The TalmudТалмуд

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Exodus Rabbah, on Exodus 22:24 ('If you lend money to my people'), 31:3.

'Happy the man who stands his test, for there is no creature the Holy One does not test: the rich man, whether his hand is open to the poor; the poor man, whether he can accept suffering without anger.' Faithful; 'stands his test' becomes 'does not yield to temptation', and 'without anger' becomes 'without murmuring, with submission'. The Circle drops the 1903 'to providence'. The passage is in the Midrash (Exodus Rabbah), not the Talmud; Tolstoy's Russian anthologies drew on the whole rabbinic literature. No public-domain English translation was consulted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Avot de-Rabbi Natan (version A), ch. 29.

'You have friends, some of whom reprove you and some praise you: love those who reprove you and hate those who praise you, for the one who reproves brings you to the life of the world to come, and the one who praises drives you out of the world.' Tolstoy keeps the first half, softening 'love' and 'hate' to 'draw near' and 'keep away', and drops the reason. In Avot de-Rabbi Natan, a minor tractate printed with the Talmud. The Circle repeats the 1903 text word for word. No public-domain English translation was consulted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Leviticus Rabbah; Babylonian Talmud, Eruvin, Leviticus Rabbah 1:5 (on Proverbs 25:7); Eruvin 13b.

Two sayings joined. The first paragraph is Ben Azzai's counsel in Leviticus Rabbah 1:5: 'move two or three seats down from your place and sit, until they say to you, come up; do not go up, lest they say to you, go down; better they say come up, come up, than go down, go down' (on Proverbs 25:7; compare Luke 14:10); the 'two or three seats' becomes 'lower than befits you'. The second is the Talmud's 'whoever humbles himself, the Holy One raises; whoever raises himself, the Holy One humbles' (Eruvin 13b), with 'God' for 'the Holy One'. The same text, as three lines, is in the 1903 anthology. No public-domain English translation was consulted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Taanit, 7a.

Rabbi Hanina bar Hama's comparison of the Torah to water: 'as water leaves a high place and goes to a low place, so words of Torah endure only with one whose mind is humble'. Tolstoy writes 'добродетель' for 'words of Torah' (Thoughts of Wise Men, 1903, still had 'учение божие').

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Kohelet Rabbah, 6:7.

The parable on 'and yet the soul is not filled' (Eccl. 6:7) is in the Midrash, not the Talmud. The midrash's townsman (Thoughts of Wise Men, 1903: 'Горожанин') becomes a merchant, and Tolstoy adds the palace, the dresses, the hundred servants, and the princess's boredom; the midrash's soul is 'from the upper ones', Tolstoy's longs for 'по тому началу — богу, от которого она вышла'.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Sotah, 21b.

Rabbi Yohanan: words of Torah endure only with one who makes himself as one who is not. Tolstoy adds 'истины' to the Thoughts of Wise Men (1903) wording.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot; Mishnah Berakhot, Berakhot 30b; Mishnah Berakhot 4:4.

First paragraph: Rabbi Eliezer in Berakhot 30b, 'a man should always assess himself: if he can direct his heart, let him pray; if not, let him not pray'. Second: Rabbi Eliezer in Mishnah Berakhot 4:4, 'he who makes his prayer fixed (keva), his prayer is not supplication'; Tolstoy renders 'fixed' as 'привычку'. Thoughts of Wise Men (1903) had 'благоговейно', dropped here.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Pirkei Avot (Mishnah), 2:4 (Sefaria and Gorfinkle).

Rabban Gamaliel, son of Judah ha-Nasi: 'Do his will as your will, so that he may do your will as his will; set aside your will before his will, so that he may set aside the will of others before your will.' Faithful; Tolstoy writes 'God' for 'his' and renders 'set aside' (battel) as «поступись своим желанием в угоду его желанию». Avot is Mishnah, not Gemara. Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 14 April, has the same words but «в угоду его желания». Gorfinkle's English, as printed in the Gutenberg text, lacks the clause 'that He may do thy will as if it were His will', which the Hebrew and Tolstoy have.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim; Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin, Nedarim 49b; Kiddushin 29a (discussed at 30b).

Two sayings joined. (1) 'Great is labour, for it honours its master' (gedolah melakhah she-mekhabbedet et ba'aleha), said by R. Judah as he carried a jar to the study house and by R. Simeon as he carried a basket (Nedarim 49b). (2) R. Judah's 'whoever does not teach his son a craft (umanut) teaches him banditry' (a baraita in Kiddushin 29a; at 30b the Gemara reads it 'as if he taught him banditry'). Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 16 March, has «Всякий труд важен, ибо облагораживает человека» and «Не обучать сына какому-нибудь ремеслу». For the Circle Tolstoy wrote «ручной труд» (manual labour) in both sentences: 'labour' becomes 'all manual labour', and the craft (umanut, «ремесло» in 1903) becomes manual labour. 'Honours its master' is «облагораживает человека» in both versions.

Not found yet.

Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 6 October, prints a longer form signed «Талмуд»: in praying we acknowledge that God created the world, cares for, feeds, and rules all, and sees every deed, good and bad, and in contemplating his glory the soul is purified and raised. The Circle shortens this list to «мы тем самым признаем его, а признавая его власть». The passage was not found in the Talmud or the Midrash. Tolstoy's 1903 Talmud sayings came from his two Russian anthologies (Jubilee vol. 40), whose compilers drew on later rabbinic books as well; this one probably came from them.

Searched: Thoughts of Wise Men (1903) and its variants (Jubilee vol. 40); the Jubilee vols. 41-42 (text, name index, attribution corrections); Pirkei Avot in Hebrew and in Gorfinkle's English; Sefaria's full-text search of its Hebrew corpus (Talmud, Midrash, musar) for the key phrases; Conway's Sacred Anthology. Tolstoy's two Russian Talmud anthologies (Gurvich, «Живая мораль», 1901; «Мировоззрение талмудистов», 1874-76) were not found online. Also Sefer ha-Chinukh, commandment 433 (prayer), which is close in thought but not in wording.

Not found yet.

Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 1 November, signed «Талмуд», is the fuller form. For the Circle Tolstoy changed 'prayer for every honest man is the clarifying of his relation to his creator, who does him good every minute' to «Молитва — это выяснение своего отношения к началу всего» ('the source of all'), and shortened the rest. The definition resembles S. R. Hirsch's account of hitpallel as judging oneself, one's relations to God and to the world (Horeb, 1837, §618), but the wording does not match and the passage was not found in the Talmud.

Searched: Thoughts of Wise Men (1903) and its variants (Jubilee vol. 40); the Jubilee vols. 41-42 (text, name index, attribution corrections); Pirkei Avot in Hebrew and in Gorfinkle's English; Sefaria's full-text search of its Hebrew corpus (Talmud, Midrash, musar) for the key phrases; Conway's Sacred Anthology. Tolstoy's two Russian Talmud anthologies (Gurvich, «Живая мораль», 1901; «Мировоззрение талмудистов», 1874-76) were not found online. Also S. R. Hirsch, Horeb (1837; 1899 printing, archive.org horevversucheb00hirsuoft), §618.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Pirkei Avot (Mishnah), 1:17.

Simeon ben Gamaliel: 'not study (ha-midrash) is the main thing, but the deed (ha-ma'aseh)'. Tolstoy makes 'study' «рассуждения о доброй жизни» ('reasonings about the good life') and 'the deed' «добрые дела» ('good deeds'): the Mishnah sets the study of Torah against practice, Tolstoy sets talk about goodness against doing good. The rest of the saying (nothing better for the body than silence; many words bring sin) is left out. Not in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903). Avot is Mishnah, not Gemara.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Pirkei Avot (Mishnah), 2:4 (Sefaria; 2:5 in Gorfinkle).

Hillel: 'do not judge your fellow until you have reached his place'. Faithful, one clause of five in Hillel's saying; the same words in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 4 January. Avot is Mishnah, not Gemara.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Esther Rabbah, on Esther 3:6, 7:10.

The Aramaic proverb in Esther Rabbah: 'if the stone falls on the pot, woe to the pot; if the pot falls on the stone, woe to the pot; either way, woe to the pot'. Faithful («кувшин», a jug, for the pot). In the midrash, on Haman's plot, Israel is the stone and the nations the potsherds; Tolstoy prints the proverb alone, as in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 8 July. The source is Midrash, not Talmud. No public-domain English translation was found.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Taanit, 7a.

R. Hanina: 'much have I learned from my teachers, more from my colleagues than from my teachers, and from my disciples more than from all'. Faithful. The Talmud quotes it to show that small scholars sharpen great ones, as a small stick kindles a large one. Makkot 10a gives the saying to Rabbi (Judah ha-Nasi), with 'Torah'. Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 5 October, has «больше» where the Circle has «более».

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah, 52a; 52b.

Two sayings on the evil inclination (yetzer ha-ra), which Tolstoy calls «страсть» (passion), here and in 1903. (1) R. Assi: 'at first it is like a spider's thread (hut shel bukhya), and at last like cart-ropes' (Sukkah 52a, with Isaiah 5:18). (2) 'At first he calls it a wayfarer (helekh), then a guest (oreah), then a man (ish)', from Nathan's parable in 2 Samuel 12:4 (Sukkah 52b; Rava in the Vilna text, 'Rab' in Glick). Tolstoy's «как чужой ... как гость ... как хозяин дома» renders 'man' as 'master of the house', the word Genesis Rabbah 22:6 uses (R. Isaac: 'at first a guest, then master of the house'), where R. Akiva's spider's thread ends as a ship's cable. The Circle adds «в сердце человека» to the 1903 wording (13 April).

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Avodah Zarah; Yalkut Shimoni on Ecclesiastes, Avodah Zarah 19a; Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 979.

