The chief cause of unhappiness in married life is that people think that marriage is sex attraction, which takes the form of promises and hopes and happiness - a view supported by public opinion and by literature. But marriage cannot cause happiness. Instead, it is always torture, which man has to pay for satisfying his sex urge.
Leo TolstoyGreat works of art are only great because they are accessible and comprehensible to everyone.
Leo TolstoyOne of the most obtuse superstitions is the superstition of the scientists who say that man can exist without faith.
Leo TolstoyThe best thoughts most often come in the morning after waking, while still in bed or while walking.
Leo TolstoyAt one time,' Golenishchev continued, either not observing or not willing to observe that both Anna and Vronsky wanted to speak, 'at one time a freethinker was a man who had been brought up in the conception of religion, law, and morality, who reached freethought only after conflict and difficulty. But now a new type of born freethinkers has appeared, who grow up without so much as hearing that there used to be laws of morality, or religion, that authorities existed. They grow up in ideas of negation in everything - in other words, utter savages.
Leo Tolstoy