Sublime
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In Nekhludoff, as in all people, there were two beings; one spiritual, who sought only such happiness for himself as also benefited others; and the animal being, seeking his own happiness for the sake of which he is willing to sacrifice that of the world.
Graf Leo Tolstoy • The Awakening The Resurrection
The improvement of man can be measured by the level of his inner freedom. The more a person becomes free from his personality, the more freedom he has.
Leo Tolstoy • A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul, Written and Se
in the third month of Ivan Ilych's illness, his wife, his daughter, his son, his acquaintances, the doctors, the servants, and above all he himself, were aware that the whole interest he had for other people was whether he would soon vacate his place, and at last release the living from the discomfort caused by his presence and be himself released
... See moreLeo Tolstoy • The Death of Ivan Ilych
The Way of Life in 1910, the last year of his life. He wished to make the book easily comprehensible for even the simplest and least educated people—peasants and children. Most probably, Tolstoy compared A Calendar of Wisdom to War and Peace when he wrote that “To create a book for the masses, for millions of people … is incomparably more important
... See moreLeo Tolstoy • A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul, Written and Se
comme il faut,
Leo Tolstoy • The Death of Ivan Ilych (The Art of the Novella)
Overcome anger by meekness, evil by good, parsimony by generosity, the liar with the truth. Dhammapada
Leo Tolstoy • A Calendar of Wisdom: New Translation (Alma Classics)
For not only is an odd man “not always” a particular and isolated case, but, on the contrary, it sometimes happens that it is precisely he, perhaps, who bears within himself the heart of the whole, while the other people of his epoch have all for some reason been torn away from it for a time by some kind of flooding wind.
Larissa Volokhonsky • The Brothers Karamazov: A Novel in Four Parts With Epilogue
The people soon learned that Ivan was a fool. His wife one day said to him, "The people say you are a fool, Ivan." "Well, let them think so if they wish," he replied.
Leo Tolstoy • The Greatest Short Stories of Leo Tolstoy
All a man needs to do is to say that although he knows what he’s doing is wrong, he has no choice but to do it – all he needs to do is to say that to himself, and he will carry out the most appalling acts, not merely thinking that he is able to carry out such acts, but even taking pride in doing so. One such appalling act is war. Tolstoy