Best quotes from Leo Tolstoy

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authors of all time. Born to an aristocratic family, Tolstoy achieved acclaim in his twenties with his semi-autobiographical trilogy, Childhood, Boyhood and Youth (1852-1856), and with Sevastopol Sketches (1855), based on his experiences in the Crimean War.

War and Peace (1869), Anna Karenina (1878), and Resurrection (1899), which is based on his “youthful sins”, are often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction and three of the greatest novels ever written. His oeuvre includes short stories such as “Alyosha the Pot” (1911) and “After the Ball” (1911) and novellas such as Family Happiness (1859), The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886), The Kreutzer Sonata (1889), The Devil (1911), and Hadji Murat (1912).

He also wrote plays and essays concerning philosophical, moral and religious themes. In the 1870s, Tolstoy experienced a profound moral crisis, followed by what he regarded as an equally profound spiritual awakening, as outlined in his non-fiction work Confession (1882). His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him to become a fervent Christian anarchist and pacifist.

His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894), had a profound impact on such pivotal 20th-century figures as Mahatma Gandhi, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Luther King Jr., and James Bevel. He also became a dedicated advocate of Georgism, the economic philosophy of Henry George, which he incorporated into his writing, particularly in Resurrection.

Tolstoy received praise from countless authors and critics, both during his lifetime and after. Virginia Woolf called Tolstoy “the greatest of all novelists”. He received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909. Tolstoy never being awarded a Nobel Prize remains a major Nobel Prize controversy.

Some of the best quotes from Leo Tolstoy are listed below.

