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
There are no conditions to which a man cannot get accustomed, especially if he sees that everyone around him lives in the same way.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that people can adapt to any situation, particularly when they see others doing the same.
Leo Tolstoy's quote explores the idea of human adaptability and the psychological effect of social conformity. It points out that individuals can acclimate to their circumstances as long as they observe that everyone else around them shares similar experiences, highlighting the impact of social norms on personal resilience and acceptance of lifeβs conditions.
Themes
AdaptabilityHuman BehaviorSocial ConformityResilienceAcceptance
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about resilience in tough situations, this quote can illustrate how people adapt to challenges.
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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