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What Men Live By, and Other Tales

by Leo Tolstoy

Downloads: Under 100
First published: 1886
Pages: 57

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Read by David Barnes and Alan Davis Drake (1945-2010) · 2 h 18 min · 4 parts

What Men Live By
66:27
Three Questions
11:07
The Coffee-House of Surat
20:32
How Much Land Does a Man Need?
39:56

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About this book

With unpaid bills to collect and a worn winter coat to replace, Simon the shoemaker has little to spare. His attempt to buy sheepskins fails, and on the way home he notices a stranger freezing beside a roadside shrine. He hesitates out of fear before returning to offer clothing and shelter. Tolstoy begins with the pressures of earning a living, then makes one small act of care the centre of a story about human need and responsibility.

Four short tales make up this collection, with scenes ranging from Russian peasant life to a king consulting a hermit and a gathering of travellers in a coffee-house at Surat. The opening biblical passages connect faith with practical compassion. In the later excerpts, a king seeks advice about what matters most, while people from different backgrounds discuss their beliefs.

About the author

Leo Tolstoy

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authors of all time.