ISAIAH BERLIN
19
youthful revolutionaries and sympathizes with their ideals and way of
life; he does his best to become one of them, but cannot do it. Towards
the end he says, "I couldn't simplify myself," and commits suicide.
Tolstoy could not simplify himself. He did try very hard. His
daughters in their memoirs will all tell you that he succeeded , and
perhaps some of his grandchildren will too. His sons are more
cautious about this.
It
does not seem plausible to me. There was a
deep inner conflict, never resolved despite all appearances and
words and writings , between the personality and the convictions;
and of course , since he was one of the most intelligent human
beings who ever lived, he knew this and suffered terribly.
Krauze:
This is tragic for a populist. There finally could be, and
should be-as Chernyshevsky, I think, thought-some ways to
make a translation of the high science and technology of the West
into parochial terms ; this is what we ought to seek in Latin
America... . Do you know any countries in Latin America?
Berlin:
No, only Mexico . I only went to Mexico once .
It
was at the
end of the last war and I went from Washington. I went because I
felt
ill
and I was invited to recuperate in Cuernavaca, in the house
of the American ambassador, Dwight Morrow, who was long
dead by this time-but his family had a house there. And one of
the sons-in-law invited me to stay and I stayed for about ten days .
But I realized that Cuernavaca was not Mexico. And I only
stayed in Mexico City for about two days, so I can't tell . . ..
Krauze:
What about people? Which have been the people that you
spontaneously recall as having made some strong personal
impression on you?
Berlin:
That's a very difficult question to answer. When you say a
strong personal impression, do you mean people who have made
an impact on me and in some way changed my way of thinking or
way of living? That I would find difficult to answer. You just
mean people by whom I was impressed?
Krauze:
Yes.
Berlin:
Oh , I am impressed by anyone of personal genius. I have the
greatest possible respect for gifted individuals . I am inclined to
hero worship. And if I meet a person of genius I am always happy,
a little frightened, and deeply impressed. I was impressed by
Bertrand Russell; I was impressed by Freud , whom I met in
London in the last year of his life.
Krauze:
Have you written anything about this encounter with Freud?
