I have discovered nothing. I have only found out what I knew. I understand the force that in the past gave me life, and now too gives me life. I have been set free from falsity, I have found the Master. Leo Tolstoy More Quotes by Leo Tolstoy More Quotes From Leo Tolstoy If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war. Leo Tolstoy conviction would-be war One ought only to write when one leaves a piece of one's own flesh in the inkpot, each time one dips one's pen. Leo Tolstoy pieces flesh writing it is hard for anyone who is dissatisfied not to blame some one else, and especially the person nearest of all to him, for the ground of his dissatisfaction. Leo Tolstoy hard blame persons The improvement of life was only accomplished to the extent to which it was based on a change of consciousness, that is, to the extent to which the law of violence was replaced in men's consciousness by the law of love. Leo Tolstoy law men culture Life is everything. Life is God. Everything shifts and moves, and this movement is God. And while there is life, there is delight in the self-awareness of the divinity. To love life is to love God. The hardest and most blissful thing is to love this life in one's suffering, in the guiltlessness of suffering. Leo Tolstoy love-life self moving I believe in one, incomprehensible God, the immortality of the soul and eternal retribution for our acts. Leo Tolstoy soul god believe Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Leo Tolstoy happy-family unhappy way Grow spiritually and help others to do so. It is the meaning of life. Leo Tolstoy meaning-of-life helping-others helping People of limited intelligence are fond of talking about "these days," imagining that they have discovered and appraised the peculiarities of "these days" and that human nature changes with the times. Leo Tolstoy human-nature talking people The essence of all slavery consists in taking the product of another's labor by force. It is immaterial whether this force be founded upon ownership of the slave or ownership of the money that he must get to live. Leo Tolstoy slavery freedom essence You will die and it will all be over. You will die and find out everything or cease asking. Leo Tolstoy dies over-you asking He never chooses an opinion; he just wears whatever happens to be in style. Leo Tolstoy style sarcastic literature Rummaging in our souls, we often dig up something that ought to have lain there unnoticed. Leo Tolstoy unnoticed changing-your-life soul But I'm glad you'll see me as I am. Above all, I wouldn't want people to think that I want to prove anything. I don't want to prove anything, I just want to live; to cause no evil to anyone but myself. I have that right, haven't I? Leo Tolstoy evil people thinking It may be suggested by some books that it is not a sin to kill an animal, but it is written in our own hearts - more clearly than in any book - that we should take pity on animals in the same way as we do on humans. Leo Tolstoy heart animal book The artist of the future will live the ordinary life of a human being, earning his living by some kind of labour. He will strive to give the fruit of that supreme spiritual force which passes through him to the greatest number of people, because this conveying of the feelings that have been born in him to the greatest number of people is his joy and his reward. The artist of the future will not even understand how it is possible for an artist, whose joy consists in the widest dissemination of his works, to give these works only in exchange for a certain payment. Leo Tolstoy artist spiritual numbers In a writer there must always be two people - the writer and the critic. Leo Tolstoy critics two people Genuine religion is not about speculating about God or the soul or about what happened in the past or will happen in the future; it cares only about one thing finding out exactly what should or should not be done in this lifetime. Leo Tolstoy done soul past And those who only know the non-platonic love have no need to talk of tragedy. In such love there can be no sort of tragedy. Leo Tolstoy platonic-love tragedy needs The Lord had given them the day and the Lord had given them the strength. And the day and the strength had been dedicated to labor, and the labor was its reward. Who was the labor for? What would be its fruits? These were irrelevant and idle questions. Leo Tolstoy rewards fruit would-be