1. “A good life is given only to those who make efforts to achieve it.” – Leo Tolstoy
2. “A man who does not understand the benefit of suffering does not live a clever and true life.” – Leo Tolstoy
3. “A person can always improve himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
4. “A person can understand his real destination in life only after he manages to liberate from the sensual, material world.” – Leo Tolstoy
5. “A person cannot have complete understanding of the meaning of life. A person can only know its direction.” – Leo Tolstoy
6. “A person who loves himself has the advantage of having very few competitors.” – Leo Tolstoy
7. “A scholar knows many books; a well-educated person has knowledge and skills; an enlightened person understands the meaning and purpose of his life.” – Leo Tolstoy
8. “A truly wise man is always joyful.” – Leo Tolstoy
9. “Abstain from all unnecessary things.” – Leo Tolstoy
10. “All good things can be achieved only with effort.” – Leo Tolstoy
11. “Among all actions, there is only one type which is complete, and that is love which seeks no reward.” – Leo Tolstoy
12. “Anything you do should be filled with love.” – Leo Tolstoy
13. “Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.” – Leo Tolstoy
14. “Deny your personality, and you will come to understand the highest good in life: love.” – Leo Tolstoy
15. “Do not expect some tangible reward for your goodness; your actions are their own reward.” – Leo Tolstoy
16. “Every person should make a small effort, even the smallest effort, to improve the general well-being of humanity.” – Leo Tolstoy
17. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
18. “For a person to know the law that makes him free, he must be elevated from a material to a spiritual life.” – Leo Tolstoy
19. “For a truth to be heard, it must be spoken with kindness.” – Leo Tolstoy
20. “Good books are a good influence. Good art is a good influence. Prayer is an influence as well. But the strongest influence is the example of a good life.” – Leo Tolstoy
21. “Good things, once done, will never disappear, even if you forget about them.” – Leo Tolstoy
22. “Grow spiritually and help others to do so; it is the meaning of life.” – Leo Tolstoy
23. “He who always listens to what other people say about him will never find inner peace.” – Leo Tolstoy
24. “If you are not kind to a person, you are not fulfilling your major obligation.” – Leo Tolstoy
25. “If you care too much about being praised, in the end you will not accomplish anything serious.” – Leo Tolstoy
26. “If you want to preserve your good name, do not praise yourself and do not so much as allow others to praise you.” – Leo Tolstoy
27. “If you want to save your soul, forget about your comfort.” – Leo Tolstoy
28. “It is better to know several basic rules of life than to study many unnecessary sciences.” – Leo Tolstoy
29. “It’s important to strive to do good, and even more important to strive to abstain from evil.” – Leo Tolstoy
30. “Just as fire blows out candles, good deeds for the benefit of others destroy a selfish life.” – Leo Tolstoy
31. “Just imagine that the purpose of your life is your happiness only – then life becomes a cruel and senseless thing […] The meaning of life is to serve the force that sent you into the world. Then life becomes a constant joy.” – Leo Tolstoy
32. “Kindness defeats everything and can never be defeated.” – Leo Tolstoy
33. “Kindness is for your soul as health is for your body: you do not notice when you have it.” – Leo Tolstoy
34. “Kindness is the major quality of the soul. If a person is not kind, it is because he was subjected to some lie, passion, or temptation which violated his natural state.” – Leo Tolstoy
35. “Let us forgive each other. If we can forgive each other, then we can live in peace.” – Leo Tolstoy
36. “Life is a constant approach to death; therefore, life can be bliss only when death does not seem to be an evil.” – Leo Tolstoy
37. “Life is constant change; it ought to consist of weakening the material and increasing the spiritual side of our existence.” – Leo Tolstoy
38. “Life is constant change; it ought to consist of weakening the material and increasing the spiritual side of our existence.” – Leo Tolstoy
39. “Life is constant movement, and therefore goodness in life is not a certain state, but the direction of movement.” – Leo Tolstoy
40. “Love provides a person with the purpose of his life. Intellect shows him the means to achieve that purpose.” – Leo Tolstoy
41. “Make sure that you do not gossip about your brother.” – Leo Tolstoy
42. “My religion is to love all beings.” – Leo Tolstoy
43. “Nobody knows where the human race is going. The highest wisdom, then, is to know where you should go: toward perfection.” – Leo Tolstoy
44. “Nothing can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness.” – Leo Tolstoy
45. “Only he who accepts that the essence or meaning of his life is not material but spiritual can be free.” – Leo Tolstoy
46. “Our invisible work at the improvement of our soul is the most important work in the world, and all other visible kinds of work are useful only when we do this major work.” – Leo Tolstoy
47. “Our purpose is to make it a better and more joyous place to live, for those who live with us and those who come after us.” – Leo Tolstoy
48. “Our soul’s perfection is our life’s purpose; any other purpose, keeping death in mind, has no substance.” – Leo Tolstoy
49. “People can live without need and without jealousy only when they lead a life of moderation.” – Leo Tolstoy
