1896 г. Сентября 30. Я. П.
Dear Konissi,
I was very glad to make the acquaintance of Toku-Tomi and his fellow traveller.1 They seemed to me to be intelligent people and free in their outlook. I was most pleased to know,2 that your views on orthodoxy have changed. It always seemed strange and incredible to me, that such a thoughtful and non-superstitious people as the Japanese could accept and believe all those absurd dogmas, having nothing in common with Christian truth, which constitute the substance of ecclesiastic Christianity, both of Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Lutheranism. On the contrary, I always thought, that the people both of Japan and China could not escape to accept true Christianity, which alone has the answer to those questions of life, that now face all men and call for a solution, which neither Buddhism nor Confucianism can give.
All the great teachers of humanity have at all time preached the brotherhood of men, but it is Christianity alone, which points out the way, whereby this can be attained. You have translated my works, such as «the Kreuzer Sonata» etc., but I very much wish to make the Japanese public familiar with true Christianity, as I think its founder conceived it. This, as far as I could, I expounded in my book: «The kingdom of god is within you». I think, these books or, at least, an exposition of their contents might be of interest to the Japanese people and might show them, that Christianity is not a collection of miracle narratives, but a very srtict exposition of that idea of human life, which gives wise neither to despair, nor to indifference about ones conduct, but which leads to a most definite moral activity. I advised your friends to order from Geneva those books, which you would like to have.
But if you wish it, I will myself send you for translation the book, on which I am now engaged.
As far, as I have been able to make it, it contains the most condensed and precise exposition of the Christian teaching. I gave Toku-Tomi some articles3 to be sent to you. If these will prove
