In his lectures, Vladimir Nabokov used the following technique. He closed all the curtains in the room, seeking total darkness. “In the firmament of Russian literature, this is Gogol,” and a lamp flashed at the end of the hall. “This is Chekhov,” another star lit up on the ceiling. "This is Dostoevsky," Nabokov flipped the switch. “But this is Tolstoy!” - the lecturer opened the drapery of the window, and blinding sunlight flooded the room.
He was the first to refuse copyright, was an opponent state system, and for the deviation of religious authorities excommunicated. He refused Nobel Prize, hated money and took the side of the peasants. Nobody knew him like this. His name is Leo Tolstoy.
Lev Nikolaevich left us 165,000 sheets of manuscripts, complete collection works in 90 volumes, wrote 10 thousand letters. Throughout his life, he searched for the meaning of life and universal happiness, which he found in simple word- good.
"Thoughts for Every Day" by Leo Tolstoy
It is said that a man is not free, because everything he does has its cause preceding it in time. But man always acts only in the present, and the present is outside of time; it is only the contact of the past and the future, and therefore at the moment of the present a person is always free.
Don't worry about tomorrow because there is no tomorrow. There is only today; live for him, and if yours is good today, then it is always good.
People grow only by trials. It is good to know this and so accept the sorrows that fall to our lot, lighten our cross by willingly turning our backs under it.
If you recognize life not in the body, but in the spirit, then there is no death, there is only liberation from the body.
We are conscious of something in the soul that is not subject to death. Separate only in your thought that which is not corporeal, and you will understand what does not die in you.
We have no right to be dissatisfied with this life. If it seems to us that we are dissatisfied with her, then this only means that we have reason to be dissatisfied with ourselves.
Man truly knows the law of God only when he does what he considers the law of God.
There are duties to one's neighbor, and each person has a duty to himself, to the spirit that lives in him.
Drive away from yourself everything that prevents you from seeing your connection with all living things.
The necessity of recognizing God is felt most clearly when we reject Him, forget Him.
Don't worry about others loving you. Love and you will be loved.
It's a human thing to justify one's sin - it's a diabolical thing to sin.
The sexual feeling in all animals and in man is invested for the great cause of procreation, and therefore it is a sin to think that this feeling is given to man only for pleasure.
The real self of a person is spiritual. And I am the one in all. So how can people be unequal?
Only those who do not believe in God can believe that people like themselves can make their life better.
Murder is always murder, whoever permits it, and whatever its justification; and therefore those who kill, or prepare to kill, are criminals, whatever they may be called.
The true law of God can only be that law which is the same for all people.
It is not shameful and not harmful not to know. We cannot know everything, but it is shameful and harmful to pretend that you know what you do not know.
A good life can only be lived by those who constantly think about it.
Learn to see the good in all people, but not in yourself, and also learn to condemn only yourself, and not other people.
The wise man was told that he was considered a bad person. He answered: it’s good that they don’t know everything about me, they would have said something else. ”
Don't praise yourself, don't judge, and don't argue. All the beginnings of sins in thoughts.
I live well - I write, I'm in a hurry, maybe I'm wrong, to say to death what I know and consider necessary. I kiss you. you. Loving you L. T.
“... what is beauty,
What people have been deifying for so long,
A vessel in which emptiness
Or a fire that burns so bright
in a vessel?
I. Bunin
Central problem fiction is the problem inner world person. This is the starting point from which all lines and moments of reflection of reality stretch without exception. The peculiarity of cultures different eras, the originality of the work of any writer is determined by the peculiarities of understanding the essence of man.
For Leo Tolstoy, the understanding of the essence of man was determined by the recognition of the obligatory choice between good and evil. A feature of Tolstoy's work is his desire to depict the inner world of a person in his development - as a constant, continuously changing mental flow.
In the novel “Resurrection”, describing Nekhlyudov, Tolstoy wrote: “People are like rivers: the water is the same in all and the same everywhere, but each river is sometimes narrow, sometimes fast, sometimes wide, sometimes quiet ... So are people. Each person carries in himself the rudiments of all human qualities and sometimes manifests one, sometimes another, and is often completely unlike himself, remaining one and himself.
Each of Tolstoy's works is a "history of the soul" of one or more main limes over a certain period of time. The epic novel “War and Peace” is a huge story of spiritual changes and the growth of a number of people. N. G. Chernyshevsky defined this property psychological drawing Tolstoy, calling it “the dialectics of the soul”: “Count Tolstoy’s attention is most of all drawn to how some feelings and thoughts develop from others... Tolstoy is occupied with the very mental process, its laws, the “dialectics of the soul”.
The expression "dialectic of the soul" is often used by Tolstoy internal monologue character - a stream of thoughts and feelings, silent speech. The spiritual beauty of Tolstoy's beloved heroes is manifested in this continuous inner struggle of thoughts and feelings, in the continuous search for the meaning of life, in dreams of activities that would benefit the whole people. Their life path- this is the path of constant quest, certainly leading to truth and goodness.
In the novel "War and Peace" there is a clear division of heroes into positive and negative. The main features of the latter are the poverty of the inner world, the lack moral principles narrowness of interests and aspirations. While goodies- these are full-fledged individuals with the richest spiritual world, they are in constant search for something new, strive for improvement. true beauty souls human author reveals on the example of two main characters - Natasha Rostova and Princess Marya, who, according to Tolstoy, are the ideals of women. Their fates and characters are different, as are their spiritual quest and experiences.
