Note 347 — 1898

Arvid Järnefelt. The well-known Finnish writer who held the same opinions as Tolstoi. After graduating from Helsingfors University, he prepared himself for the career of magistrate, but becoming acquainted with the writings of Tolstoi, he brusquely changed his life. He learnt the trade of cobbler and locksmith and later, at the end of the nineties, he bought a plot of land and began to till the soil, not ceasing his literary labours, however. He translated many works of Tolstoi into Finnish. The novels of Järnefelt are My Native Land, Children of the Earth and several stories which are translated into Russian. The acquaintance of Järnefelt with Tolstoi began with his sending his book called My Awakening to Tolstoi in 1895. It was in Finnish, and with it he sent a translation of one of his chapters: “Why I Did Not Undertake the Post of Judge.” This chapter, together with an accompanying letter by Järnefelt, Tolstoi included in his manuscript No. 4, Archives of L. N. Tolstoi.