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
Death is more certain than the morrow, than night following day, than winter following summer. Why is it then that we prepare for the night and for the winter time, but do not prepare for death. We must prepare for death. But there is only one way to prepare for death - and that is to live well.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The inevitability of death should motivate us to live our lives meaningfully and prepare for it by living well.
In this quote, Tolstoy emphasizes the certainty of death and contrasts it with our tendency to prepare for other inevitable events in life, such as night and seasons. He argues that while we often focus on preparing for physical changes in our environment, we neglect to prepare for our own mortality. The ultimate preparation for death, he suggests, is to live a life that is virtuous and fulfilling, reinforcing the idea that how we live is intrinsically tied to how we face death.
Themes
DeathLifePreparationLiving WellMortality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a memorial service to reflect on how one lived their life.
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