I realized that even if all the people in the world from the day of creation found this to be necessary according to whatever theory, I knew that it was not necessary and that it was wrong. Therefore, my judgements must be based on what is right and necessary and not on what people say and do; I must judge not according to progress but according to my own heart.

Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy

beheading death existence

Related Quotes

Man cannot possess anything as long as he fears death. But to him who does not fear it, everything belongs. If there was no suffering, man would not know his limits, would not know himself.

— Leo Tolstoy

deathinspirational

A little muzhik was working on the railroad, mumbling in his beard.
And the candle by which she had read the book that was filled with fears, with deceptions, with anguish, and with evil, flared up with greater brightness than she had ever known, revealing to her all that before was in darkness, then flickered, grew faint, and went out
forever.

— Leo Tolstoy

It's all God's will: you can die in your sleep, and God can spare you in battle.

— Leo Tolstoy

If you once realize that to-morrow, if not to-day, you will die and nothing will be left of you, everything becomes insignificant!

— Leo Tolstoy

deathinsignificance

And you know, there's less charm in life when you think about death--but it's more peaceful.

— Leo Tolstoy