The Quotes canon
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Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Happiness2 quotes
The eternal error men make in imagining that happiness consists in the gratification of their wishes. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor-such is my idea of happiness. — Leo Tolstoy · 1859History2 quotes
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. — Leo Tolstoy · 1869In historical events great men-so called-are but labels serving to give a name to the event, and like labels they have the least possible connection with the event itself. — Leo Tolstoy · 1869Purpose of art2 quotes
Art is a human activity having for its purpose the transmission to others of the highest and best feelings to which men have risen. — Leo Tolstoy · 1897Art is not, as the metaphysicians say, the manifestation of some mysterious idea of beauty or God; it is not, as the aesthetical physiologists say, a game in which man lets off his excess of stored-up energy; it is not the expression of man's emotions by external signs; it is not the production of pleasing objects; and, above all, it is not pleasure; but it is a means of union among men, joining them together in the same feelings, and indispensable for the life and progress toward well-being of individuals and of humanity. — Leo Tolstoy · 1897Adaptability1 quote
There are no conditions of life to which a man cannot get accustomed, especially if he sees them accepted by everyone about him. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877Art1 quote
Art is not, as the metaphysicians say, the manifestation of some mysterious idea of beauty or God; it is not, as the aesthetical physiologists say, a game in which man lets off his excess of stored-up energy; it is not the expression of man's emotions by external signs; it is not the production of pleasing objects; and, above all, it is not pleasure; but it is a means of union among men, joining them together in the same feelings, and indispensable for the life and progress toward well-being of individuals and of humanity. — Leo Tolstoy · 1897Attraction1 quote
He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877Change1 quote
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. — Leo Tolstoy · 1900Change starts at home1 quote
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. — Leo Tolstoy · 1900Clothes make the man1 quote
Keep your clothes neat and tidy; it gives you self-confidence and composure in your bearings. — Leo Tolstoy · 1854Clothing1 quote
Keep your clothes neat and tidy; it gives you self-confidence and composure in your bearings. — Leo Tolstoy · 1854Confidence1 quote
Keep your clothes neat and tidy; it gives you self-confidence and composure in your bearings. — Leo Tolstoy · 1854Contentment1 quote
A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor-such is my idea of happiness. — Leo Tolstoy · 1859Dressing well1 quote
Keep your clothes neat and tidy; it gives you self-confidence and composure in your bearings. — Leo Tolstoy · 1854Dying1 quote
"What's this? am I falling? my legs are giving way under me," he thought, and fell on his back. He opened his eyes, hoping to see how the struggle of the French soldiers with the artilleryman was ending, and eager to know whether the red-haired artilleryman was killed or not, whether the cannons had been taken or saved. But he saw nothing of all that, Above him there was nothing but the sky-the lofty sky, not clear, but still immeasurably lofty, with gray clouds creeping quietly over it. — Leo Tolstoy · 1869Family1 quote
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877Family dysfunction1 quote
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877Getting what you want1 quote
The eternal error men make in imagining that happiness consists in the gratification of their wishes. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877Great man theory of history1 quote
In historical events great men-so called-are but labels serving to give a name to the event, and like labels they have the least possible connection with the event itself. — Leo Tolstoy · 1869Human body1 quote
Our body is a machine for living. It is organized for that, it is its nature. Let life go on in it unhindered and let it defend itself, it will do more than if you paralyze it by encumbering it with remedies. — Leo Tolstoy · 1869Human nature1 quote
There are no conditions of life to which a man cannot get accustomed, especially if he sees them accepted by everyone about him. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877Infatuation1 quote
He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877Introspection1 quote
Rummaging in our souls, we often dig up something that ought to have lain there unnoticed. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877Lack of love1 quote
Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877Love1 quote
By loving people without cause he discovered indubitable causes for loving them. — Leo Tolstoy · 1869Loving others1 quote
By loving people without cause he discovered indubitable causes for loving them. — Leo Tolstoy · 1869Man as social animal1 quote
There are no conditions of life to which a man cannot get accustomed, especially if he sees them accepted by everyone about him. — Leo Tolstoy · 1877Media1 quote
All newspaper and journalistic activity is an intellectual brothel from which there is no retreat. — Leo Tolstoy · 1871Media criticism1 quote
All newspaper and journalistic activity is an intellectual brothel from which there is no retreat. — Leo Tolstoy · 1871Moment of death1 quote
"What's this? am I falling? my legs are giving way under me," he thought, and fell on his back. He opened his eyes, hoping to see how the struggle of the French soldiers with the artilleryman was ending, and eager to know whether the red-haired artilleryman was killed or not, whether the cannons had been taken or saved. But he saw nothing of all that, Above him there was nothing but the sky-the lofty sky, not clear, but still immeasurably lofty, with gray clouds creeping quietly over it. — Leo Tolstoy · 1869Moral progress1 quote
There can be only one permanent revolution-a moral one. — Leo Tolstoy · 1900