Art begins when a man, with a purpose of communicating to other people a feeling he once experienced, calls it up again within himself and expresses it by certain external signs.
Leo TolstoyRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Arrogance prevents personal growth by fostering a false sense of perfection.
This quote by Leo Tolstoy highlights the dangers of arrogance, suggesting that those who view themselves as perfect fail to recognize their flaws and, as a result, miss the opportunity for self-improvement. The essence of life, according to Tolstoy, is the continual journey towards becoming a better person, and arrogance obstructs this vital process.
Themes
ArroganceSelf-ImprovementHumilityPersonal GrowthWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
During a leadership seminar, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of humility in effective leadership.
More from Leo Tolstoy
All quotes βPierre looked into the sky, into the depths of the retreating, twinkling stars. "And all this is mine, and all this is in me, and all this is me!" thought Pierre. "And all this they've caught and put in a shed and boarded it up!
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People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing-refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.
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It's too easy to criticize a man when he's out of favour, and to make him shoulder the blame for everybody else's mistakes.
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Music is the shorthand of emotion. Emotions, which let themselves be described in words with such difficulty, are directly conveyed to man in music, and in that is its power and significance.
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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 β such is my idea of happiness.
Leo TolstoyRead
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