The Three Hermits: Difference between revisions

"The Three Hermits" is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy written in 1885 and first published in 1886. The title refers to its three central characters; unnamed simple monks living on a remote island in a life of prayer and contemplation "for the salvation of their souls."

Plot

A bishop and several pilgrims are travelling on a fishing boat from Archangel to the Solovétsk Monastery. During the voyage, the bishop engages the fishermen in conversation after overhearing them discuss a remote island nearby their course where three old hermits lived a spartan existence focused on seeking "salvation for their souls."

Major themes

Tolstoy explores the nature of prayer by contrasting the simple, faithful but unknowing prayer of the illiterate hermits with the formal, doctrinal prayer of the educated bishop who is critical of the hermits' practice. Tolstoy prefaces this story with a epigraph from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Saint Matthew: "And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him."

External links

• "The Three Hermits" (1886) by Leo Tolstoy