I think that none of the readers doubts that Natasha Rostova, this "... black-eyed, with a big mouth, ugly, but lively girl ..." is the writer's favorite heroine. She is cheerful and spontaneous, she is overwhelmed with love of life. Love is the essence of Natasha's character. In general, in the Rostov family, both elders and younger, and even servants are united by a deep mutual love. Everyone loves Natasha: both close and unfamiliar people; therefore, spiritual contact with her brings joy to others, it inspires, returns love to life. So it was with Nikolai when, having lost to Dolokhov, he returns home irritated and hears his sister singing. At this moment, he understands that “all this: misfortune, and money, and Dolokhov, and anger, and honor are all nonsense, but here she is real ...”.
According to Tolstoy, all of humanity should be connected by precisely such desirable spiritual aspirations towards each other. The author believed that justice can only be ensured by unity moral people. Within such a unity, the thought of violence cannot arise.
Another heroine of the novel - Marya Bolkonskaya - appears to the reader as completely different from Natasha. N. N. Gusev, the biographer of Lev Nikolaevich, wrote that “of all the faces, the closest to the author’s soul is undoubtedly Princess Marya Bolkonskaya with her deep and radiant eyes and the same soul.”
Marya is characterized by isolation and mental loneliness. In her soul there is a constant struggle between the desire to love everyone with Christian love and the dream of a simple earthly feeling. Of course, the humility and self-sacrifice that distinguish this heroine are not presented in the novel as the highest life goal, but Tolstoy pays tribute to such a spiritual impulse. In the novel, the author seeks to emphasize not external, but inner beauty their heroes. He endows them with a sense of patriotism, an all-encompassing love for everyone around them, the conviction that the meaning of life is in love.
L. N. Tolstoy never denied the importance of the environment for the formation of a full-fledged, spiritually rich personality. But also the author does not release a person from moral responsibility. No matter how difficult it is for a person, he is obliged to make a choice in favor of good, he has no right to forget about those who are weaker than him, who need help. As if confirming the correctness of the path chosen by his heroines, the writer leads them to happy ending.
The theme of purity and beauty human soul remains relevant in our time, when many moral foundations of society have been shaken, when the spiritual, purely human goes into the background, and such feelings as greed, unscrupulousness, cynicism, etc. come forward. But as long as the work of the great writer is alive, there is hope that it will help at least a small number of people to choose the right path in life.
It's better to do nothing than to do nothing. Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich
The best proof that the fear of death is not a fear of death, but of a false life, is that often people kill themselves out of fear of death.
To love is to live the life of the one you love. Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich
Love creates life. Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich
Love is life itself; but not an unreasonable, suffering and perishing life, but a blissful and endless life.
Love prevents death. Love is life. Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich
Love destroys death and turns it into an empty ghost; it also turns life from nonsense into something meaningful and makes happiness out of misfortune.
People are always wrong and will be wrong, and in nothing more than what they consider just and unjust.
People know this property of wine to drown out the voice of conscience and consciously use it for this purpose.
People seem stupid to each other mainly because they want to seem smarter.
People are not punished for their sins, but are punished by the sins themselves. And this is the heaviest and most certain punishment.
People learn how to speak main science How and when to be silent.
People who cannot do anything should make people, and the rest should contribute to their enlightenment and happiness. "Anna Karenina"
A lot is needed for art, but the main thing is fire.
Wisdom is to know what the work of life is and how to fulfill it.
Music is shorthand for feelings. Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich
We love people for the good we have done to them, and we do not love them for the evil we have done to them.
We do not love people not because they are evil, but we consider them evil because we do not love them.
We are surprised that there were and still are people who kill people to eat their meat. But the time will come when our grandchildren will be surprised that their grandfathers killed millions of animals every day in order to eat them.
One and the same thing can be looked at tragically and made into torment, and looked at simply and even cheerfully.
You must always be joyful. If the joy ends, look for what was wrong.
We must live in such a way as not to be afraid of death and not to desire it.
We must not set ourselves the task of getting married, but set ourselves the everlasting task - to live well, And then the time will come and circumstances will make it impossible not to get married. So you really can't go wrong.
You must definitely shake yourself up physically in order to be healthy morally.
We always think that we are loved because we are good. And we do not guess that they love us because those who love us are good.
Real life takes place where it is invisible.
Real love is not the love of one person, but spiritual state willingness to love everyone.
Science and art are just as necessary for people as food and drink and clothing, even more necessary; but they are not made so because we decide that what we call science and art is necessary, but only because people really need them.
Our Russian indifference is not to feel the obligations that our rights impose on us, and therefore to deny these obligations. "Anna Karenina"
Our good qualities harm us more in life than bad ones.
Don't be afraid of ignorance, be afraid of false knowledge. From him all the evil in the world.
Do not believe the words of your own or those of others, believe only in the deeds of your own and those of others.
It is not shameful and not harmful not to know. No one can know everything, but it is shameful and harmful to pretend that you know what you do not know.
Not the teacher who receives the upbringing and education of a teacher, but the one who has inner confidence in what it is, must be, and cannot be otherwise. This certainty is rare and can only be proven by the sacrifices a person makes to his vocation.
There is dissatisfaction necessary condition intelligent life. Only this discontent induces to work on oneself.
You can't reign innocent. Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich
An undoubted sign of true science is the consciousness of the insignificance of what you know, in comparison with what is revealed.
There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth.
