TOLSTOY, Lev Nikolayevich (1828-1910). Autograph manuscript signed ("L. Tolstoy"), n.p., n.d.

One page, 101 x 130mm, laid down on a card.

An unpublished maxim summarizing a central idea of Christian theology: "Men imagine that each has a separate side in his own individual will, but this is a deception. The true life is that which acknowledges as his own the will of the father." In the late 1870s, Tolstoy, established as a prominent novelist, endured a personal crisis of faith that led him to adopt a radical, anarchistic form of Christianity. And while he found comfort in the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, he categorically rejected the church's alliance with the state, which he viewed as a corruption of the original teachings of Jesus. And although Tolstoy often discussed the theme submission to divine will in his published works, the present manuscript appears to be unique in structure and form. Provenance: Christie's, new York, 9 December 1994, lot 162.