Thursday, March 7, 2019

33 Leo Tolstoy Insights And Wisdom You Need To Know If You Want To Live A Happier Life

Leo Tolstoy or his Russian full name, Lev Nikolayevich, Graf (count) Tolstoy.

This great Russian novelist of "War And Peace" and "Anna Karenina" fame was also a moral and religious teacher.

Tolstoy (also spelled as Tolstoi) is not only one of the greatest writers, but also popularly known for his work about the search for life’s meaning.

Leo Tolstoy insights and wisdom

This was what English poet and cultural critic Matthew Arnold said about Tolstoy's complex 2-volume novel "Anna Karenina":

"...the truth is we are not to take “Anna Karenin” as a work of art; we are to take it as a piece of life. A piece of life it is."

(Essays In Criticism: Second Series By Arnold Matthew, London: Macmillan And Co., 1888, VIII, Count Leo Tolstoi, p.260)

In the later part of his life, Tolstoy became increasingly interested in a version of pacifist Christianity.

Tolstoy's exposition of pacifism and non-violence Strongly influenced many, including Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi and American Baptist minister and activist Martin Luther King.

Leo Tolstoy Insights And Wisdom About Life And Religion


Let's read through my selected 31 Leo Tolstoy's insights and wisdom about life, patriotism and religion, obtained from his various books.


"Patriotism in its simplest, clearest and most indubitable signification is nothing else but a means of obtaining for the rulers their ambitions and covetous desires..." - Leo Tolstoy

(Patriotism And Christianity: To Which Is Appended "A Reply To Criticisms" Of The Work And "Patriotism, Or Peace?". A Letter Called Forth By The Venezuelan Dispute Between England And The United States, By Leo Tolstoy, London: Walter Scott, Ltd., 1896, XIV, p.39-40)

(The quote is also found here.)

(The second part is found here.)



"Those who are ignorant and are devoted to the religious rites only, are in a deep gloom, but those who are given up to fruitless meditations are in a still greater darkness." - Leo Tolstoy

(A Letter To A Hindu By Leo Tolstoy, Introduction By M. K. Gandhi, Sent to Tarak Nath Das, an Indian revolutionary, 1908, VII)

(The quote is also found in: A Letter To A Hindu By Leo Tolstoy, Xist Publishing, 2016, VII)



"Religion has provided a conception of life, and science travels in the beaten path. Religion reveals the meaning of life, and science only applies this meaning to the course of circumstances." - Leo Tolstoy

(My Religion By Count Leo Tolstoi, Translated From The French By Huntington Smith, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., 1885, Ch. VII, p.121)

(The quote is also found in: My Religion Translated From The French By Huntington Smith, Auckland, New Zealand: The Floating Press, 2014, Ch. VII, p.105)



"...art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced." - Leo Tolstoy

(Tolstoy On Art, Translated By Alymer Maude, Humphrey Milford, London: Oxford University Press, 1924, Ch. XIII, What Is Art? (1898), p.316)

(The quote is also found in: What Is Art? By Leo N. Tolstoy, Translated From The Russian Original By Aylmer Maude, Introduction By Vincent Tomas, Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company Inc., 1996, Ch. Nineteen, p.176)



“Reasoning knowledge brought me to the conclusion that life was meaningless...” - Leo Tolstoy

(My Confession, My Religion, The Gospel In Brief By Leo Tolstoy, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1899, My Religion, Ch. IX, p.44)

(The quote is also found here.)



"If there were no temptations, the world would be happy. The world is unhappy by them." - Leo Tolstoy

(My Confession, My Religion, The Gospel In Brief By Leo Tolstoy, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1899, My Religion, Ch. IX, Temptations, p.438)

(The quote is also found here.)



"One of the first and most generally acknowledged conditions of happiness is a life in which the link between man and nature shall not be severed.” - Leo Tolstoy

(My Confession, My religion, The Gospel In Brief By Leo Tolstoy, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1899, My Religion, p.220)

(The quote is also found here.)



"To get rid of an enemy, one must love him." - Leo Tolstoy

(The Journal of Leo Tolstoi: First Volume:1895-1899, Translated From The Russian By Rose Strunsky, New York: Alfred .A. Knopf, 1917, 1896, Sept 14, Y. P., p.71)

(The quote is also found in: The Journal Of Leo Tolstoi 1895~1899 (Abridged) By Leo Tolstoy, Translated From The Russian By Rose Strunsky, Big Byte Books, 1917, 1896, Sept 14, Y.P.)



