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
I do value my work awfully; but in reality only consider this: all this world of ours is nothing but a speck of mildew, which has grown up on a tiny planet. And for us to suppose we can have something great - ideas, work - it's all dust and ashes.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the insignificance of human achievements in the grand scale of the universe.
Leo Tolstoy expresses a profound sense of humility regarding human accomplishments and existence. He suggests that despite our efforts and creations, they are ultimately trivial when viewed in the context of the vast universe, likening humanity's endeavors to mere dust on a microscopic speck of a planet. This perspective encourages a deeper contemplation of our purpose and the nature of significance in life.
Themes
InsignificanceHumilityExistencePerspectiveUniverse
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in discussions about existential philosophy in a classroom setting.
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!
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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 — such is my idea of happiness.
Leo TolstoyRead
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