There are no such positions and there are no such insignificant matters in which wisdom could not be manifested.
There are no conditions that a person could not get used to, especially if he sees that everyone around him lives the same way.
Is it possible for people to live closely in this beautiful world, under this immeasurable starry sky? Can a feeling of malice, vengeance, or the passion for the extermination of one's own kind be retained in the human soul in the midst of this charming nature?
No activity can be stable if it is not based on self-interest.
No violent reform will correct evil as long as people remain as they are, and therefore the correction of evil can be expected not from a change in the form of our life, but only from the spread of kindness and rationality.
Never bother another with what you can do yourself.
Never ask another to do what you can do yourself.
Nothing encourages idleness like empty talk. If people were silent and did not say those trifles with which they drive away the boredom of idleness from themselves, they could not endure it.
Nothing confuses the concepts of art so much as the recognition of authorities.
Effort is needed for all restraint, but of all such efforts, the most difficult is the effort to restrain the tongue. It is also the most necessary.
One of the most common and leading to the greatest disasters of temptations is the temptation to say: "Everyone does it."
One of the most amazing misconceptions is the misconception that a person's happiness lies in doing nothing.
Beware of the thought that you have virtues that others do not.
Judgment for good is the only verification of the sincerity of serving the good.
From a five-year-old child to me, only a step. From a newborn to me, a terrible distance.
The mistakes and oversights of a clearly conscious person can be more useful than the half-truths of people who prefer to remain in uncertainty ...
It is a mistake to think that knowledge is a virtue. What matters is not the quantity, but the quality of knowledge.
Man's first and undoubted duty is to participate in the struggle against nature for his own life and the lives of other people.
Stop talking as soon as you notice that you are irritated by yourself or the person you are talking to.
Pessimism is stupidity in bad taste. I always want to say to a pessimist: if the world is not for you, do not flaunt your displeasure, leave it and do not interfere with others.
Pessimism ... has always seemed to me not only sophism, but stupidity, and, in addition, stupidity in bad taste. I always want to say to a pessimist: "If the world is not for you, do not flaunt your displeasure, leave it and do not bother others."
It is bad if a person does not have something for which he is ready to die.
The concept of beauty not only does not coincide with good, but rather is opposed to it, since good for the most part coincides with the victory over passions, while beauty is the foundation of all our passions.
Truthfulness everywhere, and especially in education, is the main condition.
The truth is known not by the one who looks at his feet, but by the one who knows by the sun where to go.
The right way is: learn what your predecessors did and move on.
Indulging in regrets and fears, we lose the only eternity in which a person can be absolutely sure - the eternal Present.
Previously, they were afraid that objects that corrupt people would not fall into the number of art objects, and they banned all of it. Now they are only afraid that they might be deprived of some pleasure given by art, and patronize everyone. And I think that the latter error is much grosser than the first, and that its consequences are much more harmful.
With assiduous mental work without movement and bodily labor - a real grief.
A vocation can be recognized and proved only by the sacrifice that a scientist or artist makes to his peace and well-being in order to give himself up to his vocation.
Pretense of kindness repels more than outright malice.
Progress consists in the greater and greater predominance of reason over the animal law of struggle.
Simplicity is a necessary condition for beauty.
A drunkard never advances either mentally or morally.
Drunkards would never become drunkards if they did not see respectable and respected by all people, drinking wine and those who feed them.
Joy in life is the same as oil in a lamp. As soon as there is not enough oil, the wick burns out and, burning, ceases to shine and only smokes black, smelly smoke.
The difference between material poisons and mental poisons is that most material poisons are repugnant to the taste, while mental poisons in the form of bad books are, unfortunately, often attractive.
A falsehood exposed is just as important an acquisition for the good of mankind as a clearly expressed truth.
A spiritual wound, like a physical one, heals only from within by the protruding force of life.
A rare thief and murderer does his work sober.
The most common and widespread reason for lying is the desire to deceive not people, but ourselves.
The shortest expression of the meaning of life is this: the world is moving, improving; the task of man is to participate in this movement, and to obey and contribute to it.
The most powerful suggestion of goodness is an example of a good life.
Most terrible consequence drunken drinks that wine darkens the mind and conscience of people: people from drinking wine become rude, stupider and angrier.
Self-improvement is inherent in a person because he can never, if he is truthful, be satisfied with himself.
The surest sign of truth is simplicity and clarity. Lies are always complex, pretentious and verbose.
Most best person the one who lives mainly on his own thoughts and other people's feelings, the worst kind of person - who lives on other people's thoughts and his own feelings. Of the various combinations of these four foundations, the motives of activity - all the differences of people, all the complex music of characters. People who live only by their feelings are animals.
The property of love lies precisely in the fact that it gives good to those who experience it.
The strength of an army depends on its spirit.
The forces of knowledge should be directed to what is most necessary for a person: to his moral self-improvement.
Strong people are always simple.
Powerful of the world seem great only to those people who kneel before them.
Too much or too little to know each other equally prevents rapprochement.
The word is a great thing. Great because with a word you can unite people, with a word you can separate them... Beware of such a word that separates people.
The word is the deed.
With a word you can unite people, with a word you can separate them ... Beware of such a word that separates people or serves to enmity and hatred ...
Perfection is only perfection when it seems achievable only in infinity and when, therefore, the possibility of approaching it is infinite.
Conscience is the memory of society assimilated by the individual.
Alcohol also preserves the soul and mind of a drunkard, as it preserves anatomical preparations.
