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Chapter 6 of Bethink Yourselves by Leo Tolstoy Translated by V.
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Chertkov This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Two
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thousand years ago, John the Baptist, and then Jesus, said
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to men, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
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God is at hand. Metanoide, bethink yourselves, and believe in
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the gospel. Mark 1.15 And if you do not bethink yourselves,
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you will all perish. Luke chapter 13 verse 5 But
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men did not listen to them, and the destruction they
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foretold is already near at hand. And we men of
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our time cannot but see it. We are already perishing,
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and therefore we cannot leave unheeded that old in time
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but for us new means of salvation. We cannot but
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see that, besides all the other calamities which flow from
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our bad and irrational life, military preparations alone, and the
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wars inevitably growing from them, must infallibly destroy us. We
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cannot but see that all the means of escape invented
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by men from these evils are found and must be
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found to be ineffectual. and that the disastrous position of
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the nations arming themselves against each other cannot but go
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on advancing continually. And therefore the words of Jesus refer
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to us and our time more than to any time
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or to anyone. Jesus said, That is, let every man
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interrupt the work he has begun and ask himself, Who
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am I? From whence have I appeared, and in what
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consists my destiny? And having answered these questions, according to
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the answer, decide whether that which thou doest is in
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conformity with thy destiny. And every man of our world
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and time, that is, being acquainted with the essence of
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the Christian teaching, needs only for a minute to interrupt
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his activity, to forget the capacity in which he is
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regarded by men be it of emperor, soldier, minister or journalist,
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and seriously ask himself who he is and what is
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his destiny, in order to begin to doubt the utility,
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lawfulness and reasonableness of his actions. Before I am emperor, soldier,
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minister or journalist, must say to himself every man of
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our time and of the Christian world, before any of these...
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I am a man, that is, an organic being sent
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by the higher will into a universe infinite in time
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and space, in order, after staying in it for an instant,
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to die, that is, to disappear from it. And therefore,
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all those personal, social, and even universal human aims which
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I may place before myself, and which are placed before
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me by men, are all insignificant, owing to the shortness
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of my life as well as to the infiniteness of
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the life of the universe, and should be subordinated to
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that higher aim for the attainment of which I am
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sent into the world. This ultimate aim, owing to my limitations,
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is inaccessible to me, but it does exist, as there
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must be a purpose in all that exists. and my
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business is that of being its instrument, that is, my destiny,
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my vocation, is that of being a workman of God,
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of fulfilling his work. And having understood this destiny, every
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man of our world and time, from emperor to soldier,
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cannot but regard differently those duties which he has taken
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upon himself, or other men have imposed upon him. Before
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I was crowned, recognized as emperor, must the emperor say
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to himself, before I undertook to fulfill the duties of
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the head of the state, I, by the very fact
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that I live, have promised to fulfill that which is
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demanded of me by the higher will that sent me
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into life. These demands I not only know, but feel
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in my heart. They consist, as it is expressed in
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the Christian law, which I profess in that I should
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submit to the will of God and fulfil that which
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it requires of me, that I should love my neighbour,
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serve him, and act towards him as I would wish
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others to act towards me? Am I doing this, ruling men,
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prescribing violence, executions, and, the most dreadful of all, wars?
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Men tell me that I ought to do this. but
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God says that I ought to do something quite different,
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and therefore, however much I may be told that, as
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the head of the state, I must direct acts of violence,
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the levying of taxes, executions, and above all war, that is,
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the slaughter of one's neighbour, I do not wish to
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and cannot do these things. So must say to himself
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the soldier who is taught that he must kill men,
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and the minister who deemed it his duty to prepare
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for war, and the journalist who incited to war, and
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every man who puts to himself the question, Who is he?
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What is his destination in life? And the moment the
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head of the state will cease to direct war, the
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soldier to fight, the minister to prepare means for war,
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the journalist to incite thereto, then, without any new institutions, adaptations,
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balance of power, tribunals, there will of itself be destroyed
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that hopeless position in which men have placed themselves, not
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only in relation to war, but also to all other
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calamities which they themselves inflict upon themselves. So that, however
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strange this may appear, the most effective and certain deliverance
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of men, from all the calamities which they inflict upon themselves,
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and from the most dreadful of all, war, is attainable,
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not by any external general measures, but merely by that
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simple appeal to the consciousness of each separate man, which,
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nineteen hundred years ago, was proposed by Jesus, that every
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man bethink himself, and ask himself who is he, why
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he lives, and what he should and should not do.
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End of chapter 6
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Chapter 6 of Bethink Yourselves by Leo Tolstoy Translated by V.
