THREEPENCE On the Duty of Civil Dis- o be die ince By H. D. THOREAU - - - - - - - º - - - - Uniform with “Civil Disobedience.” 40 pages. Foap. 8vo. 3d. Post free, 3%d. RuBAYAT OF OMAR Khayyám Translated by EDWARD FITZGERALD. A complete reprint of the first (1859) edition of Fitzgerald's translation of this famous gem of the Persian philosopher poet of the simple life. * The ball no question makes of ayes and noes, But right or left as strikes the Player goes; And He that toss'd thee down into the field, He knows about it a -He knows—HE knows.” (Quatraº. 50 ºn this edition.) Nº. 3 of THE SIMPLE LIFE SERIES. A new series of inexpensive, tasteful booklets treating of social justice, religious truth, and the meaning and way of life. THE SIMPLE LIFE PRESS, 1903, 5, WATER LANE, LUDGATE HILL, E.C. A. --- tº a . in º º On the Duty of Civil Disobedience The Simple Life Series. A new series of inexpensive, tasteful booklets treating of social justice, religious truth, and the meaning and way of life, sincerely and unaffectedly. Many will be reprints of well- known gems of thought, many will be new. Published by THE SIMPLE LIFE PRESS 5, WATER LANE, LUDGATE HILL, LONDON, E.C. If you would care to be kept informed of new issues, or to have a little catalogue of important books and pamphlets issued by the general press, which will be published quarterly (gratis), please send a post card. The S.L.P. will be happy to procure for you any progressive literature you may find a difficulty in obtaining, or to help with advice, if possible. Estimates for the production of leaflets, pamphlets, and book- lets, tastefully and economically, furnished with pleasure. NOW READY, THE FIRST VOLUMES OF THE SERIES. No. 1. Tolstoy and His Message. By ERNEst. HowARD Crosby, Author of Plain Talk in Psalm and Parable. The Story of Tolstoy's Life and a Study of his Teaching, by a personal friend. Feap. 8vo, 96 pages. Antique paper. Artistic covers, dark green on olivine, 6d. net., post free, 7d. (A shilling cloth edition also in preparation.) No. 2. Even as You and I : Fables and Parables of the Life To-day. By Bolton HALL, Author of Things as They Are, etc., etc. An authorized popular edition of this unique book. Uniform with No. 1. FCap. 8vo, 96 pages. Antique paper. Artistic covers, dark green on olivine, 6d, net, post free, 7d. (A shilling cloth edition in preparation.) No. 3. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Translated by Edward FITzGERALD, with the translator's Life of Omar, and the notes. Feap. 8vo, 40 pages. Antique paper. Artistic covers, dark green on olivine, 3d., post free, 3}d. o No. 4. An Essay on the Duty of Civil Disobedience. By HENRY DAVID THQREAU, Author of Walden, or Life in the Woods, etc.. A reprint of this classic essay on the supremacy of the individual conscience. Feap. 8vo, 40 pages. Antique * Artistic covers, dark green on oliviné, 3d., post free, 3}d. Others in Are/aration.) ON THE DUTY OF CIVIL - - - DISOBEDIENCE By HENRY DAVID THOREAU Author of “Walden : or Life in the Woods”; “A Week on the Concord”; etc. THE SIMPLE LIFE PRESS 5 WATER LANE LONDON E C 1903 “All our liberties are due to men who, when their conscience has compelled them, have broken the laws of the land.” Pr. Clifford. “I think that we should be men first, and subjects after- ward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. . . . The few men who serve the State with their consciences also, necessarily resist it for the most part.” (Duty of Civil Disobedience.) Note to this Edition THOREAU wrote his famous essay, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, as a protest against an unjust but popular war and the immoral but popular institution of slave-owning. He did more than write—he declined to pay his taxes, and was hauled off to gaol in consequence. Who can say how much this refusal of his hastened the end of the war and of slavery 2 At the present day, intellectual detachment from the State, and individual defiance of its behests when these are opposed to conscience, are more difficult, and apparently more futile, than in Thoreau's time. The unit seems of less im- portance in the mass. It is all the more impera- tive, therefore, that the facts that the mass is composed of units and the conscience of the mass is the aggregate conscience of the units, and that the individual is still the sole responsible guardian of his own conscience and the co-guardian of the public conscience, should be fully recognized. The constant circulation of this essay of Thoreau, in which the matter is probed to its bottom with the clearness of sight given to a man when he cares nothing for personal “ consequences,” cannot, therefore, but be of service, and of increasing service with the increasing dominance of the State, to the whole body politic. “Those few who serve the State with their consciences as well as with their bodies, cannot but resist it for the most part, and are commonly termed its enemies.” A. C. F. 6 On the Duty of Civil Disobedience I HEARTILY accept the motto—“That government is best which governs least ’’; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systemati- cally. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe—“That government is best which governs not at all ”; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. Government is at best but an expedient ; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient. The objections which have been brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government. The standing army is only an arm of the standing government. The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witness the present Mexican war (1849), the work of com- paratively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure. This American government—what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavouring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity ? It has not 7 8 (Wit the Øuty ot the vitality and force of a single living man ; for a single man can bend it to his will. It is a sort of wooden gun to the people themselves. But it is not the less necessary for this ; for the people must have some complicated machinery or other, and hear its din, to satisfy that idea of government which they have. Governments show thus how successfully men can be imposed on, even impose on themselves, for their own advantage. It is excellent, we must all allow. Yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way. It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accom- plished ; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way. For government is an expedient by which men would fain succeed in letting one another alone ; and, as has been said, when it is most expedient, the governed are most let alone by it. Trade and commerce, if they were not made of india-rubber, would never manage to bounce over the obstacles which legislators are continually putting in their way; and, if one were to judge these men wholly by the effects of their actions and not partly by their intentions, they would deserve to be classed and punished with those mischievous persons who put obstructions on the railroads. But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once Civil Øigobeoience 9 a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtain- ing it. After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once in the hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and for a long period continue, to rule, is not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest. But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on jus- tice, even as far as men understand it. Can there not be a government in which majori- ties do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience 2–in which majorities decide only those questions to which the rule of expediency is applicable P Must the citizen ever for a mo- ment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator P Why has every man a consci- ence, then 2 I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterwards. