Tolstoy on war

War is so unjust and ugly that all who wage it must try to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves. — Leo Tolstoy

War on the other hand is such a terrible thing, that no man, especially a Christian man, has the right to assume the responsibility of starting it. — Leo Tolstoy

Someone who commented recently asked if I ever read Tolstoy, since I have been quoting Dostoevsky. My reply was that I have only read his classic book, War and Peace. However, I decided to look up some Tolstoy and ran across the two quotes above. I found them interesting. From reading War and Peace, I vaguely remember that Tolstoy was most certainly not a hawk. Like many of the great thinkers, he abhorred war. He also was  a Russian man raised in a culture deeply influenced by Russian Orthodoxy. Thus, many of his quotes actually reflect quite a bit of Russian Orthodoxy, even when he is reacting against Orthodoxy. He has been called a Christian anarchist and/or an anarcho-pacifist. Here is a longer quote from him:

But this very necessity of involuntary suffering (by poor people) for eternal salvation is also expressed by that utterance of the Savior (Matthew 19:24): “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” Therefore those who were greatly in earnest about their eternal salvation, chose voluntary poverty when fate had denied this to them and they had been born in wealth. Thus Buddha Sakyamuni was born a prince, but voluntarily took to the mendicant’s staff; and Francis of Assisi, the founder of the mendicant orders who, as a youngster at a ball, where the daughters of all the notabilities were sitting together, was asked: “Now Francis, will you not soon make your choice from these beauties?” and who replied: “I have made a far more beautiful choice!” “Whom?” “La poverta (poverty)”: whereupon he abandoned every thing shortly afterwards and wandered through the land as a mendicant.

Many people will find it odd that I say that the first two quotes from him at the beginning of this post actually reflect some quite strong Orthodox values, even though Tolstoy was a pacifist. The second one says of war that, “?no man, especially a Christian man, has the right to assume the responsibility of starting it.” Saint Augustine of Hippo, who wrote the first rules to ensure that a war is just would have fully agreed with him. Saint Augustine was not a pacifist, but he held the view of war that was shared by the Early Church Fathers.

It will probably surprise the reader to find out that, like many of the Church Fathers, Saint Augustine believed that there is no “private right” to kill. In other words, there is no such thing as self-defense for the Christian individual. Only when a Christian is serving as part of the State, and only when ordered to do so, as in time of war or in police actions, may he kill. That is why, to this day, a priest who kills (and some would even say seriously damage) another individual is forbidden from serving at the altar ever again. In fact, to this day, according to the Geneva Conventions, a priest or rabbi or pastor or iman, etc., is considered a non-combatant and, if captured, may even conduct worship services for the enemy, without incurring the charge of treason! Augustine wrote:

The commandment forbidding killing was not broken by those who have waged wars on the authority of God, or those who have imposed the death-penalty on criminals when representing the authority of the state, the justest and most reasonable source of power.

But, Saint Augustine spoke to a problem that had been troubling the Church for the century in which it had been welcomed by the State. Given that a Christian individual has no “private right” to kill, but may kill when ordered to do so by the State, when is the State justified in giving the order to kill? That was the thrust of his writing on just war theory. His rules for a just war have been summarized and now are often stated in the following form:

1. Just cause. All aggression is condemned; only defensive war is legitimate.
2. Just intention. The only legitimate intention is to secure a just peace for all involved. Neither revenge nor conquest nor economic gain nor ideological supremacy are justified.
3. Last resort. War may only be entered upon when all negotiations and compromise have been tried and failed.
4. Formal declaration. Since the use of military force is the prerogative of governments, not of private individuals, a state of war must be officially declared by the highest authorities.
5. Limited objectives. If the purpose is peace, then un­conditional surrender or the destruction of a nation’s eco­nomic or political institutions is an unwarranted objective.
6. Proportionate means. The weaponry and the force used should be limited to what is needed to repel the aggression and deter future attacks, that is to say to secure a just peace. Total or unlimited war is ruled out.
7. Noncombatant immunity.Since war is an official act of government, only those who are officially agents of government may fight, and individuals not actively contributing to the conflict including POW’s and easualties as well as civilian nonparticipants) should be immune from attack.

You can see how the above would lead to quite a bit of argument in any given war!

On the first quote at the very beginning of the post, I will simply remind people that I work at a VA Medical Center. In one sense, Tolstoy is correct. Even given Saint Augustine’s rules for a just war, one can read him and the Church Fathers and see the horror with which they beheld war. War is, in one sense, “unjust and ugly.” Many soldiers who die for the “enemy” are actually nothing but young men who often not personally responsible for the evil of their government, nor are in any position to stop it. Rather, they themselves, have often been pulled into the war, or are serving because it is their country. Many good novels, such as All Quiet on the Western Front, have pointed out the horror that it is often innocent killing innocent on the battlefield. They die without the benefit of trial or witnesses or judge or jury. Inevitably civilians are killed. Inevitably “friendly fire” kills innocents on both sides.

War is unjust however necessary and justified may be our actions in war. The reason why the USA “forgave” so many many German soldiers, sailors, airmen, and their officers, even to high ranked ones, was not simply out of mercy, but also out of the conviction that many of them were not deserving of judicial punishment, but were actually rather innocent. On the other hand, those who were truly guilty were not only tried in various trials, but are still tried to this day, if found. Concentration camp staff, down to the most basic soldier, are still prosecuted to this day. But, war is unjust and ugly. That is why Saint Augustine was so careful in trying to limit it.

Particularly soldiers, sailors, and airmen from strongly moral or ethical backgrounds often have to battle their consciences when engaged in war. The same is true of police personnel who are forced to shoot someone. Frankly, I would rather have people who must deal with their consciences whenever they pull the trigger or push the button than deal with someone who is “quick on the trigger.” But, here in the VA we see that all too often that inner battle of conscience can lead to serious emotional damage. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is often the result of the conscience getting beat up and the personality fragmenting under the requirements of war. War is not pretty, though it may at times be unavoidable.

I do not agree with Tolstoy on being a complete pacifist. But, I certainly can appreciate that he looked realistically at war and that much of his writing actually reflected a rather Orthodox background.