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
It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness. A handsome woman talks nonsense, you listen and hear not nonsense but cleverness. She says and does horrid things, and you see only charm. And if a handsome woman does not say stupid or horrid things, you at once persuade yourself that she is wonderfully clever and moral.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The perception of beauty can distort our judgment of a person's character and intelligence.
Leo Tolstoy's quote explores the deceptive nature of beauty and its influence on our perceptions. He suggests that when a person is attractive, especially a woman, we tend to overlook their flaws or foolishness, interpreting their words and actions in a positive light, thereby allowing physical beauty to overshadow moral or intellectual shortcomings.
Themes
BeautyJudgmentPerceptionCharismaDeception
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on social media about the impact of physical appearance on public speaking, this quote can be used to highlight the controversy.
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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.
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