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
Patriotism is "a very definite feeling of preference for one's own people or State above all other peoples and States, and a consequent wish to get for that people or State the greatest advantages and power that can be got - things which are obtainable only at the expense of the advantages and power of other peoples or States."
Interpretation
What this quote means
Patriotism is a strong preference for one's own nation, often at the expense of others.
In this quote, Leo Tolstoy critiques the concept of patriotism by highlighting that it involves a preferential treatment towards one's own nation, which can lead to a desire for dominance that negatively impacts other nations. He suggests that this inherent bias can foster divisiveness and conflict, urging a reflection on the moral implications of such nationalism.
Themes
PatriotismNationalismPreferenceConflictMorality
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on national policy, one could use this quote to argue for a more global perspective rather than just a nationalistic approach.
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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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