Joined from two places, with a sentence added. (1) Rav, on Psalm 112:1: 'happy is he who repents while he is a man (ish)', that is, in his strength (Avodah Zarah 19a). (2) The midrash on Ecclesiastes 9:10 in Yalkut Shimoni: 'repent while you are in your strength; while the lamp burns, give it oil before the lamp goes out; once the lamp is out, the oil is of no use'. Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 28 January, has the two in two sentences. For the Circle Tolstoy turned 'happy (ashrei) is he who repents' into «Хорошо каяться в грехах» ('it is good to repent of sins'), added a sentence of his own, «Каяться — значит очищать свою душу и готовиться к доброй жизни» ('to repent is to cleanse one's soul and prepare for a good life'), and dropped the midrash's last clause, that oil is of no use once the lamp is out. The lamp is Midrash, not Talmud. No public-domain English of the Yalkut was found.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Sifre on Deuteronomy, Piska 186, on Deut. 19:11 (Sefaria, Sifrei Devarim 186:2).

From Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), December 30, shortened. The Sifre, on Deut. 19:11 ("if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him"): "hence they said: if a man transgresses a light commandment, he will in the end transgress a weighty one; if he transgresses 'thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself' (Lev. 19:18), he will in the end transgress 'thou shalt not hate' and 'thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge', and in the end 'that thy brother may live with thee' (Lev. 25:36), until he comes to the shedding of blood." The 1903 text kept the last commandment («и, не исполняя заповеди «дабы брат твой жил у тебя»»); the Circle leaves it out. Both Russian versions put "take no vengeance, bear no grudge" before "hate not". Signed «Талмуд»: the Sifre is a halakhic midrash, outside the Talmud. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online. No public-domain English of the passage was found.

A likely source, not certain. Pirkei Avot (Mishnah), 2:15–16 (Sefaria); 2:20–21 (Gorfinkle).

Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), March 23, word for word but for the dash after «Ты»: the first of three sayings printed there under one signature «Талмуд» (4-15.2, 4-15.3, 4-15.4). The nearest passage found is Rabbi Tarfon's in Pirkei Avot 2:15–16: "The day is short, the task is great, the laborers are sluggish, the reward is much, and the Master of the house is urgent", and "faithful is thy Employer to pay thee the reward of thy labor". Tolstoy's day-labourer («поденщик»), his day, and his day's wage answer Tarfon's labourers, day, and Employer who pays; the shortness of the day, the size of the work, and the urgent master are absent, and the saying becomes a direct command («отработай свой день и получи свою поденную плату»). Candidate only: the words may render another passage. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

A likely source, not certain. Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah, 13a, quoting Ben Sira 3:21–22 (Synodal and KJV Sirach 3:21–22).

Word for word from Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), March 23, with 4-15.2 and 4-15.4 under one signature «Талмуд». Probably Ben Sira's counsel as the Talmud quotes it in Hagigah 13a, where the teaching on the divine chariot stops: "up to here you may speak, from here on you may not, for so it is written in the book of Ben Sira: what is too wonderful for you, do not seek; what is hidden from you, do not search; reflect on what you have been permitted; you have no business with hidden things". Tolstoy's «тайну бытия бога» (the mystery of God's being) is more pointed than Ben Sira's "what is too wonderful" and "hidden things", and «их дело только в том, чтобы соблюдать закон его» (their business is only to keep his law) turns "reflect on what you have been permitted" toward the commandments, as the Greek Sirach does ("what is commanded thee, think thereupon"; Synodal «Что заповедано тебе, о том размышляй»). Candidate only: the thought is common in rabbinic writing. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

A likely source, not certain. Pirkei Avot (Mishnah), 2:16 (Sefaria); 2:21 (Gorfinkle).

Word for word from Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), March 23, the third saying under the signature «Талмуд». The nearest passage found is Rabbi Tarfon's in Pirkei Avot 2:16: "It is not thy duty to complete the work, but neither art thou free to desist from it; ... and faithful is thy Employer to pay thee the reward of thy labor". Tolstoy makes the work a duty («Исполняй долг свой») and turns the Employer who pays into the one who laid the duty on you, to whom the consequences are left («а последствия предоставь возложившему его на тебя»); the reward is gone. Candidate only. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin, 7a (Rav Huna).

Word for word from Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), February 4. Rav Huna, in Sanhedrin 7a: "this quarrel is like the channel of a breach made by water: once it widens, it widens". The Gemara is expounding Proverbs 17:14, "The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water". Tolstoy's stream breaking through a dam renders the breach; "once it widens, it widens" becomes «как только он пробился, ты уже не удержишь его» (once it has broken through, you will not hold it back). Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah, 46b (Rabbi Zeira).

Rabbi Zeira, in Sukkah 46b: "a man should not say to a child, I will give you something, and then not give it to him, because he thereby teaches him to lie" (the Gemara adds Jeremiah 9:4, 9:5 in the KJV, "they have taught their tongue to speak lies"). The prohibition becomes a command, «исполняй обещанное ему, иначе приучишь его ко лжи» (keep what you promised him, or you will teach him to lie), kept from Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), January 24. The opening is Tolstoy's: in 1903 «Будь правдив даже по отношению дитяти» (be truthful even toward a child), in the Circle «Будь правдив всегда и особенно с ребенком» (be truthful always, and especially with a child). Printed in italics in the Jubilee text. No public-domain English of the passage was found (Glick's En Jacob omits it). Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Ecclesiastes Rabbah (Kohelet Rabbah), 5:14 (Rabbi Meir, on Ecclesiastes 5:15 in the KJV numbering).

