the philosopher Nikolai Berdiaev wrote : "Bread
for one's self is a material category; bread for my neighbors is a spiritual
one."
where does this quotation come from ?

ticha --

This quotation is found in "The Origin Of Communism," by Nicolas
Berdyaev, University of Michigan Press (1960) (Berdyaev's last name is
variously spelled Berdiaev and Berdyayev.  His first name is generally
spelled Nicolai.)   This work was originally published in 1937 by
Geoffrey Bles, and the translation from the Russian was done by R. M.
French.  The quote is on page 185 in the chapter entitled "Communism
and Christianity," and reads as follows:

"The question of bread for myself is a material question, but the
question of bread for my neighbours, for everybody, is a spiritual and
a religious question."

Used copies of this paperback edition, as well as earlier hardcover
editions, are available from various booksellers:
Abebooks.com
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BookSearch?ph=2&tn=origin+of+russian+communism&bsi=30

A comprehensive website devoted to Berdyaev includes links to
biographical material, his bibliography, quotes (but not this one!),
links to other related material and much more:
Chebucto Community Net: Nikolai Berdyaev
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Sui-Generis/Berdyaev/index.htm


Search Strategy:

In doing this research, I found that there are at least 150 online
references to various versions of the Berdyaev quotation but curiously
almost no citations to a written source.  I found only two such
citations.  Here is a link to the one page I found that contained the
reference to the book, "The Origin Of Communism" (see the heading "An
Unselfish Prayer," about halfway down the page):
Christians.org: Our Father 
http://www.christians.org/prayer/lordsprayer.htm

The only other citation I found was oddly similar, but seemed to be
referring to a  periodical publication, called "The Origin of
Communism Today," Vol. 51, No 10.  I found no other online references
to such a publication.  Here is that citation (at the bottom of the
linked page):
Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky 
http://www.charactercincinnati.org/Faith/Qualities/benevolence/thefight.htm

In order to confirm the single on-line source for the book citation, I
located a copy of "The Origin of Communism" at a local library and
found the language while scanning the book.

Google Search Terms:

berdiaev OR berdyayev OR berdyaev bread material spiritual
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=berdiaev+OR+Berdyayev+OR+berdyaev+bread+material+spiritual+%

"origin of russian communism"
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=%22origin+of+russian+communism%22

"origin of russian communism today"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22origin+of+russian+communism+today%22

berdiaev OR berdyayev OR berdyaev bread material spiritual  "the
origin of russian communism"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=berdiaev+OR+berdyayev+OR+berdyaev+bread+material+spiritual+%22Origin+of+Russian+Communism%22


This was a fascination question to research. and it has prompted me to
refresh my knowledge of Russian history.

If any of the information is unclear, or if any of the links don't
function, please post a clarification request before rating this
answer.

markj-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by ticha-ga on 27 Feb 2003 21:40 PST

Thank you to the researcher; your answer helps me  lot
 but I could need a further information.....
Thank you to the researcher; your answer helps me  lot
 but I could need a further information.....

Can you find the Berdiaev quotation translated in French and in 
German ?

Do you knov whether the book "origin of Communism" has been 
translated into Greek ?

I am greedy, am I not ?
Best regards,
Marina Troyanov

---

Request for Answer Clarification by ticha-ga on 27 Feb 2003 21:54 PST

Thank you to the researcher; your answer helps me  lot
 but I could need a further information.....

Can you find the Berdiaev quotation translated in French and in 
German ?

Do you knov whether the book "origin of Communism" has been 
translated into Greek ?

I am greedy, am I not ?
Best regards,
Marina Troyanov

---

Clarification of Answer by markj-ga on 28 Feb 2003 06:16 PST

ticha --

Thanks very much for your five-star rating and the generous tip.  I
enjoyed working on your question.

With regard to your new request for information, I have found some,
but not all, of the material you requested:

1.  Here is a German translation of the quotation:
"Die Sorge um mein tägliches Brot ist eine materielle Frage. Die Sorge
um das Brot meines Nächsten ist eine geistliche Frage."
Andacht (see the box at the bottom of this linked page)
http://www.evangelische-kirchenzeitung.de/200040/andacht.htm

I found this translation using the following Google search terms:
berdiajew OR berdjajew frage brot
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=berdiajew+OR+berdjajew+frage+brot

Several other very similar German translations of the quotation can be
found in the results returned by using those search terms (see the
above link).

2.  Copies of German translations of the book, "The Origin of Russian
Communism," that are available for sale online can be found at this
linked page:
Bookfinder.com: German
http://www.bookfinder.com/german/search/?author=berdiajew&title=Sinn+Und+Schicksal&submit=Begin+Search&new_used=*&currency=USD&mode=basic&st=sr&ac=qr

3.  I have not been able to find a French translation of the quotation
online after trying many various combinations of search terms.  I do
not speak French, so it is possible that I have not hit upon the right
search term(s) or their correct grammatical form. It is also possible
that the quotation in question is not cited in France as often as it
is in the U.S. and Germany (I also found a Dutch translation).  I will
keep trying and post a further clarification if I find a French
translation.

In case you are interested, here is a link to a list of copies of
French translations of the book, "The Origin of Communism," that are
available for sale online:
Bookfinder.com: French
http://www.bookfinder.com/french/search/?author=&title=%22Les+Sources+et+le+sens%22&submit=Begin+Search&new_used=*&binding=*&isbn=&keywords=&minprice=&maxprice=&currency=USD&mode=advanced&st=sr&ac=qr

4.  Finally, I have not been able to determine whether there is a
published Greek translation of "The Origin of Russian Communism." 
This search was complicated, of course, by the different alphabets
involved.  I did find a forum on "Yahoo! Groups" that is devoted to
Berdiaev, and I have posted a question there about the existence of a
Greek translation.  I will post any helpful responses that I receive.


markj-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by ticha-ga on 28 Feb 2003 12:08 PST

Thank you for the German quotation !
Thank you for the link to find the French book "The origin of communism"
I looked in the bookshops here in Geneva but without success !

I  finally found he French quotation  which is the following:

"Si mon pain est un problème maatériel, celui de mon prochain est une question
spirituelle"

I enjoy our collaboration, thank you
Marina Troyanov

---

Clarification of Answer by markj-ga on 28 Feb 2003 13:32 PST

And thank *you* very much.  I too enjoyed our collaboration.

markj-ga