Comparison is used either to compare a worse thing with a better one, to show how good the described thing is, or, by comparing an extraordinary thing with an ordinary one, to give a clear idea about it.
The battle is won by the one who is determined to win it.
Try to give the mind as much food as possible.
Strive to do your duty, and you will immediately know what you are worth.
Shame in front of people is a good feeling, but the best thing is shame in front of yourself.
The essence of any faith is that it gives life a meaning that is not destroyed by death.
Happy is he who is happy at home.
The happiness of all mankind is not worth the tears of one offended child.
Happiness is pleasure without remorse.
Happiness is not in always doing what you want, but in always wanting what you do.
The son always lives in his father's house, and the day laborer only for a while. And therefore, the son will not live like a day laborer: he will take care of his father's house, and not think, like a day laborer, only about getting his pay. If man believes that his life does not end with death, then he will live like a son in his father's house. If life is only what it is in this world, then he will live like a day laborer, trying to take advantage of everything that is possible in this life.
Mysteriousness is not a sign of wisdom. The wiser a person, the simpler the language in which he expresses his thoughts.
What begins in anger ends in shame.
Only people who are able to love intensely can experience intense grief; but the same need to love counteracts their grief and heals them. From this, the moral nature of man is even more tenacious than the physical nature. Grief never kills.
Only then will you be able to refrain from evil deeds when you learn to refrain from evil thoughts.
Only then is it easy to live with a person when you do not consider yourself higher, better than him, or him higher and better than yourself.
A sober person is ashamed of what a drunk person is not ashamed of. These words express the essential, basic reason why people resort to intoxicating substances.
Labor is a necessary condition for human life, and labor brings good to a person.
Labor is not a virtue, but a necessary condition for a virtuous life.
A cowardly friend is more terrible than an enemy, because you fear the enemy, but you hope for a friend.
Vanity... It must be there characteristic and a special disease of our age.
Every art has two deviations from the path: vulgarity and artificiality.
One girl was asked which main man, what is the most important time and what is the most necessary thing? And she answered, thinking that the most important person is the one with whom you are communicating at this moment, the most important time is the time in which you are now living, and the most necessary thing is to do good to the person with whom you are dealing at every given moment.
At the very evil person his face blooms when he is told that he is loved. So this is happiness...
The one who does nothing always has many helpers.
Knowing your one wife whom you love, you will know all the women better than if you knew thousands of them.
Effort is a necessary condition for moral perfection.
Scientific explanations for the most part give the impression that what was clear and understandable becomes obscure and confused.
Good book- just a conversation with a smart person.
Good actor can, as it seems to me, play the most stupid things beautifully and thereby increase their harmful influence.
Often in these short thoughts there are those ... which are clearer, more convincing and provide more material for thought than entire long treatises.
Often people take pride in the purity of their conscience just because they have a short memory.
Often modesty is mistaken for weakness and indecisiveness, but when experience proves to people that they were mistaken, then modesty will give new charm, strength and respect to character.
You often hear young people say: I don't want to live with someone else's mind, I'll think it over myself. Why do you think about what you think. Take what you have and move on. This is the strength of humanity.
A person must be happy. If he is unhappy, then he is guilty. And he is obliged to work on himself until he eliminates this inconvenience or misunderstanding.
A man is like a fraction, the numerator is what he is, and the denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator, the smaller the fraction.
A person who separates himself from other people deprives himself of happiness, because the more he separates himself, the worse his life is.
The more a person gives to people and the less he demands for himself, the better he is; the less he gives to others and the more he demands for himself, the worse he is.
The more a person shows love, the more people love him. And the more he is loved, the easier it is for him to love others.
The more guilty you are before your own, even if hidden, conscience, the more willingly and involuntarily you look for the guilt of others, and especially those before whom you are guilty.
The more difficult the situation, the less you need to act.
What to do? To discard all those improvements in life, all the power that humanity has acquired? Forget what it has learned? Impossible. No matter how maliciously these mental acquisitions are used, they are nevertheless acquisitions, and people cannot forget them.
In order to live honestly, one must tear, get confused, fight, make mistakes, start and quit, and start again, and quit again, and fight forever ... And peace is spiritual meanness.
To be true friends, you need to be confident in each other.
To believe in good, one must begin to do it.
Family selfishness is crueler than personal selfishness. A person who is ashamed to sacrifice the blessings of another for himself alone considers it his duty to use misfortune, the need of people for the good of the family.
Aesthetic and ethical are two arms of the same lever: as far as one side is lengthened and lightened, the other is shortened and heavier. Once a person loses moral sense, so it is made especially sensitive to the aesthetic.
It is a terrible mistake to think that beauty can be meaningless.
I know only two real misfortunes in life: remorse and illness.
Current page: 1 (total book has 10 pages) [accessible reading excerpt: 7 pages]
Tolstoy Lev Nikolaevich
Thoughts of wise people for every day
“During the serious illness of Leo Tolstoy in January 1903, when his life hung in the balance and he could not devote himself to his usual work, he still found the strength to read the Gospel and out of habit, daily tearing off the calendar in his bedroom, read the collected there are sayings of various great men. But last year's calendar came to an end, and Lev Nikolayevich, in the absence of another at hand, wanted to compose for himself excerpts from various thinkers for each day. Every day, while in bed, as far as his strength allowed, he made these extractions, and the result of this work was the book offered to readers.
