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The subject of history is the life of peoples and of humanity. To catch and pin down in… — Leo Tolstoy

Novel

The subject of history is the life of peoples and of humanity. To catch and pin down in words-that is, to describe directly the life, not only of humanity, but even of a single people, appears to be impossible.

In the original Russian

Предмет истории есть жизнь народов и человечества. Непосредственно уловить и обнять словом - описать жизнь не только человечества, но одного народа, - представляется невозможным.

Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace · 1869
★ 5.5
Other tags relating to this quote
Topic
History
Medium
Novel
Time
1869
Person
Leo Tolstoy
Provenance
Current citation
Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace, translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude. Oxford University Press, 2010.
Original citation
Tolstoy, Leo. "Война и миръ [War and Peace]." The Russian Messenger, 1865-1867. Serial.

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