He was right in saying that the only certain happiness in life is to live for others. Leo Tolstoy More Quotes by Leo Tolstoy More Quotes From Leo Tolstoy In our age the common religious perception of men is the consciousness of the brotherhood of man - we know that the well-being of man lies in the union with his fellow men. True science should indicate the various methods of applying this consciousness to life. Art should transform this perception into feeling. Leo Tolstoy religious lying art Man has received direct from God only one instrument wherewith to know himself and to know his relation to the universe--he has no other--and that instrument is reason. Leo Tolstoy reason relation men Loving the same man or woman all your life, why, that's like supposing the same candle could last you all your life Leo Tolstoy loving-life lasts men How interesting it would be to write the story of the experiences in this life of a man who killed himself in his previous life; how he stumbles against the very demands which had offered themselves before, until he arrives at the realization that he must fulfill those demands. The deeds of the preceding life give direction to the present life. Leo Tolstoy suicidal suicide writing When you feel the desire for power, you should stay in solitude for some time Leo Tolstoy solitude desire inspirational By digging into our souls, we often dig up what might better have remained there unnoticed." Alexis Alexandrovich Leo Tolstoy digging soul might Instead of going to Paris to attend lectures, go to the public library, and you won't come out for twenty years, if you really wish to learn. Leo Tolstoy paris book years If patriotism is good, then Christianity, which gives peace, is an idle dream, and the sooner this teaching is eradicated, the better. But if Christianity really gives peace, and if we really want peace, then patriotism is a leftover from barbarous times, which must not only not be evoked and taught, as we now do, but which must be eradicated by all means of preaching, persuasion, contempt, and ridicule. If Christianity is the truth, and if we wish to live in peace, then we must not only have no sympathy for the power of our country, but must even rejoice in its weakening and contribute to it. Leo Tolstoy teaching dream country What is bad? What is good? What should one love, what hate? Why live, and what am I? What is lie,what is death? What power rules over everything?" he asked himself. And there was no answer to any of these questions except one, which was not logical and was not at all an answer to these questions. This answer was: "You will die--and everything will end. You will die and learn everything--or stop asking. Leo Tolstoy hate asking lying Just as a painter needs light in order to put the finishing touches to his picture, so I need an inner light, which I feel I never have enough of in the autumn. Leo Tolstoy autumn light fall The possibility of killing one's self is a safety valve. Having it, man has no right to say life is unbearable. Leo Tolstoy self men death A wound in the soul, coming from the rending of the spiritual body, strange as it may seem, gradually closes like a physical wound. And once a deep wound heals over and the edges seem to have knit, a wound in the soul, like a physical wound, can be healed only by the force of life pushing up from inside. This was the way Natasha's wound healed. She thought her life was over. But suddenly her love for her mother showed her that the essence of life - love - was still alive in her. Love awoke, and life awoke. Leo Tolstoy love-life spiritual mother Loving with human love, one may pass from love to hatred; but divine love cannot change. Nothing, not even death, can shatter it. It is all the very nature of the soul. Love is life. All, all that I understand, I understand only because of love. All is bound up in love alone. Love is God and dying means for me a particle of love, to go back to the universal and eternal source of love. Leo Tolstoy hatred love mean excuse me' he added, taking the opera glasses out of her hands and looking over her bare shoulder at the row of boxes opposite, 'i'm afraid i'm becoming ridiculous Leo Tolstoy glasses opposites hands … for nightinggales - we know - can’t live on fairytales. Leo Tolstoy fairytale knows Like all mad men, I thought everyone was mad except myself. Leo Tolstoy mad-men mad men War is not a polite recreation but the vilest thing in life, and we ought to understand that and not play at war. Leo Tolstoy things-in-life play war Himmlisch ist's wenn ich bezwungen Meine irdische Begier; Aber doch wenn's nich gelungen Hatt' ich auch recht huebsch Plaisir! Loosely translated: It is heavenly, when I overcome My earthly desires But nevertheless, when I'm not successful, It can also be quite pleasurable. Leo Tolstoy successful overcoming desire There is nothing more harmful to you than improving only your material, animal side of life. There is nothing more beneficial, both for you and for others, than activity directed to the improvement of your soul. Leo Tolstoy soul sides animal Christian love comes from the understanding that there is a unity of divine origins in oneself and in other people, and not only in people, but in all living things. Leo Tolstoy christian life people