Word for word from Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), February 29. Rabbi Meir, in the midrash on "As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return": "when a man comes into the world his hands are clenched, as if to say, the whole world is mine, I shall inherit it; and when he leaves the world his hands are open, as if to say, I have inherited nothing from this world." Tolstoy keeps the clenched and open hands and the two sayings; "I shall inherit it" drops out, and "I have inherited nothing" becomes «смотрите, ничего не беру с собой» (look, I take nothing with me). Signed «Талмуд»: the saying is in the Midrash on Ecclesiastes, outside the Talmud. No public-domain English was found. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Avot de-Rabbi Natan, version A, ch. 41 (first paragraph); Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 9b (second paragraph, probable).

Word for word from Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), January 12, where the two paragraphs stand under one signature. The first is Avot de-Rabbi Natan 41, close: "if you have done your fellow a little wrong, let it be much in your eyes; if you have done him much good, let it be little in your eyes; if your fellow has done you a little good, let it be much in your eyes" (the clause after it, on bearing a great wrong done to you as a small one, is left out). The second is probably Rabbi Isaac in Bava Batra 9b (related): "whoever gives a coin to a poor man is blessed with six blessings, and whoever consoles him with words is blessed with eleven" (Glick, En Jacob: "he, however, who encourages him with [comforting words] is rewarded with eleven"). Tolstoy's «двойное благословение» (a double blessing) stands for the eleven against six, and comforting words become greeting the poor man and seeing him off kindly; the match is probable, not certain. Avot de-Rabbi Natan is outside the Talmud. No public-domain English of it was found. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Pirkei Avot (Mishnah), 4:1 (Ben Zoma).

From Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), May 29, with dashes added after each question. Ben Zoma's first three questions and answers, without the verses he cites for each and without the fourth, "Who is honored? He who honors others". «Себя обуздывающий» (he who reins himself in) renders "he who subdues his inclination" (הכובש את יצרו), and «Довольствующийся своей участью» (he who is content with his lot) "he who rejoices in his portion". Signed «Талмуд»: Pirkei Avot is a tractate of the Mishnah. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia, 58b (third sentence); Genesis Rabbah 1:5 (first sentence); the second not found.

From Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), August 13, where the three sayings stand under one signature, with «доброму» (good) for «развитому» (cultivated) in the second. The third is the baraita in Bava Metzia 58b, on wronging with words (also Mishnah Bava Metzia 4:10): "if he was a penitent, let him not say to him, remember your former deeds", kept close. The first is Rabbi Yose bar Hanina's saying in Genesis Rabbah 1:5 (related), "whoever gains honour through his fellow's disgrace has no share in the world to come", made a precept, «Не ищи славы в бесславии других» (do not seek glory in the disgrace of others), with the world to come left out; the Jerusalem Talmud has the same saying (Chagigah 2:1), whose only Hebrew text found online is a modern edition under licence, not saved. The second sentence, «Человеку доброму подобает скрывать позор других, даже тех, которые нанесли ему вред» (it befits a good man to hide the disgrace of others, even of those who have harmed him), was not found; Proverbs 12:16, "a prudent man covereth shame", is near it in wording. Genesis Rabbah is a midrash, outside the Talmud. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, 31a–b (Rabbah bar Rav Huna).

Word for word from Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), June 13. Rabbah bar Rav Huna, in Shabbat 31a–b: "whoever has Torah in him and has no fear of Heaven is like a treasurer who was given the keys to the inner doors and was not given the keys to the outer: how will he get in?" The knowledge of the law and the treasurer with the inner keys are kept; "fear of Heaven" (יראת שמים; Glick: "fear of the Lord") becomes «чуждый любви к богу» (a stranger to the love of God), and the closing question, "how will he get in?", is left out. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

A likely source, not certain. Babylonian Talmud, Sotah, 31a (Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar).

In Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), March 28, the saying reads «Исполняй божьи заповеди с любовью. Не одно и то же — исполнять их из любви к богу или же из страха перед ним» (keep God's commandments with love; it is not the same thing to keep them out of love for God or out of fear of him); the Circle makes it one command. The 1903 wording answers two rabbinic passages. The Gemara in Sotah 31a asks "what difference is there between one who acts out of love and one who acts out of fear?" and answers with Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar: "greater is one who acts out of love than one who acts out of fear", whose merit lasts two thousand generations against a thousand. Sifrei Devarim 32 (related), on "thou shalt love the Lord thy God": "act out of love! Scripture distinguishes between one who acts out of love and one who acts out of fear." The Talmud ranks the two and rewards both; the Circle's «надо по любви к богу, а не из страха перед ним» (one must, out of love for God, and not out of fear of him) sets fear aside. Candidate: the anthology's wording is not available, and either passage, or another like them, may lie behind it. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim, 20a (a baraita).

From Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), January 21, with a colon for «ибо» (for). The baraita in Nedarim 20a, on "that his fear may be before your faces" (Exodus 20:20), reads it of shame, and goes on: "hence they said, it is a good sign in a man that he is bashful; others say, whoever is ashamed will not quickly sin." Tolstoy joins the two opinions into one saying: «Похвальная черта в человеке — это стыдливость» (a praiseworthy trait in a man is bashfulness) for the good sign, and «стыдливый не скоро согрешит» (the bashful will not soon sin) for the opinion of the "others". The baraita's last clause, that one without shame is known to have had no ancestors at Sinai, is left out. Tolstoy's Talmud sayings in that book came from his two Russian anthologies, Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), neither of them online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Derekh Eretz Zuta, 1:7 (Vilna ed.); the same saying is a baraita in Kallah Rabbati 3; Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 23 December.

The saying of Derekh Eretz Zuta 1:7, a minor tractate printed with the Babylonian Talmud: 'If others speak evil of you, do not answer them; let a great thing be in your eyes as small. If you have spoken evil of others, let a small thing be in your eyes as great, until you go and appease him.' Kallah Rabbati 3 has it as a baraita. Tolstoy's version, taken from his Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 23 December, expands it: it opens «Дети мои!» (my children), leaves out 'do not answer them', adds the excuse made to one's conscience («Что же мы такое сказали, ведь это мелочь, что за важность»), and has the offended man won over «собственными мольбами или посредничеством друзей» (by your own pleas or through friends). None of these is in the Hebrew. Yoma 87a has the friends: whoever offends his fellow even with words must appease him, and if he has no money to offer, 'let him bring many friends to him'; it reads this out of Proverbs 6:1-3, which opens 'My son'. The expansion was probably made in the Russian collection Tolstoy used (Gurvich, 1901, or «Мировоззрение талмудистов», 1874–76; neither online). For the Circle Tolstoy changed his 1903 text in four places: «слишком большого значения» (too great importance) became «значения»; «как на мелочь» (as a trifle), «как на дело, не заслуживающее внимания» (as a thing not worth attention); «смотрите на то» (look on it), «смотрите на свой поступок» (look on your deed); and «пока вам … не удастся склонить обиженного к полному извинению и совершенному примирению» (to full apology and complete reconciliation), «и не успокаивайтесь до тех пор, пока вам … не удастся склонить обиженного к совершенному примирению» (and do not rest until … to complete reconciliation). No public-domain English of Derekh Eretz Zuta was found.

Not found yet.

Not found. The nearest found is Proverbs 18:23, 'The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly', which speaks of the rich man's rough answer, not of his indifference to grief. The sentence is not in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), whose Talmud sayings came from Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901) and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76), neither online; one of these is the probable source. Tolstoy kept it, signed «Талмуд», in «На каждый день» (10 May) and The Path of Life (ch. X, § III).

Searched: Thoughts of Wise Men (1903) and its commentary (vol. 40); Conway's Sacred Anthology; the Jubilee commentary (vol. 42); Sefaria's full-text search of the Talmud, Midrash, and later rabbinic texts for the rich man who does not feel another's grief (עשיר אינו מרגיש, אינו מרגיש בצער, אין העשירים מרגישים, העשיר אכזרי, עשירים אכזרים, השבע אינו מאמין לרעב) and for Proverbs 18:23 ('the rich answereth roughly') in the Talmud.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Pirkei Avot (Mishnah), 4:2.

Ben Azzai's saying, as in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 18 July, word for word («собой» for «собою»): 'run to a light commandment (as to a weighty one), and flee from transgression; for a commandment draws a commandment, and a transgression draws a transgression; for the reward of a commandment is a commandment, and the reward of a transgression is a transgression'. Faithful, with 'commandment' (mitzvah) made «доброе дело» (good deed) and «добродетель» (virtue), and 'the reward of a transgression' made «наказание порока» (the punishment of vice). The Sefaria text has 'as to a weighty one' (כבחמורה), which many texts lack and Tolstoy does not have. Tolstoy's Talmud came through the Russian anthologies the Jubilee vol. 40 commentary names (Gurvich, 1901; «Мировоззрение талмудистов», 1874-76), not found online. March traced another Circle version of the same saying, signed «Бенчасай» (3-3.8). The words are the Mishnah's (Avot), which the Talmud contains; 'Talmud' stands.

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«Негодует на нас небо за наши грехи, а мир — за наши добродетели» (heaven is indignant with us for our sins, and the world for our virtues). The same sentence is the first thought of 10 February in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903). The Jubilee vol. 40 commentary says that Tolstoy's manuscript signs it «Сафир», Moritz Gottlieb Saphir (1795-1858), the Viennese humorist, and that the Posrednik edition printed it as «Талмуд»; the Circle keeps the printed signature. Saphir's German was not found, nor anything like it in the Talmud. December met the same confusion (12-31.1, Saphir's 'time stands, it is we who pass', printed «По Талмуду»). The attribution to the Talmud is probably a printer's error carried into the Circle, but without Saphir's text it is not certain.