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right. It is truly enough said, that a corporation has no conscience ; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience. Law never made men a whit more just ; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well- disposed are daily made the agents of injustice. A common and natural result of an undue respect for law is that you may see a file of soldiers, colonel, captain, corporal, privates, powder-monkeys, and IO - On the Øuty of all, marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, ay, against their common sense and consciences, which makes it very steep marching indeed, and produces a palpi- tation of the heart. They have no doubt that it is a damnable business in which they are concerned ; they are all peaceably inclined. Now, what are they P Men at all P or small movable forts and magazines, at the service of some unscrupulous man in power P Visit the Navy-yard, and behold a marine, such a man as an American government can make, or such as it can make a man with its black arts— a mere shadow and reminiscence of humanity, a man laid out alive and standing, and already, as one may say, buried under arms with funeral accompaniments, though it may be— Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, As his corse to the rampart we hurried ; Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot O'er the grave where our hero we buried. The mass of men serve the State thus, not as men mainly, but as machines, with their bodies. They are the standing army, and the militia, gaolers, constables, posse comitatus, etc. In most cases there is no free exercise whatever of the judgment or of the moral sense ; but they put themselves on a level with wood and earth and stones; and wooden men can perhaps be manu- factured that will serve the purpose as well. Such command no more respect than men of straw or a lump of dirt. They have the same sort of worth only as horses and dogs. Yet such as these even are commonly esteemed good citizens. Civil Øigobeoience IT Others—as most legislators, politicians, lawyers, ministers, and office-holders—serve the State chiefly with their heads ; and, as they rarely make any moral distinctions, they are as likely to serve the devil, without intending it, as God. A very few, as heroes, patriots, martyrs, re- formers in the great sense, and men, serve the State with their consciences also, and so neces- sarily resist it for the most part ; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it. A wise man will only be useful as a man, and will not submit to be “clay,” and “stop a hole to keep the wind away,” but leave that office to his dust at least :— I am too high-born to be propertied, To be a secondary at control, Or useful serving-man and instrument To any sovereign state throughout the world. He who gives himself entirely to his fellow-men appears to them useless and selfish ; but he who gives himself partially to them is pronounced a benefactor and philanthropist. How does it become a man to behave toward this American government to-day P I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it. I cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slave's government also, All men recognize the right of revolution ; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its ineffi- ciency are great and unendurable. But almost all say that such is not the case now. But such was the case, they think, in the Revolution of ’75. I 2 Qm the Øuty of If one were to tell me that this was a bad govern- ment because it taxed certain foreign commodities brought to its ports, it is most probable that I should not make an ado about it, for I can do without them. All machines have their friction ; and possibly this does enough good to counter- balance the evil. At any rate, it is a great evil to make a stir about it. But when the friction comes to have its machine, and oppression and robbery are organized, I say, let us not have such a machine any longer. In other words, when a sixth of the population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and con- quered by a foreign army, and subjected to mili- tary law, I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize. What makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country so overrun is not our own, but ours is the invading army. Paley, a common authority with many on moral questions, in his chapter on the “Duty of Sub- mission to Civil Government,” resolves all civil obligation into expediency; and he proceeds to say, “that so long as the interest of the whole Society requires it, that is, so long as the estab- lished government cannot be resisted or changed without public inconveniency, it is the will of God that the established government be obeyed, and no longer. . . . This principle being ad- mitted, the justice of every particular case of resistance is reduced to a computation of the quality of the danger and grievance on the one side, and of the probability and expense of re- Civil ºigobeoience I3 dressing it on the other.” Of this, he says, every man shall judge for himself. But Paley appears never to have contemplated those cases to which the rule of expediency does not apply, in which a people, as well as an indi- vidual, must do justice, cost what it may. If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to him though I drown myself. This, according to Paley, would be incon- venient. But he that would save his life, in such a case, shall lose it. This people must cease to hold slaves, and to make war on Mexico, though it cost them their existence as a people. In their practice, nations agree with Paley ; but does any one think that Massachusetts does exactly what is right at the present crisis 2 A drab of state, a cloth-o'-silver slut, To have her train borne up, and her soul trail in the dirt Practically speaking, the opponents to a reform in Massachusetts are not a hundred thousand poli- ticians at the South, but a hundred thousand merchants and farmers here, who are more in- terested in commerce and agriculture than they are in humanity, and are not prepared to do justice to the slave and to Mexico, cost what it may. I quarrel not with far-off foes, but with those who, near at home, co-operate with, and do the bidding of, those far away, and without whom the latter would be harmless. We are accustomed to say that the mass of men are unprepared ; but improvement is slow, be- cause the few are not materially wiser or better than the many. It is not so important that many I4 On the Euty of should be as good as you, as that there be some absolute goodness somewhere, for that will leaven the whole lump. There are thousands who are in opinion opposed to slavery and to the war, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them ; who, esteeming themselves children of Washington and Franklin [Cromwell and Gladstone P] sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say