1,507 Quotes by Leo Tolstoy

On the contrary one must try to make one's life as pleasant as possible. I'm alive, that's not my fault, so I must live out my live the best I can, without hurting others.

The terrible thing is that it's impossible to tear the past out by the roots.

Questions about her feelings, about what has been or might be going on in her soul are non of my business; they are the business of her conscience and belong to religion.

Spiritual activity, education, civilization, culture, the idea are all vague, indefinite concepts, under the banner of which it is quite convenient to use words that have a still less clear meaning and therefore can easily be plugged into any theory.

I realized that even if all the people in the world from the day of creation found this to be necessary according to whatever theory, I knew that it was not necessary and that it was wrong. Therefore, my judgements must be based on what is right and necessary and not on what people say and do; I must judge not according to progress but according to my own heart.

Deliberately she shrouded the light in her eyes, but it shone against her will in the faintly perceptible smile.

- The aim of civilization is to enable us to get enjoyment out of everything.- Well, if that is its aim, I'd rather be a savage.

...but the further the illness progressed the more dubious and preposterous his notions of a kidney became, and the more realistic was his awareness of impending death

Just fancy! One can hear and see the grass growing,' thought Levin, as he noticed wet slate-coloured aspen leaf move close to the point of a blade of grass.