This includes selected thoughts of the following writers and sages: Epictetus, Diogenes, Marcus Aurelius, Socrates, Confucius, Buddha, Lao-Tse, Aristotle, Plato, St. Augustine and more modern: Pascal, Rousseau, Spinoza, Luther, Vauvenargue, Kant, Schiller, Bentham, Schopenhauer, Voltaire, Klinger, Thackeray, Dostoyevsky, Wilmain, Ruskin, etc..».
"Mediator", 1903
1st of January
One winter, Francis was walking with his brother Leo from Perusa to Portionkul; it was so cold that they were trembling with cold, Francis called Brother Leo, who was walking in front, and said to him: “Oh, brother Leo, God grant that our brothers set an example of holy living throughout the earth; “Write down, however, that this is not the perfect joy.”
“And write down again, brother Leo, that if our brothers heal the sick, cast out demons, make the blind see, or resurrect those who died for four days, write down that there will be no perfect joy in this either.”
And, going even further, Francis said to Leo: “Write down again, brother Leo, that if our brothers knew all languages, all sciences and all scriptures, if they prophesied not only about the future, but would know all the secrets of conscience and soul, “Write down that there is no perfect joy in this either.”
Going even further, Francis again called the Lion and said: “And also write down, brother Leo, the sheep of God, that if we learned to speak in angelic languages, if we knew the course of the stars, and if all the treasures of the earth were opened to us, and we knew if all the secrets of the lives of birds, fish, all animals, people, trees, stones and waters - write down that this would not be a perfect joy.
And, having walked a little more, Francis again called Brother Leo and said to him: “Write down again that if we were such preachers that we would convert all the pagans to the faith of Christ, write down that there would not be perfect joy in this either.”
Then Brother Leo said to Francis: “In what, brother Francis, is joy perfect?”
And Francis answered: “Here is what. That if, when we arrive at Portionkül, dirty, wet, stiff with cold and hungry, and ask to be let in, and the gatekeeper tells us: “Why are you vagrants wandering around the world, seducing the people, stealing the alms of poor people, get out of here !" and will not open to us. And if then we don’t get offended and with humility and love think that the gatekeeper is right, that God Himself inspired him to do this with us, and we will stay wet, cold and hungry in the snow and in the water until morning without grumbling at the gatekeeper, then, Brother Leo only then will there be complete joy.”
January 2
People become embarrassed, worried and agitated only when they are busy with external affairs that do not depend on them. In these cases, they anxiously ask themselves: “What am I going to do? Will there be something? What will come of it? How could one or the other not happen? This is the case with those who constantly care about what does not belong to them.
On the contrary, a person who is occupied with what depends on himself, and who devotes his life to the work of self-perfection, will not disturb himself so much. If he had begun to worry about whether he would be able to hold on to the truth and avoid falsehood, then I would say: calm down - what worries you is in your own hands; look only at your thoughts and actions and try to correct yourself in every possible way. So don’t say: “Something will happen?” Everything that happens, you turn to yourself for teaching and benefit.
“What if I die fighting misfortune?”
- Well, what? In that case, you will die the death of an honest man, doing what you have to do. You need to die anyway, and death must catch you doing something. I would be pleased if death found me at work, worthy of a man, for a good deed and useful to all people; or for her to catch me while I am trying to correct myself. Then I could raise my hands to God and say to Him, “Lord! You know Yourself how I used what You gave me to understand Your laws. Did I rebuke you? Did you resent what happened to me? Did he shirk his duty? I thank You for the fact that I was born, for all Your gifts. I have used them enough: take them back and dispose of them as You please, because they are Yours!”
Can there be a better death? In order to live to such a death, you do not need to lose much, although, it is true, you will gain much by doing so. If you want to keep what is not yours, then you will certainly lose what is yours.
He who wants to be successful in worldly affairs does not sleep all night long, constantly bustles and fusses, imitates strong people and generally acts like a vile person. And in the end, what did he achieve with all this? He has achieved that he is surrounded by some honors, that he is feared, and that he, having become the head, disposes of some actions. Wouldn't you really want to do some work to free yourself from all such worries and sleep peacefully, fearing nothing and suffering nothing? Know that such peace of mind does not come for nothing.
(Epictetus)
January 3
Whether our life ends with carnal death is a matter of the greatest importance, and rare person doesn't think about it. Depending on whether we believe or not in eternal life and our actions will be reasonable or senseless. Every rational act is necessarily based on the certainty of the immortality of true life.
Therefore, our first concern should be to sort out and understand what exactly in life is immortal. Some people work hard to understand this. They recognize that their whole life must depend on it.
Other people, although they doubt immortality, are sincerely tormented by their doubt and consider it their greatest misfortune. They spare nothing to learn the truth, tirelessly seek it and consider it the most important thing in their lives.
But there are also people who don't think about it at all. Their negligence, when it comes to themselves, surprises, revolts and frightens me.
(Vlas Pascal)
4 January
Judge not lest ye be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you use, it will be measured to you again. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not feel the beam in your eye? Or, as you say to your brother: let me take the speck out of your eye, but there is a log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see how to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
(Mm. VII, 1–5)
It is easy to notice the delusions of others, but it is difficult to notice one's own; they like to understand the mistakes of their loved ones, but hide their own, as a rogue tries to hide his fake dice.
A man is apt to constantly blame others: he looks only at their mistakes, but his own passions grow more and more, removing him from improvement.
(Buddhist wisdom)
Do not judge your neighbor until you are in his place.
