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 strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.
The greatest untruth is that there are governments which can make people happy.
To be good and to be happy are one and the same.
The only absolute knowledge is the knowledge that you know nothing.
The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.
What is art? Art is a human activity having for its purpose the transmission to others of the highest and best feelings to which men have risen.
All that is good in me is love, all that is bad in me is selfishness.
The only way to live is to love.
The highest good is to be good.
The most important knowledge is that which teaches us how to live.
The most difficult thing is to be yourself.
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
The only way to have a friend is to be one.
The only true happiness is to live for others.
The only true wealth is health.
The only true beauty is inner beauty.
The only true freedom is freedom from sin.
The only true religion is love.
The only true wisdom is in knowing what you don't know.
The only true knowledge is that which is useful.
Contemporaries of Leo Tolstoy
Other Literatures born within 50 years of Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910).