A Confession - an essay by Leo Tolstoy on his religious thoughts - shows the great author in process of looking for answers to profound questions that trouble all who take them on: 'What will come of my life?' and 'What is the meaning of life?'.
In the course of this essay, Tolstoy attempts to find answers to the greatest questions of philosophy through science, philosophy, eastern wisdom, and the opinions of his fellow novelists. Finding no workable solution in any of these, Tolstoy recognizes the deep religious convictions of ordinary people as containing the key to true answers. The first attempt at its publication took place in 1882, but Tolstoy's work was removed from the journal by the Orthodox Church. The text was later published in Geneva in 1884 and in Russia as late as 1906.