Du Suicide by Leon Tolstoi

 Leon Tolstoi writes Du Suicide

 a little pamphlet, close to the end of his existence. He visited also two psychiatric hospitals for trying to understand much better this new way, largely used in the XX century, for ending the existence. 

Tolstoi read several books on the topic, because suicides became an escapism for sorting out all the existential problematics. But... Why Tolstoi focused his attention on this problematic? Because with the time his reputation of wisdom grew esponentially and many people started to write him exposing their problematics, including the desire of killing themselves. Dividing in three parts the potential suicidary cases, Tolstoi affirms with strength that many people are not as devoted christians as they want to appear.

Although the christianity is the religion followed by the most, with its own versality, Ortodox, Lutheran, Protestant, Catholic, there are some problems.

People who prefer to take their own existence, if real christians, wouldn't do that!

Tolstoi, great observer of religions and philosophies of Asian countries remains of an idea: that soon or late that part of the world will prevail against a western civilization that remain under many ways... behind.

Being a problematic of the XX century this one of suicide, Tolstoi focuses on the modern culture and the possession of too many objects in the houses of people. 

 

He writes that some people would want to find the real sense of the existence, when there is no sense to the existence, for then, focusing on the contradictions of a society, also represented by les hommes de gouvernments who, sometimes live "dans un luxe insensé."

Tolstoi then speaks of the insanity, most of the time, of living in a certain way. The passage: "Nous menon una vie folle, contraire aux exigences premieres e les plus simple du bon sens....nous ne faisons pas la distinction entre una vie folle et una vie raissonnable, nous considerons que notre vie folle et raisonnable" is one of the most beautiful ones.

There are no serious recipes for healing a soul, if not, maybe the acceptance of the irrationality of the existence, stopping to give a real sense to it and living the best possible interior life with a certain dose of wisdom.

Highly recommended book.

I thank L'Editions de L'Herne for the physical copy of the book.

Anna Maria Polidori