(Talmud)
5 January
One thing we know, or can know if we will, namely, that the heart and conscience of man are divine, that in the denial of evil and the recognition of good, man himself is divinity incarnate; that his joy in love, his suffering in anger, his indignation at the sight of injustice, his glory in self-sacrifice, are eternal, undeniable proofs of his unity with the supreme Sovereign; that in this, and not in bodily advantages and not in a greater variety of instincts, he himself is the master of the lower animated world. Insofar as he denies or violates the dictates of the heart and conscience, to the extent that he dishonors the name of the heavenly Father, and does not hallow His name on earth; in so far as he follows them, he sanctifies His name and receives from the fullness of His power.
(John Ruskin)
6th January
He whose faith is weak cannot arouse faith in others.
(Lao-Tse)
The sin of the whole world is, in essence, the sin of Judas. People do not disbelieve in their Christ, but sell Him.
(John Ruskin)
Jan. 7
Whoever puts his life in the light of understanding and serves him, for that there can be no desperate situations in life, he does not know the torments of conscience, is not afraid of loneliness and does not seek a noisy society - such has higher life, does not run from people and does not chase them. He is not embarrassed by thoughts about how long his spirit is imprisoned in a carnal shell; the actions of such a person will always be the same, even in view of the imminent death. For him, one concern is to live intelligently in peaceful communication with people.
(Marcus Aurelius)
January 8
The pious, the people of action, say: the glory of our youth, which has not disgraced our old age.
The penitents say: Glory to our old age, redeeming our youth.
But both say: good for the one who is sinless, who has sinned - repent, correct yourself and be forgiven you.
(Talmud)
January 9
A person who stands on tiptoe cannot stand for long. A person who exhibits himself cannot shine. He who is pleased with himself cannot be glorified. He who boasts cannot have merit. He who is proud cannot rise. Before the judgment of the mind, such people are like the refuse of food and disgust everyone. Therefore, one who has intelligence does not rely on himself.
(Lao-Tse)
January 10
He who hates his neighbor, as it were, sheds human blood.
(Talmud)
The one whose malice has no boundaries, the one who is wrapped around it like a dodder, will soon lead himself to where only his worst enemy would like to push him.
Freshly strained milk does not turn sour, an evil deed does not immediately bear fruit, but like a fire buried in warmth, it gradually burns and torments the madman.
(Buddhist wisdom)
January 11
And behold, someone came up and said to Him: Good teacher! What good can I do to have eternal life? Jesus said to him: If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me.
(Mm. XIX, 16.21)
How insensitive and indifferent to the grief of others is a rich man.
(Talmud)
January 12
If you have done evil to your neighbor, even if it is small, consider it great, but if you have done him great good, consider it unimportant; consider the small good done to you by others as great.
The blessing of God will descend on the one who gives to the poor; a double blessing rests on the one who at the same time meets and escorts him affectionately.
(Talmud)
13th of January
The direct path or rule of conduct to be followed is not far from people. If people make themselves a rule of conduct that is far from them, that is, inconsistent with their nature, then it should not be taken as a rule of conduct. A carpenter carving an ax handle has before him an example of what he is doing. Taking in his hands the ax handle of the ax with which he amuses, he looks at it from one side and the other, and after he has made a new ax handle, examines them both in order to see how similar they are; so a wise man who has the same feelings for others as he has for himself, finds the right rule of conduct. He does not do to others what he does not want to be done to him.
(Confucius)
January 14
Every creature benefits not only everything that is sent to it by Providence, but also at the very time when it is sent.
(Marcus Aurelius)
Oh, how happy we are, living without hatred for those who hate us; how happy we are if we live among those who hate!
Oh, how happy we are, free from greed among the greedy. Among people consumed by greed, we live free from it! ..
Oh, how happy we are, not calling anything ours. We are like bright gods, drunk with holiness! ..
(Buddhist wisdom)
January 15
The simplicity of life, language, habits gives strength to the nation, and the luxury of life, pretentiousness of language and effeminacy of habits leads to weakness and death.
(John Ruskin)
True political economy is that which teaches the people not to desire, but to despise and destroy everything that leads to destruction.
(he)
January 16
The horse is saved from the enemy by its fast run, and it is unhappy not when it cannot sing like a rooster, but when it has lost what was given to it - its fast run.
The dog has a sense; when she is deprived of what is given to her - her instinct, she is unhappy, and she is not unhappy when she cannot fly.
In the same way, a person becomes unhappy not when he cannot overcome a bear or a lion, or evil people, but when he loses what is given to him - kindness and prudence. Such and such a person is truly unhappy and worthy of pity.
It is not a pity that a person was born or died, that he lost his money, his house, his estate: all this does not belong to a person. And it's a pity when a person loses his true property - his human dignity.
(Epictetus)
January 17
The whole world is subject to a single law, and in all rational beings there is a single mind. The truth is one, and for reasonable people the concept of perfection is also the same.
(Marcus Aurelius)
All good things are nothing before the good of truth; all sweetness is nothing before the sweetness of truth; the bliss of truth immeasurably surpasses all joys.
(Buddhist wisdom)
January 18
Therefore I say to you: do not worry about your soul what you will eat and what you will drink, nor about your body what you will wear. Is not the soul more than food, and the body more than clothes?
(Mm. VI, 25)
Don't worry about tomorrow because you don't know what else will happen today.
