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
Sometimes she did not know what she feared, what she desired: whether she feared or desired what had been or what would be, and precisely what she desired, she did not know.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the complexity of human emotions, particularly in understanding our fears and desires.
In this quote, Tolstoy explores the ambiguity that often surrounds our innermost feelings. The narrator grapples with a lack of clarity about what she truly fears or wishes for, signifying the often intertwined and confusing nature of desire and fear. It suggests that sometimes, individuals may find themselves caught between past experiences and future aspirations, struggling to identify their true emotions and motivations.
Themes
FearDesireEmotionsUncertaintySelf-Awareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about personal growth, one might refer to this quote to highlight the struggle of understanding one's true feelings.
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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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