that they know not what to do, and do nothing ; who even post- pone the question of freedom to the question of free-trade, and quietly read the prices-current along with the latest advices from Mexico, after dinner, and, it may be, fall asleep over them both. What is the price-current of an honest man and patriot to-day 2 They hesitate, and they regret, and sometimes they petition ; but they do nothing in earnest and with effect. They will wait, well disposed, for others to remedy the evil, that they may no longer have it to regret. At most, they give only a cheap vote, and a feeble counte- nance and God-speed, to the right, as it goes by them. #There are nine hundred and ninety-nine patrons of virtue to one virtuous man. But it is easier to deal with the real possessor of a thing than with the temporary guardian of it. All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral ques- tions ; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right , but I am not vitally concerned that that right should pre- vail. I am willing to leave it to the majority. Civil （)isobedience I5 Its obligation, therefore, never exceeds that of expediency. Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to pre- vail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition of slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is but little slavery left to be abolished by their vote. They will then be the only slaves. Only his vote can hasten the abolition of slavery who asserts his own freedom by his vote. I hear of a convention to be held at Baltimore, or elsewhere, for the selection of a candidate for the Presidency, made up chiefly of editors, and men who are politicians by profession ; but I think, what is it to any independent, intelligent, and respectable man what decision they may come to 2 Shall we not have the advantage of his wisdom and honesty, nevertheless P Can we not count upon some independent votes ? Are there not many individuals in the country who do not attend conventions P But no : I find that the respectable man, so called, has immediately drifted from his position, and despairs of his country, when his country has more reason to despair of him. He forthwith adopts one of the candidates thus selected as the only available one, thus proving that he is himself available for any purposes of the demagogue. His vote is of no more worth than that of any un- I6 Qn the Øuty of principled foreigner or hireling native, who may have been bought. Oh for a man who is a man, and, as my neigh- bour says, has a bone in his back which you cannot pass your hand through Our statistics are at fault : the population has been returned too large. How many men are there to a square thousand miles in this country P Hardly one. Does not Amer- ica offer any inducement for men to settle here 2 The American has dwindled into an Odd Fellow, —one who may be known by the development of his organ of gregariousness, and a manifest lack of intellect and cheerful self-reliance ; whose first and chief concern, on coming into the world, is to See that the Almshouses are in good repair ; and, before yet he has lawfully donned the virile garb, to collect a fund for the support of the widows and orphans that may be ; who, in short, ventures to live only by the aid of the Mutual Insurance Company, which has promised to bury him decently. It is not a man's duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous wrong ; he may still properly have other concerns to engage him ; but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support. If I devote myself to other pursuits and contemplations, I must first see, at least, that I do not pursue them, sitting upon another man’s shoulders. I must get off him first, that he may pursue his contemplations too. See what gross inconsistency is tolerated. I have heard some of my townsmen say, “I should Civil Øigobeofence I 7 like to have them order me out to help put down an insurrection of the slaves, or to march to Mexico—see if I would go " , and yet these very men have each, directly by their allegiance, and so indirectly, at least, by their money, furnished a substitute. The soldier is applauded who refuses to serve in an unjust war by those who do not refuse to sustain the unjust government which makes the war ; is applauded by those whose own act and authority he disregards and sets at naught ; as if the State were penitent to that degree that it hired one to scourge it while it sinned, but not to that degree that it left off sinning for a moment. Thus, under the name of Order and Civil Govern- ment, we are all made at last to pay homage to and support our own meanness. After the first blush of sin comes its indiffer- ence ; and from immoral it becomes, as it were, unmoral, and not quite unnecessary to that life which we have made. The broadest and most prevalent error requires the most disinterested virtue to sustain it. The slight reproach to which the virtue of patriotism is commonly liable, the noble are most likely to incur. Those who, while they disapprove of the character and measures of a government, yield to it their allegiance and support, are undoubtedly its most conscientious supporters, and so fre- quently the most serious obstacles to reform. Some are petitioning the State to dissolve the Union, to disregard the requisitions of the Presi- dent. Why do they not dissolve it themselves, —the union between themselves and the State, B 18 Qn the Euty of —and refuse to pay their quota into its treasury 2 Do not they stand in the same relation to the State, that the State does to the Union ? And have not the same reasons prevented the State from resisting the Union, which have prevented them from resisting the State P How can a man be satisfied to entertain an opinion merely and enjoy it 2 Is there any en- joyment in it, if his opinion is that he is ag- grieved 2 If you are cheated out of a single dollar by your neighbour, you do not rest satisfied with knowing that you are cheated, or with saying that you are cheated, or even with petitioning him to pay you your due ; but you take effectual steps at once to obtain the full amount, and see that you are never cheated again. Action from principle, the perception and the performance of right, changes things and relations ; it is essentially revolutionary, and does not con- sist wholly with anything which was. It not only divides states and churches, it divides families ; ay, it divides the individual, separating the diabolical in him from the divine. Unjust laws exist : shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavour to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once 2 Men generally, under such a government as this, think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more Civil Øigobeoience I9 apt to anticipate and provide for reform 2 Why does it not cherish its wise minority P Why does it cry and resist before it is hurt P Why does it not encourage its citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults and do better than it would have them 2 Why does it always crucify Christ, and excommunicate Copernicus and Luther, and pronounce Washington and Franklin rebels 2 One would think that a deliberate and practical denial of its authority was the only offence never contemplated by government ; else, why has it not assigned its definite, its suitable and pro- portionate penalty P If a man who has no property refuses but once to earn nine shillings for the State, he