Searched: Thoughts of Wise Men (1903) and its commentary (Jubilee vol. 40); the Jubilee vols. 41-42; Mivhar ha-Peninim in Hebrew and Ascher's English (1859, Sefaria); web searches in German for Saphir with Himmel, Sünden, Welt, and Tugenden.

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«Раб своих страстей — самый низкий из рабов» (the slave of his passions is the lowest of slaves). The same sentence is thought 2 of 23 November in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), where the Jubilee editors restored the manuscript's signature, «Ал-Харизи», for the Posrednik edition's «Талмуд»; the Circle keeps «Талмуд». Al-Harizi is Judah al-Harizi (c. 1165-1225), the Hebrew poet and translator, whom the Jubilee name index confuses with the Arabic al-Hariri. The saying was not found in his works or in the Talmud. Tolstoy's Talmud anthologies (Gurvich, 1901, which draws on all Hebrew literature; «Мировоззрение талмудистов», 1874-76) are not online, and either may have carried it under al-Harizi's name. The attribution to the Talmud is probably wrong, but the source was not seen.

Searched: Thoughts of Wise Men (1903) and its commentary (Jubilee vol. 40); the Jubilee vols. 41-42; Mivhar ha-Peninim in Hebrew and Ascher's English (1859, Sefaria), which has 'the slave of passions is led astray and perishes' (no. 185) but not this saying; Sefaria's search (no results returned); web searches in English for 'slave of his passions' with 'lowest' or 'basest of slaves'.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Pirkei Avot (Mishnah), 4:5 (Gorfinkle's 4:7).

R. Zadok: 'do not make them (the words of the Torah) a crown to magnify yourself with, nor an axe (kardom) to dig with'. Tolstoy: «Не смотри на ученость, как на корону, чтобы ею красоваться, ни как на топор, чтобы добывать им пропитание» (do not look on learning as a crown to show off with, nor as an axe to earn your food with). The Torah becomes «ученость» (learning) in general; 'to dig with' becomes 'to earn your food with', the sense the commentators give it; «топор» (axe) is closer to kardom than Gorfinkle's 'spade'. Whether the widening to learning is Tolstoy's or that of the Russian Talmud anthology he read (Gurvich, 1901, or «Мировоззрение талмудистов», neither online) is not known. Not in Thoughts of Wise Men (1903). The words are the Mishnah's (Avot), which the Talmud contains; 'Talmud' stands.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot, 10a.

Berakhot 10a, where the five times David says 'Bless the Lord, O my soul' are read as likening the soul to God: 'just as the Holy One, blessed be He, sees and is not seen, so the soul sees and is not seen' (Glick: 'seeth, but cannot be seen'). Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 29 December, keeps the likeness: «Как бог всё видит, но невидим, так и душа — сущность невидимая, хотя всё видящая» (as God sees everything but is invisible, so the soul is an invisible being, though all-seeing). The Circle drops God and adds a restriction: «Душа невидима, но она, только она, видит» (the soul is invisible, but it, it alone, sees); «только она» (it alone) is Tolstoy's. In 1903, as in the Circle, the thought follows the Dhammapada verse of 9-18.6. Tolstoy's Talmud came through two Russian anthologies (O. Ya. Gurvich, 1901; «Мировоззрение талмудистов», 1874-76; Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), not online, so the Russian he read is not shown.

A likely source, not certain. Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 33b (first sentence); a saying attributed to Luther (the rest), Berakhot 33b, saying of Rabbi Hanina; Мысли мудрых людей на каждый день (1903), 10 December, nos. 1 and 2.

Two thoughts joined under one signature by a printer's omission. In «Мысли мудрых людей на каждый день» (1903), 10 December, the first sentence is a thought of its own signed «Талмуд» in Tolstoy's manuscript, and the bird saying is signed «Лютер» (tolstoy). The vol. 40 commentary records that in the Posrednik printing “Под мыслью 1 на 10 декабря пропущена подпись «Талмуд»” (the signature «Талмуд» was left out under thought 1 of 10 December), so the two read as one thought of Luther's, and the Circle took them over as one, as it did the Tolstoy and Talmud thoughts of 4 December, which the same commentary describes. Tolstoy printed the joined text again under Luther in «На каждый день» (23 February, no. 7) and «Путь жизни» (ch. XXIV «Мысль», § IV, no. 4). The first sentence is Rabbi Hanina's saying, “everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven” (Berakhot 33b): Tolstoy's «кроме нашего желания служить богу или себе» (except our wish to serve God or ourselves) stands for “the fear of Heaven”, a gloss probably from one of his two Russian Talmud anthologies (Gurvich, 1901; «Мировоззрение талмудистов», 1874–76), neither online, so the wording cannot be checked. The bird saying (we cannot keep birds from flying over our heads, but can keep them from nesting there; so we cannot stop evil thoughts from passing through the head, but can keep them from building a nest to hatch evil deeds) circulates under Luther's name in German and English, in every quotation found without a reference; it was not found in a work of Luther's, and Tolstoy's source for it is unknown.

