Divine and Human by Leo Tolstoy

First published: “Bozheskoe I chelovecheskoe,” 1906 (English translation, 1906)

Edition(s) used:Divine and Human, and Other Stories, translated by Peter Sekirin. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2000

Genre(s): Short fiction

Subgenre(s): Biblical fiction; evangelical fiction; morality tales

Core issue(s):Alienation from God; atonement; awakening; the Beatitudes; conversion; Gospels

Principal characters

• Anatoly Svetlogub, a young revolutionary
• Ignaty Mezhenetsky, a leader of a revolutionary group
• Roman, a new kind of a revolutionary, precursor of the Bolsheviks
• Old Believer, a member of the old Russian Orthodox sect

Overview

Leo Tolstoy wrote “Divine and Human” as a chapter in the novel Voskreseniye (1899; Resurrection, 1899), but it was omitted when the novel was published, then rewritten and expanded. It is one of many pieces of shorter fiction Tolstoy wrote in the last decade or so of his life, with pronounced religious and Christian content, intended as educational incentives.

The three revolutionaries presented here differ in their approach to their zeal. The youngest of them, Anatoly Svetlogub, is of a rich family and is very intelligent and ambitious. He tries to help the disadvantaged as much as he can, but his heart is not fully in it; strangely, he even feels some shame while helping. His mother had high hopes that he would eventually attain a reasonably good position in society. Instead, as a young man he manages to get involved in the struggle for justice and reforms that marks the second half of the nineteenth century. He wants to help the poor and disadvantaged, but he is also attracted to the dangers involved in his revolutionary engagement. When explosives left in Svetlogub’s house by the leader of his revolutionary circle are discovered, the young man is imprisoned, convicted without definitive proof of a direct criminal act on his part, and hanged in the public square. As he presses the New Testament to his heart, he dies in peace and in the belief that all men are good and that all is well with the world. However, his mother, whose hopes that he would be set free are dashed, voices her disbelief in the kind of God that would allow such injustice to happen.

The irony of this injustice is that during the long incarceration, after Svetlogub had a chance to read the New Testament, he underwent a genuine conversion to Christianity and was ready to start a new life free of rebellion and terrorism. Another prisoner, who belonged to the Old Believer sect of the Russian Orthodox Church, made friends with Svetlogub and influenced him to the point of conversion. Svetlogub embraced the basic tenets of Christianity, even the hardest one to accept, “love thy enemy.” He not only admitted to his wrongdoings but also learned to love the authorities in their zeal to persecute and eventually kill him.

That is not the case with the second revolutionary, the leader of Svetlogub’s revolutionary circle, Ignaty Mezhenetsky. He has no qualms about the cruelty of his activity, believing firmly, like Svetlogub, in the justice of the revolutionaries’ desire to lift their poor brethren from the pits of poverty, overthrow the despotic government, and establish a free, elected government. However, because his fanaticism lacks any spiritual fervor, Mezhenetsky’s beliefs are purely rational. He is spared capital punishment and sent to a labor camp in Siberia. There, he meets another revolutionary leader, Roman, who is even more “rational” than he.

Roman and his group belittle Mezhenetsky’s revolutionary tactics as inadequate and ineffective. They advocate instead an almost “scientific” approach to the revolution. They believe that the peasants of Russia are stupid and will never understand the struggle for their own betterment until they all become proletarians. The peasants’ attachment to the land they have just received from the government after liberation from serfdom makes them conservative and unwilling to change. Therefore the land must be collectivized. In this belief, Roman’s revolutionaries resemble the Bolsheviks, who would soon take over the revolutionary movement and eventually succeed in their efforts only eight years after Tolstoy’s death. Tolstoy, like Fyodor Dostoevski, prophesied that the Bolsheviks would change the face of Russia. The coldness of Roman and his followers surpasses even Mezhenetsky’s calculative approach. Mezhenetsky is so unnerved by the lack of recognition and gratitude on the part of this extremely radical group that he hangs himself in the labor camp. Before he commits suicide, he sees the Old Believer, who tells him that the lamb, a symbol of love, peace, kindness and humility (Svetlogub is with the lamb), will conquer the kings of this world—clearly having Jesus Christ in mind.

Christian Themes

The Christian themes in “Divine and Human” are woven firmly into the work. The first word of the title, “divine,” refers to the behavior of Svetlogub, while the last word, “human,” refers to the revolutionaries, Mezhenetsky and Roman. The divine element in Svetlogub is reflected in his transformation from a nonbeliever, even an enemy of believers, into a follower of the New Testament tenets. The other two revolutionaries remain “human” in that they refuse to rise above the basic concerns of human beings—a better material life—even though they too have potential for doing good because they want to help the poor. Yet, their transformations in the course of the work were “human” in the worst way.

Tolstoy is pointing out that a desire to do good is not enough. Although Svetlogub firmly believes that he is doing the right thing by wanting to eliminate social injustice, his desire lacks firm foundation. Only after he repeatedly reads the New Testament while in prison does he realize the true meaning of his efforts. Faced with death, he now believes that he will not die but will just start a new life after death. That new life will be full of joy and, most important, of love for fellow human beings. As for the authorities who are putting him to death, they know not what they are doing. Above all, they must save their souls, for what good does it do a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Many other sayings from the New Testament now connote a new, Christian way of life for Svetlogub.

On the other hand, Mezhenetsky does not show any interest in reading the New Testament, even though every prisoner is given a copy. It has no meaning for him and for his practical frame of mind. However, when faced with a real challenge by Roman’s group, he has nothing to fall back on, and he commits suicide.

The third revolutionary, the leader of the radical group, Roman, likewise shows no interest in the New Testament. Instead, he relies on the “scientific” approach to the toppling of the government. The story ends before the readers learn what happens to him, but the assumption is that Tolstoy was fearful of Roman’s triumph.

The Old Believer, another prisoner, best personifies Christian virtues. He notices Svetlogub before he turns to Christianity. Yet the old man loves Svetlogub and always asks for him. He teaches him by example how to love even your enemy. After all, it was the wife of the governor-general of the province—the enemy—who gave Svetlogub and all the other prisoners copies of the New Testament.

Sources for Further Study

Berlin, Isaiah. The Hedgehog and the Fox: An Essay on Tolstoy’s View of History. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953. A standard essay on Tolstoy’s view of history and the role of individuals in it, as applied to Tolstoy’s works, especially Voyna I mir (1865-1869; War and Peace, 1886).

Egan, David R., and Melinda A. Egan, eds. Leo Tolstoy: An Annotated Bibliography of English Sources from 1978 to 2003. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2005. Indispensable, though time limited, for students of Tolstoy, including sources on religion and all other aspects of his works.

Levin, Michael L. A Signature on a Portrait: Highlights of Tolstoy’s Thought. New York: Levin Press, 1994. Criticism and interpretation of major aspects of Tolstoy’s thinking, including spiritual and Christian aspects.

Matlaw, Ralph E., ed. Tolstoy: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1967. Essays on different aspects of Tolstoy’s life, works, and art, by various authors. With chronology of important dates and selected bibliography.

Poggioli, Renato. The Phoenix and the Spider. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1957. An astute analysis of psychological aspects of Tolstoy’s approach to literature.

Simmons, Ernest J. Leo Tolstoy. Boston: Atlantic, Little Brown, 1947. One of the best biographies of Tolstoy in English.