is put in prison for a period unlimited by any law that I know, and determined only by the discretion of those who placed him there ; but if he should steal ninety times nine shillings from the State, he is soon permitted to go at large again. If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go : perchance it will wear smooth — certainly the machine will wear out. If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclu- sively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil ; but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter- friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn. As for adopting the ways which the State has provided for remedying the evil, I know not of 2O On the ºuty of such ways. They take too much time, and a man's life will be gone. I have other affairs to attend to. I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has not everything to do, but something ; and because he cannot do everything, it is not necessary that he should do something wrong. -- It is not my business to be petitioning the Governor or the Legislature any more than it is theirs to petition me; and if they should not hear my petition, what should I do then P But in this case the State has provided no way : its very Constitution is the evil. This may seem to be harsh and stubborn and unconciliatory ; but it is to treat with the utmost kindness and considera- tion the only spirit that can appreciate or deserves it. So is all change for the better, like birth and death, which convulse the body. I do not hesitate to say that those who call themselves Abolitionists should at once effectu- ally withdraw their support both in person and property, from the government of Massachusetts, and not wait till they constitute a majority of one, before they suffer the right to prevail through them. I think that it is enough if they have God on their side, without waiting for that other one. Moreover, any man more right that his neighbours constitutes a majority of one already. I meet this American government, or its repre- sentative, the State government, directly, and face to face, once a year—no more—in the person of its tax-gatherer ; this is the only mode in which a man situated as I am necessarily meets it ; and Civil Øigobeoience 2 I it then says distinctly, Recognize me ; and the simplest, the most effectual, and, in the present posture of affairs, the indispensablest mode of treating with it on this head, of expressing your little satisfaction with and love for it, is to deny it then. My civil neighbour, the tax-gatherer, is the very man I have to deal with, for it is, after all, with men and not with parchment that I quarrel, —and he has voluntarily chosen to be an agent of the government. How shall he ever know well what he is and does as an officer of the govern- ment, or as a man, until he is obliged to consider whether he shall treat me, his neighbour, for whom he has respect, as a neighbour and well- disposed man, or as a maniac and disturber of the peace, and see if he can get over this obstruction to his neighbourliness without a ruder and more impetuous thought or speech corresponding with his action. I know this well, that if one thousand, if one hundred, if ten men whom I could name—if ten honest men only—ay, if one HoNEST man, in this State of Massachusetts ceasing to hold slaves, were actually to withdraw from this co-partner- ship, and be locked up in the county gaol therefor, it would be the abolition of slavery in America. For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be : what is once well done is done for ever. But we love better to talk about it : that we say is our mission. Reform keeps many scores of newspapers in its service, but not one man. If my esteemed neighbour, the State's ambassador, who will 22 On the Øuty of devote his days to the settlement of the question of human rights in the Council Chamber, instead of being threatened with the prisons of Carolina, were to sit down the prisoner of Massachusetts, that State which is so anxious to foist the sin of slavery upon her sister—though at present she can discover only an act of inhospitality to be the ground of a quarrel with her—the Legisla- ture would not wholly waive the subject the following winter. Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison. The proper place to-day, the only place which Massachusetts has provided for her freer and less desponding spirits, is in her prisons, to be put out and locked out of the State by her own act, as they have already put themselves out by their principles. It is there that the fugitive slave, and the Mexican prisoner on parole, and the Indian come to plead the wrongs of his race, should find them ; on that separate but more free and honourable ground, where the State places those who are not with her but against her—the only house in a slave State in which a free man can abide with honour. If any think that their influence would be lost there, and their voices no longer afflict the ear of the State, that they would not be as an enemy within its walls, they do not know by how much truth is stronger than error, nor how much more eloquently and effectively he can combat injustice who has experienced a little in his own person. Cast your whole vote, not a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence. A minority is Civil Øigobeoience 23 powerless while it conforms to the majority ; it is not even a minority then ; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight. If the alternative is to keep all just men in prison, or give up war and slavery, the State will not hesitate which to choose. If a thousand men were not to pay their tax-bills this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceful revolution, if any such is possible. If the tax- gatherer or any other public officer asks me, as one has done, “But what shall I do P’’ my answer is, “If you really wish to do anything, resign your office.” When the subject has re- fused allegiance, and the officer has resigned his office, then the revolution is accomplished. But even suppose blood should flow. Is there not a sort of blood shed when the conscience is wounded ? Through this wound a man's real man- hood and immortality flow out, and he bleeds to an everlasting death. I see this blood flowing now. I have contemplated the imprisonment of the offender rather than the seizure of his goods— though both will serve the same purpose—be- cause they who assert the purest right, and con- sequently are most dangerous to a corrupt State, commonly have not spent much time in accumu- lating property. To such the State renders comparatively small service, and a slight tax is wont to appear exorbitant, particularly if they are obliged to earn it by special labour with their hands. 