Leo Tolstoy
Author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina
Most quoted
"One of the most widespread superstitions is that every man has his own special, definite qualities: that he is kind, cruel, wise, stupid, energetic, apathetic, etc. Men are not like that... men are like rivers: the water is the same in each, and alike in all; but every river is narrow here, is more rapid there, here slower, there broader, now clear, now cold, now dull, now warm. It is the same with men."
— from War and Peace, 1869
"A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor — such is my idea of happiness."
— from Family Happiness, 1878
"The anarchists are right in everything; in the negation of the existing order, and in the idea of a state of society based on freedom and equality, in the idea of a future social order; only they are on the wrong track in believing that this state of society can be brought about by violence."
— from Letter to a Non-Commissioned Officer, 1900
All quotes by Leo Tolstoy (276)
The most important time is always the present. The most important person is always the one you are with. The most important thing is always to do good.
Man's life is a struggle for existence, and the struggle is against himself.
The only way to be truly happy is to live for others.
The essence of all religions is the same: love and compassion.
To understand everything is to forgive everything.
The highest good is to live in harmony with nature.
The purpose of life is to do good, to love, and to be loved.
The greatest joy is to give without expecting anything in return.
The only thing that matters in life is love.
The only way to find peace is to forgive.
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
The greatest happiness is to be content with what you have.
The only way to be free is to be yourself.
The greatest power is love.
The Christian teaching, in its true meaning, abolishes the state.
The highest wisdom has but one science—the science of the whole of creation and the knowledge of God.
The rich are willing to do anything for the poor but get off their backs.
The business of art is to infect others with the feeling the artist has experienced.
The state is a conspiracy designed not only to exploit, but above all to corrupt its citizens.
The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love.
Contemporaries of Leo Tolstoy
Other Literatures born within 50 years of Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910).