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 not beauty that endears, it's love that makes us see beauty.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Love is what allows us to appreciate beauty in others, rather than physical appearance alone.
In this quote, Tolstoy emphasizes that true beauty is perceived through the lens of love. It suggests that our emotional connections and affections shape our perception of beauty, indicating that love brings forth a deeper appreciation for individuals beyond their outward appearances.
Themes
BeautyLovePerceptionAppreciationConnection
In practice
Example use cases
A wedding speech highlighting that love is what enhances the beauty of the couple's relationship.
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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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