24 (Wit the Øuty of If there were one who lived wholly without the use of money, the State itself would hesitate to demand it of him. But the rich man—not to make any invidious comparison—is always sold to the institution which makes him rich. Abso- lutely speaking, the more money the less virtue ; for money comes between a man and his objects, and obtains them for him ; and it was certainly no great virtue to obtain it. It puts to rest many questions which he would otherwise be taxed to answer; while the only new question which it puts is the hard but superfluous one, how to spend it. Thus his moral ground is taken from under his feet. The opportunities of living are diminished in proportion as what are called the “means '' are increased. The best thing a man can do for his culture when he is rich is to endeavour to carry out those schemes which he entertained when he was poor. Christ answered the Herodians according to their condition. “Show Me the tribute-money,” said He—and one took a penny out of his pocket— if you use money which has the image of Caesar on it, and which he has made current and valuable —that is, if you are men of the State, and gladly enjoy the advantages of Caesar's government, then pay him back some of his own when he de- mands it; “Render therefore to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God those things which are God’s ”—leaving them no wiser than before as to which was which ; for they did not wish to know. When I converse with the freest of my neigh- bours, I perceive that, whatever they may say about the magnitude and seriousness of the ques- Civil Øigobedience 25 tion, and their regard for the public tranquillity, the long and the short of the matter is, that they cannot spare the protection of the existing govern- ment, and they dread the consequences to their property and families of disobedience to it. For my own part, I should not like to think that I ever rely on the protection of the State. But, if I deny the authority of the State when it presents its tax-bill, it will soon take and waste all my property, and so harass me and my children without end. This is hard. This makes it im- possible for a man to live honestly, and at the same time comfortably, in outward respects. It will not be worth the while to accumulate pro- perty ; that would be sure to go again. You must hire or squat somewhere, and raise but a small crop, and eat that soon. You must live within yourself, and depend upon yourself, always tucked up and ready for a start, and not have many affairs. A man may grow rich in Turkey even, if he will be in all respects a good subject of the Turkish government. Confucius said: “If a state is governed by the principles of reason, poverty and misery are subjects of shame ; if a state is not governed by the principles of reason, riches and honours are the subjects of shame.” No : until I want the protection of Massachusetts to be extended to me in some distant Southern port, where my liberty is endangered, or until I am bent solely on building up an estate at home by peaceful enterprise, I can afford to refuse allegi- ance to Massachusetts, and her right to my pro- perty and life. - 26 Qn the Øuty of It costs me less in every sense to incur the penalty of disobedience to the State than it would to obey. I should feel as if I were worth less in that case. Some years ago the State met me in behalf of the Church, and commanded me to pay a certain sum towards the support of a clergyman whose preaching my father attended, but never I myself. “Pay,” it said, “ or be locked up in the gaol.” I declined to pay. But, unfortunately, another man saw fit to pay it. I did not see why the schoolmaster should be taxed to support the priest, and not the priest the schoolmaster ; for I was not the State's schoolmaster, but I sup- ported myself by voluntary subscription. I did not see why the lyceum should not present its tax-bill, and have the State to back its demand, as well as the Church. However, at the request of the selectmen, I condescended to make some such statement as this in writing : “ Know all men by these presents, that I, Henry Thoreau, do not wish to be regarded as a member of any incorporated society which I have not joined.” This I gave to the town clerk ; and he has it. The State, having thus learned that I did not wish to be regarded as a member of that Church, has never made a like demand on me since ; though it said that it must adhere to its original presumption that time. If I had known how to name them, I should then have signed off in detail from all the societies which I never signed on to ; but I did not know where to find a complete list. I have paid no poll-tax for six years. I was Civil Øigobedience 27 put into a gaol once on this account for one night; and as I stood considering the walls of solid stone, two or three feet thick, the door of wood and iron, a foot thick, and the iron grating which strained the light, I could not help being struck with the foolishness of that institution which treated me as if I were mere flesh and blood and bones, to be locked up. I wondered that it should have concluded at length that this was the best use it could put me to, and had never thought to avail itself of my services in some way. I saw that, if there was a wall of stone between me and my townsmen, there was a still more difficult one to climb or break through before they could get to be as free as I was. I did not for a moment feel confined, and the walls seemed a great waste of stone and mortar. I felt as if I alone of all my townsmen had paid my tax. They plainly did not know how to treat me, but behaved like persons who are underbred. In every threat and in every compliment there was a blunder ; for they thought that my chief desire was to stand the other side of that stone wall. I could not but smile to see how industriously they locked the door on my meditations, which fol- lowed them out again without let or hindrance, and they were really all that was dangerous. As they could not reach me, they had resolved to punish my body ; just as boys, if they cannot come at some person against whom they have a spite, will abuse his dog. I saw that the State was half-witted, that it was timid as a lone woman with her silver spoons, 28 Qn the Øuty of and that it did not know its friends from its foes, and I lost all my remaining respect for it, and pitied it. Thus the State never intentionally confronts a man's senses, intellectual or moral, but only his body, his senses. It is not armed with superior wit or honesty, but with superior physical strength. I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion. Let us see who is the strongest. What force has a multitude 2 They only can force me who obey a higher law than I. They force me to become like themselves. I do not hear of men being forced to live this way or that by masses of men. What sort of life were that to live P When I meet a government which says to me, “Your money or your life,” why should I be in haste to give it my money P. It may be in a great strait, and not know what to do : I cannot help that. It must help itself ; do as I do. It is not worth the while to Snive1 about it. I am not responsible for the successful working of the machinery of society. I am not the son of the engineer. I perceive that, when an acorn and a chestnut fall side by side, the one does not remain inert to make way for the other, but both obey their own laws, and spring and grow and flourish as best they can, till one, perchance, overshadows and destroys the other. If a plant cannot live according to its nature, it dies ; and so a man. I have never declined paying the highway tax, because I am as desirous of being a good neigh- bour as I am of being a bad subject ; and as for Qívil ſºigobeofence 29 supporting schools, I am doing my part to educate my fellow-countrymen now. It is for no particu- lar item in the tax-bill that I refuse to pay it. I simply wish to refuse allegiance to the State, to withdraw and stand aloof from it effectually. I do not care to trace the course of my dollar, if I could, till it buys a man or a musket to shoot one with ; the dollar is innocent, but