History of the Russian State, Vol. 9

A.D. 1560 — 1561.

— chastity, and while awaiting a new spouse for eternal, singular love, he sought temporary objects to satisfy his coarse, sensual desires original: "(28)". A flimsy, transparent veil of secrecy did not hide the weaknesses of the Crowned One: people asked each other in astonishment, by what ruinous inspiration could the Sovereign, hitherto an example of temperance and purity of soul, sink to such debauchery?

This evil, undoubtedly great, produced one even more terrible. The libertines, pointing out the sorrowful faces of important Boyars high-ranking aristocrats to the Tsar, whispered: "Behold your ill-wishers! Contrary to the oath they have taken, they live by the custom of Adashev a reference to Alexey Adashev, a former trusted advisor, sow harmful rumors, agitate minds, and desire their former self-will" original: "(29)". Such poisonous slanders inflamed Ivan’s heart, already restless in the feeling of his own vices; his gaze grew clouded; formidable words erupted from his lips. Accusing the Boyars of evil intentions, of treachery, and of stubborn attachment to the hateful memory of alleged traitors, he decided to be strict, and became a tormentor, the like of which we will hardly find even in the chronicles of Tacitus Roman historian known for chronicling the tyranny of Emperors! . . . . . His soul, once loving of goodness, did not, of course, grow savage all at once: the progress of good and evil is gradual; but the chroniclers could not penetrate its interior; they could not see the struggle within it