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
Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Cherish moments of joy and love, as they are the true essence of life.
In this quote, Tolstoy emphasizes the importance of embracing happiness and love as the most significant experiences in life. He suggests that while other pursuits or distractions may seem important, ultimately, the connections we form and the joyful moments we seize are what give life its true meaning, making everything else seem insignificant in comparison.
Themes
HappinessLoveMomentsRealityFolly
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a wedding speech to emphasize the importance of love and shared happiness.
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!
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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.
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 β such is my idea of happiness.
Leo TolstoyRead
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