Who has bread in a basket and says, "What will I eat tomorrow?" - he belongs to the unbelievers.
He who created the day will create nourishment for it.
(Talmud)
January 19
When a sage adheres to the law of virtue, he hides it from the eyes of people and does not regret that he is not known to anyone.
(Confucius)
False shame is the devil's favorite weapon. He achieves more with it than even with false pride. With false pride he only encourages evil, and with false shame he paralyzes good.
(John Ruskin)
January 20th
Our life is a consequence of our thoughts: it is born in our heart, it comes from our thoughts. If a person speaks or acts with an evil thought, suffering relentlessly follows him, like a wheel following the heel of an ox drawing a wagon.
Our life is a consequence of our thoughts: it is born in our heart, it is created by our thought. If a person speaks or acts with a good thought, joy follows him like a shadow that never leaves.
“He offended me, he triumphed over me, he enslaved me, he offended me” - in a heart disturbed by such thoughts, hatred will never fade.
“He offended me, he triumphed over me, he enslaved me,” whoever does not give refuge to such thoughts in himself will forever drown out hatred in himself.
For what comes out of hatred is not conquered by hatred: it is quenched by love - such is the eternal law.
(Buddhist wisdom)
January 21
He who is ashamed of the shameless and not ashamed of the shameless, following a false opinion, enters the evil path of death.
(Buddhist wisdom)
A commendable feature in a person is modesty, for the shy one will not sin soon.
(Talmud)
January 22
What strength is in a person who always acts according to the will of God and is submissive to Him in everything!
(Marcus Aurelius)
The essence of love for God consists in the striving of the soul and its attraction to the Creator in order to merge with His highest light.
(Talmud)
January 23
Everything that people admire so much, everything for the sake of which they are so worried and busy, all this does not bring them the slightest happiness. As long as people are busy, they think that what is good for them is what they seek. But as soon as they get what they want, they again begin to worry, lament and envy what they do not yet have.
And this is very understandable, because freedom is not achieved by satisfying one's idle desires, but, on the contrary, by ridding oneself of such desires.
If you want to be sure that this is true, then put at least half as much labor into freeing yourself from your empty desires as you have spent so far on their fulfillment, and you yourself will soon see that in this way you will receive much more peace and happiness. .
Leave the company of rich and powerful people; stop pleasing noble and powerful people and imagining that you can get anything you need from them. On the contrary, seek from righteous and reasonable people what you can get from them and, I assure you, you will not leave them empty-handed if you only come to them with with a pure heart and good thoughts.
If you do not take my word for it, then at least for a while try to get close to such people, try to take at least a few steps on the path to true freedom. And then decide for yourself where you are more attracted: to the good and freedom or to evil and slavery. There is nothing to be ashamed of in such an experience. Test yourself...
(Epictetus)
January 24
Be truthful even in relation to the child: fulfill the promise to him, otherwise you will teach him to lie.
(Talmud)
Never teach a child something that you yourself are not sure of, and if you want to inspire him with something in his tender years, so that the purity of childhood and the strength of the first combinations imprint it in him, then beware most of all that it is not a lie, about which you yourself know is a lie.
(John Ruskin)
The 25th of January
And when they came to the place called the skull, there they crucified Him and the malefactors, one on the right, and the other on the left. Jesus said: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
(Luke XXIII, 33-34)
The human soul, not voluntarily, but by force, turns away from truth, moderation, justice and good; the more clearly you understand this, the more meekly you will treat people.
(Marcus Aurelius)
January 26
Can you reasonably resent a man who is afflicted with some disgusting disease? How is he to blame, that his neighborhood is disgusting to you? Treat moral ills the same way.
“But,” you say, “man has a mind by which he can recognize his vices.” It's right. Therefore, you also have a mind and can by reasonable treatment lead your neighbor to the consciousness of your shortcomings; so show your mind, be able to awaken a conscience in a person and heal his blindness without anger, impatience and arrogance.
(Marcus Aurelius)
January 27
In comparison with the world around him, man is nothing more than a weak reed; but he is a reed endowed with understanding.
One little thing is enough to kill a man. And yet, man is above all creatures, above everything earthly, because even when he dies, he will realize with his mind that he is dying. Man can realize the insignificance of his body before nature. Nature is unaware of anything.
Our whole advantage lies in our ability to understand. Understanding alone elevates us above the rest of the world. Let us value and support our understanding, and it will illuminate our whole life, show us what is good and what is evil.
(Vlas Pascal)
28 January
He who later covered his former evil deeds with good ones, shines in this gloomy world like a moon in a cloudy night.
(Buddhist wisdom)
Blessed is the man who repents of sins, while he is still courageous.
Repent before your strength leaves you, add oil before the lamp goes out.
(Talmud)
January 29
Truth is not known in anything by talking, but only by labor and observation. And when you master one truth, the other two will probably appear beautiful before you, like the first leaves of dicotyledonous plants.
(John Ruskin)
Childhood often holds in its weak fingers the truth that people cannot hold with their courageous hands and the discovery of which is the pride of later years.
(he)
January 30
Whoever imagines the truth in a lie and sees a lie in the truth, he will never comprehend the truth and will rush about in error in vain.
But the one who saw the lie in the lie and recognized the truth in the truth is already close to the truth, and his path is correct.
Just as rain penetrates irresistibly into a poorly covered building, so passions easily penetrate into a heart that is not protected by reflection.
