It was chiefly due to the influence of two peasants, named Sutayeff and Bondareff, that Tolstoy decided by a path of religious reasoning to abandon "parasitical existence,"-that is, to sacrifice all prerogatives of his wealth and station and to share the life of the lowly.
"Prophets of Dissent Essays on Maeterlinck, Strindberg, Nietzsche and Tolstoy"
Otto Heller
When the little Soubise was grown up, his Majesty signified to the mother that this young man must enter the Church, not wishing to suffer the formation of a parasitical branch amongst the Rohans, which would have participated, without any right, in the legitimate sap.
"The Memoirs of Madame de Montespan, Volume VI. Being the Historic Memoirs of the Court of Louis XIV."
Madame La Marquise De Montespan
The senior members were able to make full use of the long vacation, spending it at health resorts or in the country, but the incomes of the young shoots of the great parasitical profession did not permit them to enjoy more than a brief holiday out of town.
"The Hampstead Mystery"
John R. Watson