"Error is the force that welds men together; truth is communicated to men only by deeds of truth." - Leo Tolstoy

(My Confession, My Religion, The Gospel In Brief By Leo Tolstoy, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1899, My Religion, Ch. XII, p.278)

(The quote is also found here.)



“Thought: To think you can change your life by changing its outward conditions is just like thinking, as I did as a boy, that by sitting on a stick and taking hold of it at both ends I could lift myself up.” - Leo Tolstoy

(Tolstoy's Diaries: 1847-1894 Volume 1, By Leo Tolstoy, Edited And Translated By Reginald Frank Christian, London: Flamingo, 1994, Today, 15 January, Yasnaya Polyana, p.254)

(The second part of the quote is found here.)



"...everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself." - Leo Tolstoy

(Some Social Remedies: Socialism, Anarchy, Henry Georgism And The Land Quesstion, Communism, Etc. By Leo Tolstoy, The Free Age Press, Christchurch, Hants, 1900, Three Methods Of Reform (From The Private MS Diary), p.29)

(This quote is also found in: Pamphlets. Translated From The Russian, By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By A. MaudeChrist, church, Hants, U.K: Free Age Press, 1900, Three Methods Of Reform (From The Private MS Diary), p.71)

(Another source of the quote is found here.)



"There can be only one permanent revolution - a moral one; the regeneration of the inner man." - Leo Tolstoy

(Some Social Remedies: Socialism, Anarchy, Henry Georgism And The Land Question, Communism, Etc. By Leo Tolstoy, The Free Age Press, Christchurch, Hants, 1900, Three Methods Of Reform (From The Private MS Diary), p.29)

(This quote is also found in: Pamphlets By Leo Tolstoy, Translated From The Russian By Aylmer Maude, Christchurch, Hants, U.K: Free Age Press, 1900, Three Methods Of Reform (From The Private MS Diary), p.71)

(The second part of the quote here.)

(Another source of the quote is found here.)



"All we can know is that we know nothing. And that's the height of human wisdom." - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Five: 1806-07, Ch. I, p.195)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, Edited With An Introduction And Notes By Henry Gifford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, Book Two, Part Two, p.368)



"...there is nothing stronger than those two: patience and time..." - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Ten, Ch. XVI, p.425)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, Edited With An Introduction And Notes By Henry Gifford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, Book Three, Ch. 16, p.798)



“A king is history slave.” - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Nine: 1812, Ch. I, p.343)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, With Introduction By Henry And Olga Claridge, Wordsworth Classics, 1993, Book Nine, Ch. I, p.479)



"To love life is to love God." - Leo Tolstoy
(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Fourteen: 1812, Ch. XV, p.608)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, Edited With An Introduction And Notes By Henry Gifford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, Book Four, Ch. 15, p.1137)



"...there is no greatness there where simplicity, goodness, and truth are absent" - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Fourteen: 1812, Ch. XVIII, p.611)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, Edited With An Introduction And Notes By Henry Gifford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, Book Four, Ch. 18, p.1144)



"There are two sides to the life of every man, his individual life, which is the more free the more abstract its interests, and his elemental hive life in which he inevitably obeys laws laid down for him." - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Nine: 1812, Ch. I, p.343)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace Volume I By Leo Tolstoi, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany: Outlook Verlag, 2018, Ch. I, p.924)



“If no one fought except on his own conviction, there would be no wars." - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book One: 1812, Ch. VI, p.12)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace Volume I By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, With Introduction By Henry And Olga Claridge, Wordsworth Classics, 1993, Book One, Ch. 6, p.19)



“If there were no suffering, man would not know his limitations, would not know himself.” - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Eleven: 1812, Ch. IX, p.481-82)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise Shanks Maude & Aylmer Maude, Simon and Schuster, 1942, Book Eleven: 1812, Ch. IX, p.941)



"It is known that man has the faculty of becoming completely absorbed in a subject however trivial it may be. And it is known there is no subject so trivial that it will not grow to infinite proportions if one's entire attention is devoted to it" - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, First Epiloque: 1813-20, Ch. X, p.660)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace, Volume 1 Complete & Unabridged By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, With An Introduction By Aylmer Maude, Collector's Library, 2004, First Epiloque, Ch. 10, p.440)



