The book has been translated into Persian by Shahabeddin Abbasi.
It is an examination of the conflicts within and among nations, proposing a remedy based on true Christian doctrine: recognition of love as the supreme law of life.
Written just before World War I, it articulates Tolstoy’s famous dictum that it is morally superior to suffer violence than to do violence—a philosophy that has inspired Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and countless others.
At the age of fifty, Tolstoy devoted himself to promoting the transformation of society, writing stories, essays and books advocating the pursuit of an inner moral revolution.
In the preface to this work, Tolstoy declared, “The only reason why I am writing this is because, knowing the one means of salvation for Christian humanity, from its physical corruption as well as from the moral corruption in which it is sunk, I, who am on the edge of the grave, cannot be silent.”
A century later, Tolstoy’s powerful plea for nonviolence continues to resonate.
As a master of realistic fiction and one of the world’s greatest novelists, Tolstoy wrote two of the great novels of the nineteenth century.
He is best known for his two longest works, “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina”, which are commonly regarded as among the finest novels ever written.
Among Tolstoy’s shorter works, “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” is usually ranked among the best examples of the novella.
Especially during his last three decades, Tolstoy also achieved world renown as a moral and religious teacher.
His doctrine of nonresistance to evil had an important influence on Gandhi. Although Tolstoy’s religious ideas no longer command the respect they once did, interest in his life and personality has, if anything, increased over the years.
Source:Tehran Times