Leo Tolstoy Quotes

An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person's main task in life - becoming a better person.

Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.

There is no greatness where there is no simplicity... -Leo Tolstoy

There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.

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This quote emphasizes the connection between greatness and fundamental virtues such as simplicity, goodness, and truthfulness. It suggests that genuine greatness is not achieved through complexity, deception, or dishonesty, but through embracing simplicity and embodying positive values.

The two most powerful warriors are patience and ti... -Leo Tolstoy

The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.

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This quote emphasizes the importance of patience and the passage of time in achieving success or overcoming obstacles, even in the context of warfare.

Music is the shorthand of emotion.

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This quote implies that music can succinctly convey and capture a wide range of emotions, serving as a condensed form of emotional expression.

Government is an association of men who do violenc... -Leo Tolstoy

Government is an association of men who do violence to the rest of us.

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This quote presents a critical perspective on government, suggesting that it is a collective of individuals who enforce their authority through the use of coercion or force against the general population.

The greater the state, the more wrong and cruel its patriotism, and the greater is the sum of suffering upon which its power is founded.

The chief difference between words and deeds is that words are always intended for men for their approbation, but deeds can be done only for God.

Even in the valley of the shadow of death, two and... -Leo Tolstoy

Even in the valley of the shadow of death, two and two do not make six.

In all history there is no war which was not hatched by the governments, the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people, to whom war is always pernicious even when successful.

True life is lived when tiny changes occur.

It is amazing how complete is the delusion that be... -Leo Tolstoy

It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.

Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of... -Leo Tolstoy

Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.

Faith is the sense of life, that sense by virtue of which man does not destroy himself, but continues to live on. It is the force whereby we live.

If you want to be happy, be.

All happy families resemble one another, each unha... -Leo Tolstoy

All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

The changes in our life must come from the impossibility to live otherwise than according to the demands of our conscience not from our mental resolution to try a new form of life.

War is so unjust and ugly that all who wage it must try to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves.

If there existed no external means for dimming their consciences, one-half of the men would at once shoot themselves, because to live contrary to one's reason is a most intolerable state, and all men of our time are in such a state.

A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite.

All, everything that I understand, I understand on... -Leo Tolstoy

All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love.

Our body is a machine for living. It is organized for that, it is its nature. Let life go on in it unhindered and let it defend itself.

In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work... -Leo Tolstoy

In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.

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This quote encourages taking a pause from daily activities to observe and appreciate the world around us in the name of God. It suggests a contemplative and reflective approach to life.

Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.

All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do.

The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.

To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind of food that it is very good but that most people can't eat it.

If so many men, so many minds, certainly so many h... -Leo Tolstoy

If so many men, so many minds, certainly so many hearts, so many kinds of love.

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This quote recognizes the diversity and individuality of men's thoughts, perspectives, and emotions, including the various forms and expressions of love.

War on the other hand is such a terrible thing, that no man, especially a Christian man, has the right to assume the responsibility of starting it.

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one ... -Leo Tolstoy

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

Leo Tolstoy Quotes

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