50. “Perfection is impossible without humility. Why should I strive for perfection, if I am already good enough?” – Leo Tolstoy
51. “Perhaps it is even more important to know what one should not think about than what one should think about.” – Leo Tolstoy
52. “Rage is very harmful for all people, but it is most harmful for the man who experiences it.” – Leo Tolstoy
53. “Real love is not in words but in deeds, and only love can give real wisdom.” – Leo Tolstoy
54. “Really true, good, and great things are always simple.” – Leo Tolstoy
55. “Self-sacrifice brings a bliss that far transcends the pleasure of a person who lives by the self-indulgent satisfaction of his animal passions.” – Leo Tolstoy
56. “Society can be improved only by self-sacrifice.” – Leo Tolstoy
57. “That feeling which solves all of the contradictions of human life and gives one the greatest bliss is known to all people: this feeling is love.” – Leo Tolstoy
58. “The best and the most important object for every person is his inner self, his spiritual being.” – Leo Tolstoy
59. “The best the future can offer is dreams. There is only one thing which really exists: the present.” – Leo Tolstoy
60. “The greatest bliss a person can know is the state of complete freedom and happiness that can come only through self-sacrifice and love.” – Leo Tolstoy
61. “The greatest knowledge is self-knowledge.” – Leo Tolstoy
62. “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
63. “The less love a person has, the more he suffers.” – Leo Tolstoy
64. “The life of a person without faith is the life of an animal.” – Leo Tolstoy
65. “The majority of men are discontented with their life, and seek the pleasures of the flesh. But the flesh can never be satisfied, and men… seek oblivion in smoking or drunkenness.” – Leo Tolstoy
66. “The meaning of life lies in two major areas: your personal perfection and service to other people.” – Leo Tolstoy
67. “The more deeply you understand life, the less you grieve over the destruction caused by death.” – Leo Tolstoy
68. “The more humble a person is, the freer and stronger he is.” – Leo Tolstoy
69. “The more urgently you want to speak, the more likely it is that you will say something foolish.” – Leo Tolstoy
70. “The most important knowledge is that which guides the way you lead your life.” – Leo Tolstoy
71. “The most important thing in life is the path to perfection, and what kind of perfection can exist if a person is proud and satisfied with himself?” – Leo Tolstoy
72. “The teaching about your inner life is the most useful one.” – Leo Tolstoy
73. “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” – Leo Tolstoy
74. “There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.” – Leo Tolstoy
75. “There is no love in the future. Love can exist only in the present moment. A man who does not manifest love in the present does not love at all.” – Leo Tolstoy
76. “There is no wisdom in he who thinks that he is wise.” – Leo Tolstoy
77. “There is only one thing in this world which is worth dedicating all your life. This is creating more love among people and destroying barriers which exist between them.” – Leo Tolstoy
78. “Truly virtuous is the person who gives his love to the weak.” – Leo Tolstoy
79. “Try to be a master over greed, sloth, lechery, and rage.” – Leo Tolstoy
80. “Try to find out your potential. After you know it, do not be afraid to underestimate it. Be cautious not to exaggerate it.” – Leo Tolstoy
81. “Try to live with the part of your soul which understands eternity, which is not afraid of death. And that part of your soul is love.” – Leo Tolstoy
82. “Try to understand the unity of all living things. Try to serve and suffer with all living beings.” – Leo Tolstoy
83. “We lost because we told ourselves we lost.” – Leo Tolstoy
84. “We should be satisfied with the small things in life. The less we need, the less trouble we can have.” – Leo Tolstoy
85. “We should live so as to bring good to all people.” – Leo Tolstoy
86. “We suffer from the past, and we spoil our future because we neglect the present.” – Leo Tolstoy
87. “When you approach a man, you should think not about how he can help you, but how you might serve and help him.” – Leo Tolstoy
88. “When you do a good deed, be grateful that you have had the chance to do it.” – Leo Tolstoy
89. “When you have doubts about what to do, just imagine that you might die at the end of that same day, and then all your doubts will disappear.” – Leo Tolstoy
90. “Whether they know it or not, all creatures are inseparably connected.” – Leo Tolstoy
91. “Wisdom is knowing the purpose of life, and knowing how to achieve it.” – Leo Tolstoy
92. “Wisdom is limitless, and the closer you approach it, the more important it becomes for your life.” – Leo Tolstoy
93. “Without suffering, spiritual growth cannot happen.” – Leo Tolstoy
94. “Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.” – Leo Tolstoy
95. “You should do goodness without choosing to whom.” – Leo Tolstoy
96. “You should live in such a way that you can confide anything in your mind.” – Leo Tolstoy
97. “You should look in suffering for the seeds of your future spiritual growth, or the bitterness of suffering will be severe.” – Leo Tolstoy
98. “Your life may be cut short at any time; therefore, your life should have a deep purpose, a significance that will not depend on whether it is short or long.” – Leo Tolstoy
99. “Your rage cannot be justified by anything. The reason for your rage is always inside you.” – Leo Tolstoy
100. “Your understanding of your inner self holds the meaning of your life.” – Leo Tolstoy