Searched: The Jubilee vol. 40 text and commentary; vols. 43 and 45; every saved source for birds with nest and head or hair in English and Vögel with Kopf and nisten in German; Southgate's two anthologies, Tileston, and Klopsch for Luther; Luther's Treatise on Good Works (Philadelphia ed., Gutenberg) for birds; web searches in German («Vögel» «Kopf» «nisten» Luther; «Vaterunser») and English («nest in your hair» Luther), which found only unreferenced quotations.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Mishnah, Chagigah, 2:1.

Mishnah Chagigah 2:1: 'whoever gazes into four things, it were fitting for him that he had not come into the world: what is above, what is below, what is before, and what is after' (כל המסתכל בארבעה דברים ראוי לו כאילו לא בא לעולם). Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 27 October, has the Circle's words exactly. Close to the Mishnah: 'gazes into' (המסתכל) becomes «надеется приподнять завесу» (hopes to lift the veil), and 'before' and 'after' «что было раньше и что будет после» (what was before and what will be after), the reading the Talmud's discussion gives (Glick: 'what was before creation and what will be after it'). Glick's English of the Mishnah leaves out the four things; they are in his Gemara. The saying is the Mishnah's, which the Babylonian Talmud quotes and discusses (Chagigah 11b), so «Талмуд» stands. Tolstoy's Talmud came through two Russian anthologies (Gurvich, 1901; «Мировоззрение талмудистов», 1874-76), not online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Sotah, 48b.

A baraita of R. Eliezer the Great, quoted in Sotah 48b on the Mishnah's 'men of faith ceased': 'whoever has bread in his basket and says, What shall I eat tomorrow? is nothing but one of those of little faith'. Tolstoy keeps it close; «маловерующим» (those of little faith) renders מקטני אמנה (of the small in faith). The Circle repeats Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 28 August, word for word, where it follows Matthew 6:25–27, 31, 33–34; the same book has it once more, on 18 January, in other words («тот принадлежит к маловерным»). Tolstoy's Talmud came through two Russian anthologies (O. Ya. Gurvich, 1901; «Мировоззрение талмудистов», 1874–76; Jubilee vol. 40 commentary), not online, so the Russian he read is not shown. Sefaria's Glick text names the sage 'R. Elazar the Great'; the Vilna text has רבי אליעזר הגדול.

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The Circle takes the thought from Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 30 September, signed «Талмуд», moving «неподвижно» (motionless) before «в почве истории» (in the soil of history) and repeating the subject, «семена эти» (these seeds). No source was found in the Talmud or the Midrash; the image of history as soil, its juices and fresh forces, reads as a modern writer's. Tolstoy's Talmud came through two Russian anthologies, O. Ya. Gurvich's «Живая мораль» (1901), which by its preface drew on 'the whole vast ancient Hebrew literature', and «Мировоззрение талмудистов» (1874–76) (Jubilee vol. 40 commentary); neither is online, so the source he read could not be checked.

Searched: Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), where it is found (30 September); Conway's Sacred Anthology (1874); Sefaria's library by phrase ('works of the righteous', 'sown in righteousness', 'righteous are like seed'); web searches in English for the image of the righteous man's deeds as seeds in the soil of history.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Chagigah, 12b.

R. Yose's saying in a baraita of Chagigah 12b, close: 'woe to the creatures who see and know not what they see, who stand and know not on what they stand'. In the Talmud it opens a cosmology: the earth stands on pillars, the pillars on the waters, the waters on the mountains, up to the arm of God; Tolstoy takes the saying alone. The Circle repeats Thoughts of Wise Men (1903), 10 April, word for word, where Pascal follows it on those who do not know the meaning of their lives. Tolstoy's Talmud came through two Russian anthologies (Gurvich, 1901; «Мировоззрение талмудистов», 1874–76), not online.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Pirkei Avot (Mishnah), 2:16 (Sefaria; 2:21 in Gorfinkle and Taylor).

A saying of Rabbi Tarfon in the Mishnah (Avot is not Gemara, though often called 'Talmud'). Tolstoy keeps the first clause whole but cuts 'faithful is thy Employer' off before 'to pay thee the reward of thy labour', and drops the reward for much Torah study and the reward of the righteous in the world to come, so the sentence no longer promises wages. Gorfinkle (1913) is used for the English; Taylor's 1877/1897 text could not be consulted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, 25b.

The baraita 'Jephthah in his generation is as Samuel in his generation' (honour the leader of your own day) with its prooftext Eccl. 7:10 'say not, the former days were better'; Tolstoy compresses it into a single maxim. No public-domain English translation was consulted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Megillah (parallel Nedarim 40a), Megillah 31b; Nedarim 40a.

