Leo Tolstoy is a Russian author and is considered one of the greatest of all time. He is known for his realist fiction novels ‘War and Peach’ and ‘Anna Karenina’ written in the mid to late 19th century.
In addition, he wrote a plays, and a number of philosophical essays as well as some semi-autobiographies.
Here are some of Leo Tolstoy’s Quotes:
22 Inspirational Leo Tolstoy Quotes:
1. “There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.” – Leo Tolstoy
2. “We lost because we told ourselves we lost.” – Leo Tolstoy
3. “And all people live, Not by reason of any care they have for themselves, But by the love for them that is in other people.” – Leo Tolstoy
4. “One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken.” – Leo Tolstoy
5. “Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.” – Leo Tolstoy
6. “Boredom: the desire for desires.” – Leo Tolstoy
7. “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.” – Leo Tolstoy
8. “I sit on a man’s back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means – except by getting off his back.” – Leo Tolstoy
9. “If you want to be happy, be.” – Leo Tolstoy
10. “All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love.” – Leo Tolstoy
11. “Without knowing what I am and why I am here, life is impossible.” – Leo Tolstoy
12. “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.” – Leo Tolstoy
13. “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” – Leo Tolstoy
14. “All happy families resemble one another; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – Leo Tolstoy
15th Leo Tolstoy Quote – “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.” – Leo Tolstoy
16. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
17. “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.” – Leo Tolstoy
18. “True life is lived when tiny changes occur.” – Leo Tolstoy
19. “A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator the smaller the fraction.” – Leo Tolstoy
20. “The only thing that we know is that we know nothing and that is the highest flight of human wisdom.” – Leo Tolstoy
21. “Some mathematician said: ‘Pleasure lies not in discovering truth, but in seeking it.'” – Leo Tolstoy
22. “The most important knowledge is that which guides the way you lead your life.” – Leo Tolstoy
“The only thing that we know is that we know nothing and that is the highest flight of human wisdom.” It’s my favorite. I also can’t say that I enjoyed ‘War and Peace’, but I am going to read this book again and we’ll see.
All,everything I understand, I understand only because I love.
We lost because we told ourselves we lost.
Cannot say I enjoyed ‘War and Peace’ that much, most likely because I was too young for that kind of read those times, but Leo Tolstoy is such a huge figure and great person in the world literature. I know he was a vegan as well, which is, considered those times, awesome.
Favourite quotes: ‘Boredom: the desire for desires’ – love this one, exactly me on my boredom days..
‘One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken’ – how true this is, nowadays is even more actual.
Great man! Thank you for article, Jesse, appreciate your work & research.