"...there are only two sources of human vice - idleness and superstition, and only two virtues - activity and intelligence.” - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book One: 1805, Ch. XXV, p.47)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace, Volume 1 Complete & Unabridged By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, With An Introduction By Aylmer Maude, Collector's Library, 2004, Book 1, Ch. 25, p.126)



"Love hinders death. Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love." - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Twelve: 1812, Ch. XVI, p.561)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace, Volume 1 Complete & Unabridged By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, With An Introduction By Aylmer Maude, Collector's Library, 2004, Book 12, Ch. 15, p.219)



"Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly." - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Four: 1806, Ch. XI, p.185)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, Introduction By Henry And Olgo Claridge, Wordsworth Classics, 1993, Book Four, Ch. 11, p.257)



"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love." - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Twelve: 1812, Ch. XVI, p.561)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace, Volume 1 Complete & Unabridged By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, With An Introduction By Aylmer Maude, Collector's Library, 2004, Book 12, Ch. 16, p.219)



"Man lives consciously for himself, but is an unconscious instrument in the attainment of the historic, universal, aims of humanity." - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Nine: 1812, Ch. I, p.343)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace Volume I By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, With Introduction By Henry And Olga Claridge, Wordsworth Classics, 1993, Book Nine, Ch. 1, p.479)



"...pure and complete sorrow is as impossible as pure and complete joy." - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book Fifteen: 1812-13, Ch. I, p.614)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace - Complete 15 Volume Edition, Including The Biography & Memoirs Of The Author By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, Edited With An Introduction And Notes By Henry Gifford, Musaicum Books, 2017, Book Fifteen: 1812-13, Ch. 1)



"...most friendly and simplest relations of life, praise and commendation are essential, just as grease is necessary to wheels that they may run smoothly." - Leo Tolstoy

(War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, William Benton, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1952, Book One: 1805, Ch. VIII, p.15)

(The quote is also found in: War And Peace By Leo Tolstoy, Translated By Louise And Aylmer Maude, Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., 2016, Book One: 1805, Ch. VIII, p.27)



“The hero of my tale, whom I love with all the strength of my soul, whom I have tried to set forth in all his beauty, and who has always been, is, and always will be most beautiful, is - the truth.". - Leo Tolstoy

(Sevastopol By Count Lyof N. Tolstoi, Translated From The Russian By Isabel F. Hapgood, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., 1888, Sevastopol In May 1855, XVI, p.122)

(The quote is also found in: The Works Of Lyof N. Tolstoi, Volume 4, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., 1899, Sevastopol In May 1855, XVI, p.268)



"There are many faiths, but the spirit is one..." - Leo Tolstoy

(Resurrection By Lyof N. Tolstoi, Translated By Louise Maude, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, 1899, Book I, Ch. LIX, Nekhludoff's Third Interview With Maslova In Prison, p.239)

(The quote is also found in: Resurrection By Leo Tolstoy, Xist Publishing, 2015, Ch. LIX, Nekhludoff's Third Interview With Maslova In Prison)



“One may deal with things without love...but you cannot deal with men without it...It cannot be otherwise, because natural love is the fundamental law of human life.” - Leo Tolstoy

(Resurrection By Lyof N. Tolstoi, Translated By Louise Maude, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, 1899, Book I, Ch. XL, The Fundamental Law Of Human Life, p.154)

(The quote is also found in: The Awakening Resurrection By Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Volume 2 Of 2, ReadHowYouWant.com, 2007, Book I, Ch.XL, The Fundamental Law Of Human Life, p.245)



"Every man carries in himself the germs of every human quality, and sometimes one manifests itself, sometimes another, and the man often becomes unlike himself, while still remaining the same man.” - Leo Tolstoy

(Patriotism And Christianity: To Which Is Appended "A Reply To Criticisms" Of The Work And "Patriotism, Or Peace?(Resurrection By Lyof N. Tolstoi, Translated By Louise Maude, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, 1899, Book I, Ch. LIX, Nekhludoff's Third Interview With Maslova In Prison, p.234-35)

(The quote is also found in: The Awakening Resurrection By Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Volume 2 of 2, ReadHowYouWant.com, 2007, Book I, Ch. LIX, The Fundamental Law Of Human Life, p.375)



Note: You can find a good list of Leo Tolstoy's literary works over here.