Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, most commonly known as Leo Tolstoy, was born on September 9, 1828, in Yasnaya Polyana, Russia. He was a Russian writer who developed profound philosophical and moral ideas. He was also a master of realist fiction with masterpieces such as War and Peace and Anna Karenina. May these Leo Tolstoy quotes and sayings offer you insights that will help you gain something great to guide you on your life's journey.
1. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
2. “All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – Leo Tolstoy
3. “A person can always improve himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
4. “True life is lived when tiny changes occur.” – Leo Tolstoy
5. “Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly.” – Leo Tolstoy
6. “Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be.” – Leo Tolstoy
7. “Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.” – Leo Tolstoy
8. “If you look for perfection, you'll never be content.” – Leo Tolstoy
9. “Without knowing what I am and why I am here, life is impossible.” – Leo Tolstoy
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10. “The more we live by our intellect, the less we understand the meaning of life.” – Leo Tolstoy
11. “We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.” – Leo Tolstoy
12. “A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator the smaller the fraction.” – Leo Tolstoy
13. “Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.” – Leo Tolstoy
14. “One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken.” – Leo Tolstoy
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15. “If you want to be happy, be.” – Leo Tolstoy
16. “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.” – Leo Tolstoy
17. “The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.” – Leo Tolstoy
18. “Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.” – Leo Tolstoy
19. “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.” – Leo Tolstoy
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20. “There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.” – Leo Tolstoy
21. “In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” – Leo Tolstoy
22. “Music is the shorthand of emotion.” – Leo Tolstoy
23. “If so many men, so many minds, certainly so many hearts, so many kinds of love.” – Leo Tolstoy
24. “Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs.” – Leo Tolstoy
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25. “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” – Leo Tolstoy
26. “Human beings are like rivers; the water is one and the same in all of them but every river is narrow in some places, flows swifter in others; here it is broad, there still, or clear, or cold, or muddy or warm.” – Leo Tolstoy
27. “Boredom: the desire for desires.” – Leo Tolstoy
28. “All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.” – Leo Tolstoy
29. “Pay bad people with your goodness; fight their hatred with your kindness.” – Leo Tolstoy
30. “Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love.” – Leo Tolstoy
More Famous Quotes by Leo Tolstoy
31. “Faith is the sense of life, that sense by virtue of which man does not destroy himself, but continues to live on. It is the force whereby we live.” – Leo Tolstoy
32. “Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.” – Leo Tolstoy
33. “One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love.” – Leo Tolstoy
34. “The chief difference between words and deeds is that words are always intended for men for their approbation, but deeds can be done only for God.” – Leo Tolstoy
35. “The best stories don't come from good vs. bad, but good vs. good.” – Leo Tolstoy
36. “The changes in our life must come from the impossibility to live otherwise than according to the demands of our conscience not from our mental resolution to try a new form of life.” – Leo Tolstoy
37. “If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed.” – Leo Tolstoy
38. “War is so unjust and ugly that all who wage it must try to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves.” – Leo Tolstoy
39. “Whatever our fate is or may be, we have made it and do not complain of it.” – Leo Tolstoy
40. “Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.” – Leo Tolstoy
41. “All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do.” – Leo Tolstoy
42. “Government is an association of men who do violence to the rest of us.” – Leo Tolstoy
43. “We lost because we told ourselves we lost.” – Leo Tolstoy
44. “And all people live, Not by reason of any care they have for themselves, But by the love for them that is in other people.” – Leo Tolstoy
45. “Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.” – Leo Tolstoy
46. “An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person's main task in life—becoming a better person.” – Leo Tolstoy
47. “Even in the valley of the shadow of death, two and two do not make six.” – Leo Tolstoy
48. “He never chooses an opinion; he just wears whatever happens to be in style.” – Leo Tolstoy
49. “Man lives consciously for himself, but is an unconscious instrument in the attainment of the historic, universal, aims of humanity.” – Leo Tolstoy
50. “Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them.” – Leo Tolstoy
Share these Best Leo Tolstoy Quotes about Life with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.
2. “All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – Leo Tolstoy
3. “A person can always improve himself.” – Leo Tolstoy
4. “True life is lived when tiny changes occur.” – Leo Tolstoy
5. “Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly.” – Leo Tolstoy
6. “Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be.” – Leo Tolstoy
7. “Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.” – Leo Tolstoy
8. “If you look for perfection, you'll never be content.” – Leo Tolstoy
9. “Without knowing what I am and why I am here, life is impossible.” – Leo Tolstoy
11. “We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.” – Leo Tolstoy
12. “A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator the smaller the fraction.” – Leo Tolstoy
13. “Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.” – Leo Tolstoy
14. “One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken.” – Leo Tolstoy
16. “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.” – Leo Tolstoy
17. “The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.” – Leo Tolstoy
18. “Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.” – Leo Tolstoy
19. “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.” – Leo Tolstoy
21. “In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” – Leo Tolstoy
22. “Music is the shorthand of emotion.” – Leo Tolstoy
23. “If so many men, so many minds, certainly so many hearts, so many kinds of love.” – Leo Tolstoy
24. “Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs.” – Leo Tolstoy
26. “Human beings are like rivers; the water is one and the same in all of them but every river is narrow in some places, flows swifter in others; here it is broad, there still, or clear, or cold, or muddy or warm.” – Leo Tolstoy
27. “Boredom: the desire for desires.” – Leo Tolstoy
28. “All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.” – Leo Tolstoy
29. “Pay bad people with your goodness; fight their hatred with your kindness.” – Leo Tolstoy
30. “Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love.” – Leo Tolstoy
More Famous Quotes by Leo Tolstoy
31. “Faith is the sense of life, that sense by virtue of which man does not destroy himself, but continues to live on. It is the force whereby we live.” – Leo Tolstoy
32. “Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.” – Leo Tolstoy
33. “One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love.” – Leo Tolstoy
34. “The chief difference between words and deeds is that words are always intended for men for their approbation, but deeds can be done only for God.” – Leo Tolstoy
35. “The best stories don't come from good vs. bad, but good vs. good.” – Leo Tolstoy
36. “The changes in our life must come from the impossibility to live otherwise than according to the demands of our conscience not from our mental resolution to try a new form of life.” – Leo Tolstoy
37. “If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed.” – Leo Tolstoy
38. “War is so unjust and ugly that all who wage it must try to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves.” – Leo Tolstoy
39. “Whatever our fate is or may be, we have made it and do not complain of it.” – Leo Tolstoy
40. “Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.” – Leo Tolstoy
41. “All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do.” – Leo Tolstoy
42. “Government is an association of men who do violence to the rest of us.” – Leo Tolstoy
43. “We lost because we told ourselves we lost.” – Leo Tolstoy
44. “And all people live, Not by reason of any care they have for themselves, But by the love for them that is in other people.” – Leo Tolstoy
45. “Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.” – Leo Tolstoy
46. “An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person's main task in life—becoming a better person.” – Leo Tolstoy
47. “Even in the valley of the shadow of death, two and two do not make six.” – Leo Tolstoy
48. “He never chooses an opinion; he just wears whatever happens to be in style.” – Leo Tolstoy
49. “Man lives consciously for himself, but is an unconscious instrument in the attainment of the historic, universal, aims of humanity.” – Leo Tolstoy
50. “Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them.” – Leo Tolstoy
Share these Best Leo Tolstoy Quotes about Life with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.