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
Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Freethinkers use their minds independently and are open to challenging their own beliefs for deeper understanding.
This quote by Leo Tolstoy emphasizes the importance of freethinking, which involves a willingness to examine and question one's own beliefs and customs. Tolstoy suggests that this open-mindedness is rare but necessary for achieving true understanding and clarity in thought, allowing individuals to navigate complex ideas without the constraints of prejudice or fear.
Themes
FreethinkingOpen-MindednessUnderstandingBeliefsPrejudice
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on innovation, one might quote Tolstoy to highlight the importance of challenging conventional wisdom.
More from Leo Tolstoy
All quotes βPierre 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!
Leo TolstoyRead
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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