There is no greatness without simplicity, goodness and truth.
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 3, ch. 18 (Maude Book 14, ch. 18)
И нет величия там, где нет простоты, добра и правды.
There is no greatness without simplicity, goodness and truth.
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 3, ch. 18 (Maude Book 14, ch. 18)
What it means
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.
The source
"There is no greatness without simplicity, goodness and truth." Leo Tolstoy said it in War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 3, ch. 18 (Maude Book 14, ch. 18). Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922.
"And there is no greatness where simplicity, goodness, and truth are absent."Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922, War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 3, ch. 18 (Maude Book 14, ch. 18). Text read at gutenberg.org.
Who said it
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910). Russian novelist who wrote War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878), then spent his later life on questions of faith and simple living.
Questions
- What does "There is no greatness without simplicity, goodness and truth." mean?
- 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.
- Who said "There is no greatness without simplicity, goodness and truth."?
- Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910). Source: War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 3, ch. 18 (Maude Book 14, ch. 18).
- What is the original wording?
- And there is no greatness where simplicity, goodness, and truth are absent (Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922). Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922.
- Is "There is no greatness without simplicity, goodness and truth." on a shirt?
- Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.
Cite this line
"There is no greatness without simplicity, goodness and truth." (Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 3, ch. 18 (Maude Book 14, ch. 18), trans. Louise and Aylmer Maude, 1922). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/there-is-no-greatness-without-simplicity-goodness-and
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More from Leo Tolstoy
- Nothing is stronger than patience and time. They do it all.War and Peace, Vol. 3, Part 2, ch. 16 (Maude Book 10, ch. 16)
- We can know only that we know nothing. That is the height of wisdom.War and Peace, Vol. 2, Part 2, ch. 1 (Maude Book 5, ch. 1)
- Everything I understand, I understand only because I love.War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 1, ch. 16 (Maude Book 12, ch. 16)
- Thrown out of your usual rut? That is where the new and good begins.War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 4, ch. 17 (Maude Book 15, ch. 17)
- While there is life, there is happiness.War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 4, ch. 17 (Maude Book 15, ch. 17)
- Hardest and most blessed of all: to love this life in your suffering.War and Peace, Vol. 4, Part 3, ch. 15 (Maude Book 14, ch. 15)