Pahom, the Russian peasant, is the protagonist of Tolstoy’s short story, which could be compared to the myths of ancient civilizations like the Greeks and Egyptians—one of the most brilliant tales I have ever read.
The title of the story is shown above. I would like to repeat it to remind myself of its beautiful, wise and meaningful conclusion to ever remembered and taking it as a meaning of wisdom.
Tolstoy begins his story with reflection of his personal life; farming his small piece of land. Overhearing a debate conversation between his wife and her sister. He states that if he had enough land, he wouldn’t fear the Devil. The Devil overhears this and decides to test him.
The opportunity for Pahom to acquire land arrives when an elder lady decides to sell her land. He buys some, but quickly falls out of favor, when he compared what he has with what his neighbors’ got. Out of competing with an evil spirit, he felt it is necessary to move forward and take action. In his quest to attain more and more land by envying the upper ranks and desire to be the number one on the top of his surrounding neighbor, Pahom doesn’t know of this ever asking challenge, buying small parcels of lands and adding to what he gets.
He was fed up and when he was thinking of more practical solution, of more practical solution, when an agent of a nearby county told him that a group of people, kind of coop. are selling their vast chunk of excellent land at extremely cheap price, and afterward, he can acquire much more land for free as a bonus, with one condition. He shall start walking at sunrise and the whole periphery he will make by sunset of the same day will be his, otherwise, the land and money will all be forfeited.
Pahom believes that he can run instead of walking 35 miles miles of perimeter in a day. Be starts his day by dreaming of the fortune he will make. He forgot himself and he continue walking a bit and running another in order to grab as much as he could, to fulfill his greed.
Completely exhausted and trailing himself, with the hot sun, sweating and swelling, but stubborn, he suddenly fell dead before even attaining the sunset. And here the Devil appears in front of his dead body telling him:
You, Pahom, missed the point. All a man needs of land is a spot of 2 feet by 5 feet, to be buried underneath.
PEACE ON EARTH
علي الارض السلام وفي الناس المسرة
PAIX SUR TERRE
FRIEDEN AUF ERDEN
PACE SULLA TERRA
PAZ EN LA TIERRA
VREDE OP AARDE
পৃথিবীতে শান্তি