R. Simeon b. Eleazar's saying, faithful; Tolstoy glosses 'elders' as 'people made wise by experience' and drops the sign 'Rehoboam son of Solomon'. No public-domain English translation was consulted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Eruvin, 13b.

'Whoever pushes against the hour, the hour pushes him back; whoever yields to the hour, the hour stands by him.' Tolstoy's first sentence is this; the second ('do not resist... whoever goes against circumstances becomes their slave, whoever submits becomes their master') is an expansion not in the Talmud. No public-domain English translation was consulted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot, 63b (Rava's saying; Ben Sira 26:3, 25:25 as quoted; parallel Sanhedrin 100b).

Two sayings from the same page. The first sentence loosely renders Rava's 'Come and see how good a good wife is and how bad a bad wife is'; the second is Ben Sira as the Talmud quotes it ('a good wife is a good gift to her husband ... a bad wife is leprosy to her husband'), with 'leprosy' as 'a malignant sore'. The Talmud goes on 'what is his remedy? let him divorce her', which Tolstoy drops. Taken, with the same wording, from his 1903 anthology, itself drawn from a Russian Talmud anthology not checked.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Avot de-Rabbi Natan (version A), ch. 31.

R. Achai b. Josiah: 'one who buys grain in the market, what is he like? an infant whose mother died, carried from door to door to other wet-nurses, and not satisfied ... one who eats of his own is like an infant raised at its mother's breast'. Faithful to both halves; the middle clause ('one who buys baked bread in the market is as if dug and buried') and the sequel on peace of mind are dropped. In Avot de-Rabbi Natan, a minor tractate printed with the Talmud, not in the Talmud proper. The 1903 text has '(grain) bread'. No public-domain English translation was consulted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot, 63a; Ezekiel 27:29.

R. Eleazar: 'in the future all craftsmen will stand upon the land, as it is said: they shall come down from their ships, all that handle the oar ...'. Faithful. The verse is Ezekiel 27:29: the Circle's reference «Иезекииль 22, 27» is a slip (the 1903 anthology has XXVII, 29). R. Eleazar's next saying, that no occupation is lower than farming, is not quoted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot; Yalkut Shimoni on Proverbs (after Deuteronomy Rabbah 5:2), Berakhot 8a; Yalkut Shimoni, Nach 938.

Two sayings joined. (1) Ulla in Berakhot 8a: 'greater is he who enjoys the fruit of his labour than he who fears Heaven' (with Ps. 112:1 and 128:2 as proof); Tolstoy makes the God-fearing man one who 'prides himself on his fear of God alone', a sharpening not in the Talmud. (2) R. Simeon b. Eleazar on Prov. 6:6 ('go to the ant, thou sluggard'): 'wretched is the man who must learn from the ant; had he learned and done it, he would be wretched still, but he must learn from its ways and has not learned', rendered 'shameful ... doubly shameful'. The second is Midrash, not Talmud. Same wording as Tolstoy's 1903 anthology. No public-domain English of the Yalkut was consulted.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Proverbs (Mishlei), 20:27 (first half); cited in Pesachim 7b and often in the Midrash.

The first half of Proverbs 20:27, 'the soul (neshamah) of man is the lamp of the LORD', faithfully (Tolstoy's 'душа' is closer to neshamah than the usual 'spirit'); the second half, 'searching all the inward parts', is dropped. The Talmud quotes the verse (Pesachim 7b, on searching for leaven by lamplight), and the Midrash often applies it to the soul, which is presumably how it reached a Talmud anthology; the words are the Bible's.

The words shown were found, word for word, in the saved source text. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, 152a (baraita); Mishnah Kinnim 3:6 (R. Simeon b. Akashya).

'Disciples of the sages, the older they grow, the more wisdom is added to them; the ignorant (am ha-arets), the older they grow, the more folly is added.' Tolstoy turns Torah scholars into 'people living a spiritual life' and, in the Circle, the ignorant into 'people living a worldly life' (1903: 'the ignorant'); 'their consciousness grows clearer' is closer to the Mishnah's 'their mind grows more settled' (Kinnim 3:6). The proof texts from Job 12 are dropped.

A likely source, not certain. M. G. Saphir, an aphorism (not located); cf. Ronsard, sonnet 'Je vous envoye un bouquet' (Continuation des Amours, 1555).

No Talmudic source found. In Tolstoy's 1903 anthology the same thought ('“Time passes,” we are used to saying, by a wrong understanding. Time stands; it is you who pass') is signed 'Saphir', i.e. the Viennese humorist Moritz Gottlieb Saphir (1795-1858), himself of Jewish birth, which may explain the later «По Талмуду» ('after the Talmud'). The Circle shortens it ('Time does not exist; it is we who move'). The paradox is Ronsard's ('Time goes, time goes, my lady; alas, not time, but we, we go'), made familiar in English by Austin Dobson's 'The Paradox of Time' (1877). Saphir's German text was not located. Attribution doubtful.

Searched: Sefaria full-text search; web searches for the Russian wording, for Saphir with 'Die Zeit vergeht / steht', and for the English forms; Jubilee vols. 40 and 42.