I am concerned to trace the effects of my allegiance. In fact, I quietly declare war with the State, after my fashion, though I will still make what use and get what advantage of her I can, as is usual in such cases. If others pay the tax which is demanded of me from a sympathy with the State, they do but what they have already done in their own case, or rather they abet injustice to a greater extent than the State requires. If they pay the tax from a mistaken interest in the individual taxed, to save his property, or prevent his going to gaol, it is because they have not considered wisely how far they let their private feelings interfere with the public good. This, then, is my position at present. But one cannot be too much on his guard in such a case, lest his action be biassed by obstinacy, or an undue regard for the opinions of men. Let him see that he does only what belongs to himself and to the hour. I think sometimes, Why, this people mean well; they are only ignorant; they would do better if they knew how ; why give your neigh- bours this pain to treat you as they are not in- clined to ? But I think again, This is no reason 30 On the ºuty of why I should do as they do, or permit others to suffer much greater pain of a different kind. Again, I sometimes say to myself, When many millions of men, without heat, without ill-will, without personal feeling of any kind, demand of you a few shillings only, without the possibility, such is their constitution, of retracting or altering their present demand, and without the possi- bility, on your side, of appeal to any other millions, why expose yourself to this overwhelming brute force P You do not resist cold and hunger, the winds and the waves, thus obstinately ; you quietly submit to a thousand similar necessities. You do not put your head into the fire. But just in proportion as I regard this as not wholly a brute force, but partly a human force, and consider that I have relations to those millions, as to so many millions of men, and not of mere brute or inanimate things, I see that appeal is possible, first and instantaneously, from them to the Maker of them, and, secondly, from them to themselves. But if I put my head deliberately into the fire, there is no appeal to fire or to the Maker of fire, and I have only myself to blame. If I could convince myself that I have any right to be satisfied with men as they are, and to treat them accordingly, and not according, in some respects, to my requisitions and expectations of what they and I ought to be, then, like a good Mussulman and fatalist, I should endeavour to be satisfied with things as they are, and say it is the will of God. And, above all, there is this difference between resisting this and a purely brute or natural force, that I can resist this Civil Øigobeoience 3 I with some effect ; but I cannot expect, like Orpheus, to change the nature of the rocks and trees and beasts. I do not wish to quarrel with any man or nation. I do not wish to split hairs, to make fine distinc- tions, or set myself up as better than my neigh- bours. I seek rather, I may say, even an excuse for conforming to the laws of the land. I am but too ready to conform to them. Indeed, I have reason to suspect myself on this head ; and each year, as the tax-gatherer comes round, I find myself disposed to review the acts and position of the general and State governments, and the spirit of the people, to discover a pretext for con- formity. We must affect our country as our parents, And if at any time we alienate Our love or industry from doing it honour, We must respect effects and teach the soul Matter of conscience and religion, And not desire of rule or benefit. I believe that the State will soon be able to take all my work of this sort out of my hands, and then I shall be no better a patriot than my fellow- countrymen. Seen from a lower point of view the Constitution, with all its faults, is very good ; the law and the courts are very respectable ; even this State and this American government are, in many respects, very admirable and rare things, to be thankful for, such as a great many have described them ; but seen from a point of view a little higher, they are what I have described them ; seen from a higher still, and the highest, 32 Qn the Øuty of who shall say what they are, or that they are worth looking at or thinking of at all P However, the government does not concern me much, and I shall bestow the fewest possible thoughts on it. It is not many moments that I live under a government, even in this world. If a man is thought-free, fancy-free, imagination- free, that which is not never for a long time appear- ing to be to him, unwise rulers or reformers cannot fatally interrupt him. I know that most men think differently from myself; but those whose lives are by profession devoted to the study of these or kindred subjects, content me as little as any. Statesmen and legislators, standing so com- pletely within the institution, never distinctly and nakedly behold it. They speak of moving society, but have no resting-place without it. They may be men of a certain experience and discrimination, and have no doubt invented in- genious and even useful systems, for which we sincerely thank them ; but all their wit and use- fulness lie within certain not very wide limits. They are wont to forget that the world is not governed by policy and expediency . . . The lawyer's truth is not Truth, but consistency, or a consistent expediency. Truth is always in harmony with herself, and is not concerned chiefly to reveal the justice that may consist with wrong- doing. . . . They who know of no purer sources of truth, who have traced up this stream no higher, stand, and wisely stand, by the Bible and the Constitu- tion, and drink at it there with reverence and civil Disobedience 33 humility ; but they who behold where it comes trickling into this lake or that pool, gird up their loins once more, and continue their pilgrimage toward its fountain-head. . . . For eighteen hundred years, though perchance I have no right to say it, the New Testament has been written ; yet where is the legislator who has wisdom and practical talent enough to avail him- self of the light which it sheds on the science of legislation ? - The authority of government, even such as I am willing to submit to—for I will cheerfully obey those who know and can do better than I, and in many things even those who neither know nor can do so well—is still an impure one : to be strictly just, it must have the sanction and con- sent of the governed. It can have no pure right over my person and property but what I concede to it. The progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy, from a limited monarchy to a demo- cracy, is a progress towards a true respect for the individual. Even the Chinese philosopher was wise enough to regard the individual as the basis of the empire. Is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in govern- ment 2 Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of Man P There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the in- dividual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly. I please C 34 Qn the ºutg of myself with imagining a State at last which can afford to be just to all men, and to treat the in- dividual with respect as a neighbour ; which even would not think it inconsistent with its own repose if a few were to live aloof from it, not meddling with it, nor embraced by