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00:00:06.259 --> 00:00:12.060
Chertkov This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Two
3
00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:16.289
thousand years ago, John the Baptist, and then Jesus, said
4
00:00:16.339 --> 00:00:20.690
to men, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
5
00:00:20.750 --> 00:00:26.609
God is at hand. Metanoide, bethink yourselves, and believe in
6
00:00:26.649 --> 00:00:32.689
the gospel. Mark 1.15 And if you do not bethink yourselves,
7
00:00:32.729 --> 00:00:38.630
you will all perish. Luke chapter 13 verse 5 But
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00:00:38.729 --> 00:00:42.149
men did not listen to them, and the destruction they
9
00:00:42.210 --> 00:00:46.250
foretold is already near at hand. And we men of
10
00:00:46.450 --> 00:00:51.100
our time cannot but see it. We are already perishing,
11
00:00:51.979 --> 00:00:56.500
and therefore we cannot leave unheeded that old in time
12
00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:01.210
but for us new means of salvation. We cannot but
13
00:01:01.350 --> 00:01:05.349
see that, besides all the other calamities which flow from
14
00:01:05.450 --> 00:01:10.609
our bad and irrational life, military preparations alone, and the
15
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wars inevitably growing from them, must infallibly destroy us. We
16
00:01:16.260 --> 00:01:19.900
cannot but see that all the means of escape invented
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by men from these evils are found and must be
18
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found to be ineffectual. and that the disastrous position of
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the nations arming themselves against each other cannot but go
20
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on advancing continually. And therefore the words of Jesus refer
21
00:01:38.040 --> 00:01:41.829
to us and our time more than to any time
22
00:01:42.150 --> 00:01:50.969
or to anyone. Jesus said, That is, let every man
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interrupt the work he has begun and ask himself, Who
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am I? From whence have I appeared, and in what
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consists my destiny? And having answered these questions, according to
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the answer, decide whether that which thou doest is in
27
00:02:08.530 --> 00:02:13.750
conformity with thy destiny. And every man of our world
28
00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:17.419
and time, that is, being acquainted with the essence of
29
00:02:17.460 --> 00:02:21.560
the Christian teaching, needs only for a minute to interrupt
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his activity, to forget the capacity in which he is
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regarded by men be it of emperor, soldier, minister or journalist,
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and seriously ask himself who he is and what is
33
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his destiny, in order to begin to doubt the utility,
34
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lawfulness and reasonableness of his actions. Before I am emperor, soldier,
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00:02:47.030 --> 00:02:51.050
minister or journalist, must say to himself every man of
36
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our time and of the Christian world, before any of these...
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I am a man, that is, an organic being sent
38
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by the higher will into a universe infinite in time
39
00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:08.539
and space, in order, after staying in it for an instant,
40
00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:13.580
to die, that is, to disappear from it. And therefore,
41
00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:19.229
all those personal, social, and even universal human aims which
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I may place before myself, and which are placed before
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me by men, are all insignificant, owing to the shortness
44
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of my life as well as to the infiniteness of
45
00:03:31.069 --> 00:03:35.189
the life of the universe, and should be subordinated to
46
00:03:35.229 --> 00:03:38.409
that higher aim for the attainment of which I am
47
00:03:38.490 --> 00:03:45.270
sent into the world. This ultimate aim, owing to my limitations,
48
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is inaccessible to me, but it does exist, as there
49
00:03:49.969 --> 00:03:53.620
must be a purpose in all that exists. and my
50
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business is that of being its instrument, that is, my destiny,
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my vocation, is that of being a workman of God,
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of fulfilling his work. And having understood this destiny, every
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00:04:09.430 --> 00:04:12.949
man of our world and time, from emperor to soldier,
54
00:04:13.550 --> 00:04:17.569
cannot but regard differently those duties which he has taken
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upon himself, or other men have imposed upon him. Before
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I was crowned, recognized as emperor, must the emperor say
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to himself, before I undertook to fulfill the duties of
58
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the head of the state, I, by the very fact
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00:04:35.149 --> 00:04:38.850
that I live, have promised to fulfill that which is
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demanded of me by the higher will that sent me
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into life. These demands I not only know, but feel
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in my heart. They consist, as it is expressed in
63
00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:54.910
the Christian law, which I profess in that I should
64
00:04:54.990 --> 00:04:57.990
submit to the will of God and fulfil that which
65
00:04:58.050 --> 00:05:01.589
it requires of me, that I should love my neighbour,
66
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serve him, and act towards him as I would wish
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others to act towards me? Am I doing this, ruling men,
68
00:05:11.180 --> 00:05:16.959
prescribing violence, executions, and, the most dreadful of all, wars?
69
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Men tell me that I ought to do this. but
70
00:05:21.610 --> 00:05:24.250
God says that I ought to do something quite different,
71
00:05:25.170 --> 00:05:28.910
and therefore, however much I may be told that, as
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00:05:28.949 --> 00:05:32.170
the head of the state, I must direct acts of violence,
73
00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:37.720
the levying of taxes, executions, and above all war, that is,
74
00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:41.279
the slaughter of one's neighbour, I do not wish to
75
00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:47.740
and cannot do these things. So must say to himself
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00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:50.439
the soldier who is taught that he must kill men,
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and the minister who deemed it his duty to prepare
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00:05:54.350 --> 00:05:58.689
for war, and the journalist who incited to war, and
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every man who puts to himself the question, Who is he?
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What is his destination in life? And the moment the
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head of the state will cease to direct war, the
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00:06:10.589 --> 00:06:14.699
soldier to fight, the minister to prepare means for war,
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00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:22.199
the journalist to incite thereto, then, without any new institutions, adaptations,
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00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:28.350
balance of power, tribunals, there will of itself be destroyed
85
00:06:28.670 --> 00:06:32.790
that hopeless position in which men have placed themselves, not
86
00:06:32.889 --> 00:06:36.529
only in relation to war, but also to all other
87
00:06:36.589 --> 00:06:45.000
calamities which they themselves inflict upon themselves. So that, however
88
00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:49.899
strange this may appear, the most effective and certain deliverance
89
00:06:49.939 --> 00:06:54.360
of men, from all the calamities which they inflict upon themselves,
90
00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:58.689
and from the most dreadful of all, war, is attainable,
91
00:06:59.430 --> 00:07:03.569
not by any external general measures, but merely by that
92
00:07:03.709 --> 00:07:08.550
simple appeal to the consciousness of each separate man, which,
93
00:07:08.970 --> 00:07:14.430
nineteen hundred years ago, was proposed by Jesus, that every
94
00:07:14.490 --> 00:07:19.459
man bethink himself, and ask himself who is he, why
95
00:07:19.540 --> 00:07:23.079
he lives, and what he should and should not do.
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00:07:25.779 --> 00:07:26.620
End of chapter 6
