop Myriel
Episkop Miriel'
Victor Hugo (from *Les Misérables*, 1862)
This excerpt is the transformative scene from Book II of Hugo's *Les Misérables*, in which Bishop Charles-François-Bienvenu Myriel receives the ex-convict Jean Valjean into his home, treats him with d