theories of Tolstoy.' We therefore take the liberty of sending you this pamphlet in order that you may judge for yourself. Praying for the fulfillment of the desire of your heart, We are, Yours sincerely, (signed) THE BURNS COMPANY, New York." Prior to this I had received from France a letter from Angele Francoise, and her pamphlet. In her letter she informed me of the existence of two societies which aim at encouraging purity in sexual matters, one in England and the other in France (Societe d' amour pur). In Madame Angele's pamphlet the same thoughts are expressed as in Diana, but less clearly and definitely and with a tingle of mysticism. The ideas expressed in Diana, although having at their foundation not a Christian but rather a pagan, platonic life conception, are so novel and interesting, and demonstrate so obviously the unreasonableness of the current looseness in unmarried as well as in married life in our society that I should like to share them with the reader. The essential idea of the pamphlet, which has for motto the words, "and they twain shall be one flesh," is as follows: The difference between male and female organisms exist not only physiologically, but also in other and moral qualities, which in men are called manliness, and in women womanliness. The attraction between the sexes is founded not merely on the tendency towards physical union, but also on the mutual attraction which these opposite qualities produce: womanliness on the men and manliness on the women. One sex tends to complete itself by the other; and therefore the attraction between the sexes produces equally a tendency towards spiritual and towards physical communion. The tendency towards these different kinds of communion are two
Page:The Relations Tolstoy.pdf/24