it, who ful- filled all the duties of neighbours and fellow-men. A State which bore this kind of fruit, and suffered it to drop off as fast as it ripened, would prepare the way for a still more perfect and glorious State, which also I have imagined, but not yet anywhere Seen. - “THE COST OF DISOBEDIENCE.” BY ONE WHO HAS TRIED IT. On April 26, 1902, a polite and even friendly individual handed me a communication from none other than the King himself—not because of my intimate acquaintance with the King, but because of his need of money—demanding of me the sum of £2 16s. 6d. for unpaid Income Tax, £1 6s. 8d. for the letter, and an appearance before the King's Remembrancer, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, Ilondon. I learned from a friend in the law, that to comply strictly with the command and enter an appearance, would involve needless and useless expense, so the following reply was sent : Civil ºfgobeoſence 35 Derby, May 7, 1902. To THE KING's REMEMBRANCER, LoNDoN. I have received a command from the King to enter an appearance at your office to answer him concerning certain articles to be objected against me, viz., that he wants £2 16s od, from me (which I have not paid) to carry on his wars. With every wish to oblige, I cannot see it is to any one's advantage that I should make an expensive journey to London in order to present myself at the High Court. I, therefore, content myself with stating here the precise grounds upon which I decline to afford that assist- ance which the King demands of me. I am engaged in peaceful industry, and receive in recom- pence for my work a certain sum of money. Perhaps it is more than I deserve—but no matter. Although I feel that there are many legitimate claims upon my service and my wealth, it is a fact that I cannot and do not comply with them all. There are so many poor people who have no clothes, houses, food, or land. And yet the King, who himself—along with his associates—has an abundance of these things, demands of me two pounds and sixteen shillings. Unfortunately, I am not in ignorance of the meaning of this demand ; it is not for food, clothing or lands to succour some hapless folk, or even to meet the personal needs of the King himself; but that he and his Govern- ment may have the wherewithal to murder men like you and me. There is not a shadow of doubt as to this ; in fact, I have blood on my hands already. In 190o an officer appeared in my workroom and suggested I should pay the Income Tax. As I rung the counters on the table, he (saying to himself, no doubt, “That’s the sort of tax-payer we like ’’) said to me: “You will have the satisfaction of knowing that we are going to crush the Boers with this.” The following year, without any doubt that I was by my action supporting the very crimes I had been denouncing, I paid the tax under protest. This year I simply stand still, and advise the King's Government to send the hat round to those who approve of their work. If I were asked to help in matters harmonious to my conscience—to feed the starving Indians, to uplift the millions of destitute poor, to reclaim to the labourer his 36 On the ſputy of rightful share of land, I should find it impossible to decline. But no ; I am too well aware that the State is an organised violence existing by virtue of army, navy, police, prisons, judges and hangmen, and that in handing over £2 16s, od. to the King, I am helping the governing classes to maintain that flagrant injustice by which they have gradually disin- herited millions upon millions of the workers of the world. I have learned, too, and cannot now forget, that this vast oppression is maintained by power of a vaster evil—the perversion of the truth. For the teaching of that Jesus whom men call God is to the effect that we should love each other—before all things that ; that we should not hurt or destroy, but always help our fellows. Such teaching, which I believe, abolishes all force, disregards all patriotisms, and urges that men should stop and think what folly they are committing. It is the simplest, most practical, and neces- sary teaching for the modern world. And yet, how stands the case ! Like this: there are men paid thousands a year to promulgate this grand doctrine of practical life. They deny it, flout it; openly, brazenly ; and so successful is their false prophecy that the whole world is gone after them. It remains, then, for the few individuals (and they are many, nevertheless), whose perceptions of the real needs of human life is clear, to do the work the Churches are neg- lecting, to testify to the truth they see, come what may. That is why I, a nonentity, without any feeling of personal hostility to you or any other officers of the King and Govern- ment, find myself compelled to take the stand I do. A Christian cannot wage war or help others to wage it for him. —I am, yours sincerely, - WILLIAM L. HARE. The correspondence explains itself. The ob- jection to assist the King in doing what appears to be wrong seems simple, to say the least. If we are to judge from the great Blackstone, it has also the merit of being constitutional ; for he says, “No subject of England can be constrained to pay any aids or taxes, even for the defence of the Civil Øigobeofence 37 realm or the support of the Government, but such as are imposed by his own consent.” How is it then, that for withholding that con- sent, I find myself inundated with papers, blue, yellow, and white, personally solicited and threatened with divers pains and penalties, and finally arrested and imprisoned 2 Ay there's the rub. The terms of the warrant were unmistakable. The faithful Sheriff of the County was to search out and seize all goods, chattels, lands, houses, tenements and messuages belonging to the said W. L. H., and to hold them unto our sovereign lord the King ; failing the discovery of such goods and chattels the Sheriff was to scour the bailiwick in search of the body of W. L. H., to seize and possess it, and bring it unto our sovereign lord the King. The royal command was obeyed to the letter. The body of the Editor of the Candlestick was taken to one of his Majesty's establishments, lodged and fed at his expense, and finally sold to friends for the sum of £7 I4s. 1d. That is how the King got his money. How was the price arrived at 2 Like this : £ s. d. Item. Contribution to cost of King's Wars 2 16 o -- Writing one letter from the King (cost about 1.d.) . . . . . I 6 8 -- Part of Judge's salary for trying case (without hearing it) . . I I4 5 -- Part of Sherift's salary for finding the body . . . . . I I7 O £7 I4 I 38 Civil ºf 3Obeofence In such cases there is no sentence or period of imprisonment prescribed. It is “pull devil, pull baker’’; you simply wait. I was told of former prisoners whose fate was somewhat as follows: (1) Discharge by doctor's orders after Io months ; (2) Discharge by doctor's orders after II months ; (3) Discharge after 14 months ; the released prisoner died in a few days. The terms are, frankly, those of the highway robber, Your money or your Life. You thought, did you not, that force was an outworn instrument ; that people relied upon reason and law. I have shewn you that force is at the back of your every act of government, and that the way to bring down the edifice of tyranny which is on your backs is to decline to support it. W. L. H. (Reprinted from The Candlestick, DERBY, Iooz.) B00KS AND PAMPHLETS, to be obtained from THE SIMPLE LIFE PRESS. Post free at Arices mentioned. By Tol-STOY. WHAT I BELIEVE, (My Religion), 224 Y. A new uniform pocket pages. edition edited by V. ON LIFE. A new translation. 