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
The teaching of the church, theoretically astute, is a lie in practice and a compound of vulgar superstitions and sorcery.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Tolstoy critiques the disconnect between religious teachings and their practical application, calling them superstitious.
In this quote, Leo Tolstoy expresses his deep skepticism about organized religion, arguing that while the church may present itself as intellectually sound and morally upright, in reality, it often perpetuates falsehoods and superstitions. He suggests that the teachings meant to guide humanity are instead reduced to mere rituals that lack genuine spiritual or moral substance, highlighting a rift between idealism and practical belief.
Themes
ReligionChurchSuperstitionPhilosophyTruthKnowledge
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate on the influence of organized religion in society.
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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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