The last days of Leo Tolstoy

"Despite physical suffering that might appear excruciating to us, Leo Tolstoy continued to live an inner, spiritual life. The extent to which this was so may be gauged from certain remarks made by him at this time. During the last 24 hours of his life, Tolstoy said, among other things, the following: "Well, so that's good, too"; "Everything is simple and good"; "Good... yes, yes..." and so on. He spoke these words when, judging by his heavy breathing, hiccups and groans, one might have supposed him in too much agony to be capable of functioning with a free, let alone happy mind. Evidently, as the master's body was dying, the belief, staunchly held by Tolstoy that a man who lives by the spirit of God can wrest happiness even from the harshest and most trying conditions, was now being tested on Tolstoy himself. After all, Tolstoy had never tired of repeating this to others. Tolstoy's death-agony could not stifle his awareness of this spiritual principle, which he saw as the essence of human life. On the contrary, this death-agony purified it and made it more sharply defined."

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