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
Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Tolstoy critiques historians for often responding to unasked questions, highlighting their disconnect from the real inquiries of society.
In this quote, Leo Tolstoy expresses skepticism about the work of historians, suggesting that they tend to focus on their own narratives and interpretations rather than addressing the true questions and concerns of the people. This analogy of historians as 'deaf' reinforces the idea that they may be oblivious to the significance of the issues that matter, thereby emphasizing a disconnect between academic pursuit and genuine human inquiry.
Themes
HistoryInterpretationDisconnectQuestionsNarrative
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the relevance of history in modern society, one might refer to Tolstoy's quote to highlight the need for historians to engage more meaningfully with contemporary issues.
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!
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.
Leo TolstoyRead
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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