196 pages. [Tchertkoff and A. WHAT IS RELIGION ? etc., 208 pages. C. FIFIELD Paper covers, 7d. each. Flexible cloth, gilt top, 1s. 2d. each. Soft lea- ther, gilt top, 2s. 2d. each. The cloth and leather make dainty presents. RESURRECTION. Tolstoy's last great novel. New edition, 524 pages, cloth, 2s. 4d. Library edition, Illustrated, 6s. Cheap paper edition, 8d. T}{E GOSPEL IN BRIEF. (The gospels harmonized and retold.) A remarkable work. Cloth, 2s. Tod. Th E KING DOM OF GOD WIT}{IN YOU ; or, Christianity not a mystical doctrine, but a new life conception. Cloth, 2s. Tod. Paper, 1s. 3d. WKAT SHALL WE D0 THEN ? The most practical and searching of all Tolstoy's eco- nomic works. Cloth, 2s. Iod. WHAT IS ART 7 Translated by A. MAUDE. Cloth, 1s. 9d. Tº E DOMINION OF DARKN ESS. A drama. Paper, 1s. 8d. Th E FRUITS OF CULTURE. A comedy... (An excellent satire on fashion- able life.) Paper, 1s. 8d. A 6s. edition of Tolstoy's Plays is now blished. *###" FIRST STEP (a plea for Vegetarianism), 7d. GUY, DE MAU PASSANT, 63d. STOP AND THINK, 63d. ÉTRíðjiš. AND CHRISTIANITY, 7d 64 pages, 1%d. 16 pages, 2%d. Th E ſºn'ík E"Fo Th E CHRISTIAN TEAC):{ING, OL (a delightful story), 32 pp., MODERN SCIENCE, 16 pp., 1}d. Tº E TRIUMP)+ OYERTH ROW OF HELL, 134. AN APPEA 1d. OF LABOUR, EAL TO THE CLERGY OF ALL COUNTRIES, 1+d. AL80 THE FOLLOWING ARTISTIC B00KLETS, ALL BY TOLSTOY. Work while ye have the Light. 64 pp. (A Story of Christian Com- munism), 3%d. How I Came to Believe (My Confession). 64 pp., 3%d. [3%d. Patriotism & Government, 40 pp., Letters on War. 40 pp., 3}d. Thoughts on God. 40 pp., 3}d. Religion and Morality. 4opp.,3}d. Some Social Remedies. 40 pp., 3}d. On the Personal Christian Life. 40 pp., 3%d. . . . The Meaning of Life. 40 pp., 3}d. Demands of Love and Reason. 40 pp., 3}d. By J. C. KENWORTHY. The Root of the Evil. 4opp., 3%d. Forty Years. A Story. 64 pp., 3%d. The Slavery of our Times. 112 pp., 4d. (These 13 Booklets, post free, 3s. 3d.) The Relations of the Sexes. 8o -- otº- Popular Stories. 1st series. Con- taining 4 delightful stories. Bopp., 5d. - Popular Stories. 2nd series. Con- taining 5 stories. 80 pp., 5d. The Only Means. 16 pp., 1}d. Reason, Faith and Prayer. 16 pp., 1%d. [1%d. My Reply to the Synod. 16 pp., TOLSTOY IN LIFE AND WORKS. Personal visits to Tolstoy and a study of his life and works. Cloth gilt, 6s. Tº E ANATO MY OF MISERY. An excellent short summary of the economic position. 1s. 2d. Cloth, 2s. 3d. FROM BONDAGE TO BROTHER}{000, A message to the Workers, 1s. 2d. T) (E GOSPEL IN COMMERCE AND STATE. Five lectures, 1s. 1d. TOLSTOY'S TEACHING AND INFLUENCE, ačd. THE SIMPLE IIFF PRESS, 5, WATER LANE, E.C. }{OW TOLSTOY LIVES AND WORKS. By P. SERGyEENko, 7d. FIELDS, FACTORIES AND WORKS) IOPS. By P. KRopotkin. A cheap edition of this valuable and practical work, showing the possi- bilities of land under close cultivation, and the future for factory and workshop labour combined with agriculture. Boards, 1s. 3d. | AN APPEAL TO THE YOUNG. P. KRopotkin, 1}d. CIYILIZATION, Its Cause and Cure. By Edward CARPENTER. Cheap edition of this remarkable book, 1s. 2d. T}{E NEED OF A HUMAN E SCIENCE. By Edward CAR- PENTER, 23d. YIYISECTION. By Edward CARPENTER and ED. MAITLAND. EMPIRE IN INDIA AND ELSEW HERE. By ED- ward CARPENTER, 2}d. ENGLAND'S IDEAL, AND OTHER ESSAYS. By Edward CARPENTER, 2s. 9d. PLAIN TALK IN PSALM AND PARABLE. By E. H. CRosby. One of the most inspiring books of the day. Stout wrappers, 1s. 2d.; cloth, 2s. 3d. - THE EARTH FOR ALL. A calendar of quotations on the right to the land, from many sources. Compiled by E. H. Crosby, 1s. 2d. A LECTURE ON AGRICULTURE. By Sir A. Cotton. (The intensive theory), 4d. AN UNOFFICIAL CATECHISM 0N THE #139) OF THE CHRISTIANS. By one of them, 3}d. A fine ittle book. A COMING REYOLUTION : England's Town and Country of the Future. By Capt. J. PETAvel, R.E. A practical solution of the land problem. 3rd edition. Wrappers, 5d. Better edition, 1s. 2d. DECENTRALIZATION 0R PROTECTION ? By same author. A suggestive pamphlet, 1%d. - - COTTAGE PLANS AND COMMON SENSE. By RAyMond UNwiN. SOCIALISM AND CHRIST. By Rev. Dr. CLIFFoRD. LAND YALUES AND LOCAL TAXATION. By JUDGE O'Connor. ALTRU ISM (Christ's Gospel of Love). By Robt. BLAtchford. Th E NEW RELIGION. By Robt. BLATchford. MONOPOLY, or How LABour Is Robbed. By W.M. MoRRIs. USEFU L WORK AND USELESS TOI L. By W.M. MoRRIs. 1 #d, each. A WORD OF CAUTION AND REMEMBRANCE TO THE RICH. By John WoolMAN, 1}d. THE TEAC}{ING OF EPICTETU.S. One of the finest examples of Christian Stoic Philosophy. Cloth gilt, 1s. 9d. WALDEN, AND ESSAYS AND LETTERS. By HENRY D. THoR- EAU. Two delightful and invigorating books, 1s. 9d. each. Cloth gilt. ANIMALS' RIGHTS. By H. S. SALT, 4d. T}{E FATE OF THE FUR SEAL. By J. Collinson, 2}d. A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, 23d. Th E CROSS OF T}{E NEW CRUSADE, 23d. Th E. BASIS OF DEYOT 10N, 1}d. (Fellowship of the New Crusade Pamphlets. Send for separate list, or write to the Warden, Haslemere.) WORK AND WAGES. By THorold Rogers. Best historical sur- vey of English labour question. Cheap edition, 1s. 2d. A TREASURY OF CONSOLATION, 3}d. A TREASURY FROM “FESTU.S.” Two pretty booklets of verse compiled by A. Broad- BENT, 3}d, each. T}{E GOSPEL OF LOYE : A MESSAGE FROM THE OLD WORLD TO NEW. By J. FREEMAN, 3}d. SCIENCE IN THE DAILY MEAL. By A. BROADBENT. (A capital epitome of Vegetarian Cookery), 3}d. Thi E YEGETIST'S DIETARY, 7d. GUIDE T0. FRUITA RIAN DIET AND COOXERY. By DR. OLDFIELD, 2d. A COMPRE}{ENSIVE GUIDE TO NATURAL }{YGIENIC º }{UMAN E DIET. By SIDNEY BEARD, Is, 3d., paper; 1s. 9d., cloth. - T}{E MODERN RACK. Papers on Vivisection. By FRANCEs º CoBBE, Is, 3d. FAM ISHING LONDON. By F. A. McKENzie, Iº. 2d. THE SIMPLE LIFE PRESS, 5, WATER LANE, E.C. Uniform with “Tolstoy and tº Message.” 96 pages. Foap. 8vo, 6d. net; post free, 7d. E V E N A S YOU AND By BOLTON HALL. Author of “ Things as Zhey Are,” etc. A series of delightful fables and parables of the life to-day; keen, courageous, witty, and inspiring. “When I saw that God watched me at my work, I said, “The toil is hard, but I shall see the fruit.” God turned away, saying, ‘You shall not see the fruit." | cried after Him, “But there will be fruit, O Lord ** And God said, “For all your labour you get strength, not fruit.” (From “Avers as You and I.”) Nº. 2 of THE SIMPLE LIFE SERIES. A new series of inexpensive, tasteful booklets treat- ing of social justice, religious truth, and the meaning and way of life. PUBLISHED BY THE SIMPLE LIFE PRESS, 5, WATER LANE, LUDGATE HILL, E.C. | Uniform with ** Even as You and I,” 96 pages. Foap. 8vo, 6d, net. Post free, 7d. TOLSTOY AND HIS MESSAGE By ERNEST. H. GROSBY, Author of “Plaiº Zală in Psalm and Parable.” A popular account of the leading phases of Tol- stoy's life and career, and an analysis of his teaching, by a personal friend. CONTENTS-Chapter I. Tolstoy's Boyhood and Man- hood–II. His Great Spiritual Crisis—III. His Answer to the Riddle of Life—W. The ºasis of his Moral and Social Code –W. His "heories Tested by the Christian Teaching—VI. The Christian Teaching in Practice–VII. The Tol- stoy of To-day. Nº. 1 of THE SIMPLE LIFE SERIES. A new series of inexpensive, tasteful booklets treating of social justice, religious truth, and the meaning and way of life. PUBLISHED ºr THE SIMPLE LIFE PRESS, 5, WATER LANE, LUDGATE HILL, E.C.