Leo Tolstoy

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

1. Nothing is stronger than patience and time. They do it all.

   General Kutuzov says this while others push him to attack Napoleon. The Russian calls patience and time his two warriors. Some battles are won by waiting and enduring.

   War and Peace, Vol. 3, Part 2, ch. 16 (Maude Book 10, ch. 16), Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922

2. We can know only that we know nothing. That is the height of wisdom.

   Pierre thinks this in a moment of confusion, echoing Socrates. Admitting how little you know is where real wisdom begins. Stay humble and keep asking.

   War and Peace, Vol. 2, Part 2, ch. 1 (Maude Book 5, ch. 1), Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922

3. Everything I understand, I understand only because I love.

   The dying Prince Andrew reaches this thought. Love is not opposed to understanding; it is how understanding happens. You come to know what you care about.

   War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 1, ch. 16 (Maude Book 12, ch. 16), Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922

4. There is no greatness without simplicity, goodness and truth.

   Tolstoy writes this against historians who call Napoleon great. Power and fame without goodness are not greatness. Measure people, including yourself, by simplicity, goodness and truth.

   War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 3, ch. 18 (Maude Book 14, ch. 18), Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922

5. Thrown out of your usual rut? That is where the new and good begins.

   Pierre says this after surviving captivity, which he would go through again. Being knocked off your routine feels like disaster at first. Often it is the opening.

   War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 4, ch. 17 (Maude Book 15, ch. 17), Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922

6. While there is life, there is happiness.

   Pierre adds that there is much still ahead. As long as you are alive, happiness is still possible. Don't close the book early.

   War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 4, ch. 17 (Maude Book 15, ch. 17), Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922

7. Hardest and most blessed of all: to love this life in your suffering.

   Pierre dreams this as a prisoner on the retreat from Moscow. Loving life when it is easy takes no effort. Loving it while you suffer is the real test.

   War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 3, ch. 15 (Maude Book 14, ch. 15), Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922

8. Happy families are all alike. Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

   The novel's famous opening suggests happiness rests on a few shared basics, while each failure is unique. If one basic is missing, things go wrong in their own way. Tend the basics at home.

   Anna Karenina, Part 1, ch. 1, Constance Garnett, 1901

9. Spring is the time of plans and projects.

   Levin walks out into his farm in spring, full of half-formed plans, like a tree not yet knowing what its buds will become. New seasons invite new starts. Use the energy while it lasts.

   Anna Karenina, Part 2, ch. 13, Constance Garnett, 1901

10. Your life has the meaning of the good you put into it.

    These are Levin's closing thoughts in the novel. He knows he will still lose his temper and still argue, but his life now has meaning. The meaning is the good he chooses to put into it.

    Anna Karenina, Part 8, ch. 19, Constance Garnett, 1901