Leo Tolstoy Inspirational Quotations

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.

There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.

I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.

Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.

All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do.

Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.

And all people live, Not by reason of any care they have for themselves, But by the love for them that is in other people.

All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.

One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken.

The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow- witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.

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.

A person who has spoiled his stomach will criticize his meal saying that the food is bad; the same thing happens with people who are not satisfied with their lives

It is not enough to be a hardworking person. Think: what do you work at?

He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.

People jump back and forth in pursuit of pleasures only because they see the emptiness of their lives more clearly than they do the emptiness of whichever new entertainment attracts them

We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.

The more we live by our intellect, the less we understand the meaning of life.

There are no conditions to which a person cannot grow accustomed, especially if he sees that everyone around him lives in the same way.

We live in this world like a child who enters a room where a clever person is speaking. The child did not hear the beginning of the speech, and he leaves before the end; and there are certain things which he hears but does not understand

Where there is love, there is God also.

I feel that I am entitled to my share of lightheartedness and there is nothing wrong with enjoying one's self simply, like a boy.

If we would only testify to the truth as we see it, it would turn out that there are hundreds, thousands, even millions of other people just as we are, who see the truth as we do...and are only waiting, again as we are, for someone to proclaim it. The Kingdom of God is within you.

Perfection is impossible without humility. Why should I strive for perfection, if I am already good enough?

Art can compel people freely, gladly, and spontaneously to sacrifice themselves in the service of man.

If a man does not work at necessary and good things, then he will work at unnecessary and stupid things

Read less, study less, but think more

Knowledge is real knowledge only when it is acquired by the efforts of your intellect, not by memory

Very often, all the activity of the human mind is directed not in revealing the truth, but in hiding the truth

People involve themselves in countless activities which they consider to be important, but they forget about one activity which is more important and necessary than any other, and which includes all other things: the improvement of their soul

When you feel the desire for power, you should stay in solitude for some time

What is important is not the length of life, but the depth of life. What is important is not to make life longer, but to take your soul out of time, as every sublime act does

When joy disappears, look for your mistake

We should show life neither as it is or as it ought to be, but only as we see it in our dreams.