1904 г. Октября 23/ноября5.Я. П.
23/5 October
Toula. Jasnaya Poliana.
Dear friend Iso Abé,
It was a great pleasure for me to receive your letter and your paper>1 with the english article.>2 I thank you heartily for both.
Though I never doubted that there are in Japan a great many reasonable, moral and religious men, who are opposed to the horrible crime of war which is now perpetrated by both betrayed and stupified nations, I was very glad to get the proof of it.
It is a great joy for me to know that I have friends and coworkers in Japan with which I can be in friendly intercourse.
Wishing to be quite sincere with you, as I wish to be with every esteemed friend, I must tell you that I do not approuve of socialism and am sorry to know that the most spiritually advanced part of your, so clever and energetic people, has taken from Europe the very feeble, illusory and fallacious theory of socialism, which in Europe is beginning to be abandoned.
Socialism has for its aim the satisfaction of the meanest part of human nature: his material wellbeing and by the means it proposes can never attain them.
The true wellbeing of humanity is spiritual i. e. moral and includes the material wellbeing. And this higher goal can be attained only by religious i. e. moral perfection of all the unites which compose nations and humanity.
By religion I understand the reasonable belief in a (general for all humanity) law of God which practically is exposed in the precept of loving every man and doing to everybody what one wishes to be done to you.
I know that this method seemes to be less expedient than socialism and other frail theories, but it is the sole true one. And all the efforts we use in trying to realize false and not reaching their aims theories only hinder us to employ the sole true means to attain the degree of happiness of mankind and of every individual which so proper to our time.
Excuse me for the liberty I take to discuss your creed and for my bad english and believe me to be your true friend
Leo Tolstoy.
I will be always glad to have news from you.
23/5 октября
Тула. Ясная Поляна.
Дорогой друг Изо-Абэ,
Для меня было большим удовольствием получить ваше письмо и вашу газету>1 с английской статьей.>2 Сердечно благодарю вас за то и за другое.
Хотя я никогда не сомневался, что в Японии очень много разумных, нравственных и религиозных людей, отрицательно настроенных к ужасному преступлению — войне, происходящей между обоими обманутыми и одураченными народами, я всё же был очень рад получить этому доказательство.