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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True happiness stems from a simple life dedicated to helping others and enjoying nature.
In this quote, Leo Tolstoy expresses his vision of happiness as a harmonious life in a peaceful rural setting, where one can provide help and support to those in need. He emphasizes the importance of simple pleasures such as nature, music, and love, suggesting that fulfillment comes from meaningful work and relationships rather than material success or complexity.
Themes
HappinessNatureHelpfulnessSimplicityContentment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a speech about finding joy in simple living.
More from Leo Tolstoy
All quotes →Pierre 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!
Leo TolstoyRead
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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Man survives earthquakes, epidemics, the horrors of disease, and all the agonies of the soul, but for all time his tormenting tragedy is, and will be, the tragedy of the bedroom.
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