(Buddhist wisdom)
January 31
Art is only in its proper place when it is subordinated to utility. His task is to teach, but to teach lovingly; and it is shameful, and not sublime, when it is only pleasant to people, and does not help them discover the truth.
(John Ruskin)
People who speak flamboyantly and skillfully, with pleasant manners, rarely possess the virtue of philanthropy.
(Chinese wisdom)
A good actor can, it seems to me, perfectly play the most stupid things and thereby increase their harmful influence.
A drunkard never advances either mentally or morally.
Aphorisms are almost the best form for presenting philosophical judgments.
Calamity is a touchstone for human life.
The one who does nothing always has many helpers.
Immortality, of course, incomplete, is undoubtedly realized in the offspring.
It has always been and will always be important only what is needed for the good of not one person, but all people.
Where there is love, there is God.
If a savage ceased to believe in his wooden god, this does not mean that there is no God, but only that God is not wooden.
Soul is glass. God is light passing through glass. They also say that God is the mind, or the mind is God.
We must always marry in the same way as we die, that is, only when it is impossible otherwise.
One must not marry out of love, but by all means with a calculation, only understanding these words just the opposite of how they are usually understood, that is, marrying not out of sensual love and according to the calculation of where and how to live, but according to that calculation, how likely it is that future wife will help, not hinder me from living a human life.
A true marriage is only one that illuminates love.
It is impossible to prove to those who believe in the trinity of God that this is not the case, but it can be shown to them that their assertion is an assertion not of knowledge, but of faith, that if they assert that there are three gods, then I can just as well assert that there are /2.
The essence of any faith is that it gives life a meaning that is not destroyed by death.
Faith is an understanding of the meaning of life and the recognition of the duties arising from this understanding.
I am seriously convinced that the world is ruled by completely crazy people.
The strength of the government rests on the ignorance of the people, and it knows this and therefore will always fight against enlightenment. It's time for us to understand this.
Power over oneself is the highest power, enslavement to one's passions is the most terrible slavery.
The consequences of war will always be universal calamity and universal corruption.
War is murder. And no matter how many people come together to commit murder, and no matter how they call themselves, murder is still the worst sin in the world.
We know that loaded guns must be handled with care. But we do not want to know that we must treat the word in the same way. The word can both kill and make evil worse than death.
An educator needs to know life deeply in order to prepare for it.
Both upbringing and education are inseparable. It is impossible to educate without passing on knowledge; all knowledge acts educationally.
Time is an endless movement, without a single moment of rest - and it cannot be conceived otherwise.
anger
No matter how unpleasant anger is for others, it is more difficult for the one who experiences it. What begins in anger ends in shame.
A proud person is definitely overgrown with an ice crust. Through this bark there is no way for any other feeling.
Pride is not at all the same as consciousness of human dignity.
You can't scare off children with severity, they can't stand only lies.
Good is eternal the highest goal our life. No matter how we understand good, our life is nothing but striving for good.
Our good qualities harm us more in life than bad ones.
Kindness is for the soul what health is for the body: it is invisible when you own it, and it gives success in every business.
A good deed is done with effort, but when the effort is repeated several times, the same deed becomes a habit.
Only those who do good live.
What a necessary spice to everything - kindness. Most best qualities without kindness they are worth nothing, and the worst vices are easily forgiven.
Strive to do your duty, and you will immediately know what you are worth.
A cowardly friend is more terrible than an enemy, because you fear the enemy, but you hope for a friend.
If man did not want, then there would be no man. The cause of all activity is desire.
A woman who tries to be like a man is as ugly as an effeminate man.
The blessing of people in life. And life is at work.
The shortest expression of the meaning of life can be this: the world is moving and improving. the main task- contribute to this movement, submit to it and cooperate with it.
In order to live honestly, you have to tear, get confused, make mistakes, start and quit ... and always fight and lose. And peace is a spiritual meanness.
In order to live good life, there is no need to know where you came from and what will happen in the next world.
The value of life is inversely proportional to the square of the distance to death.
Life is an unceasing change: the weakening of the carnal life and the strengthening, the increase of the spiritual life.
In order to continue living, knowing the inevitability of death, there are only two means; one thing is to never stop desiring and striving to achieve the joys of this world so much that you always drown out the thought of death, the other is to find in this temporary life, short or long, such a meaning that would not be destroyed by death.
True life is only that which continues the past, contributes to the good of modern life and the good of the future life.
You can hate life only because of apathy and laziness.
If life does not seem to you a great joy, it is only because your mind is misdirected.
Only then is it easy to live with a person when you do not consider yourself higher, better than him, or him higher and better than yourself.
Life should and can be an unceasing joy.
There is only one way to put an end to evil - to do good to evil people.
We love people for the good we have done to them, and we do not love them for the evil we have done to them.
Anger, like love, is not Chemical substance, and organic, like yeast - sourdough. A tiny fraction leavens everything.
It is not the quantity of knowledge that matters, but the quality of it. You can know a lot without knowing the most necessary.
Don't be afraid of ignorance, be afraid of false knowledge. From him all the evil of the world.
It is not shameful and not harmful not to know. No one can know everything, and it is shameful and harmful to pretend that you know what you do not know.
Knowledge humbles the great, surprises the ordinary, and puffs up the little man.
Knowledge without moral basis- does not mean anything.
Knowledge is a tool, not a goal.
ideal
Ideal is a guiding star. Without it, there is no firm direction, and no direction - no life.
As soon as an ideal higher than the former one is placed before humanity, all former ideals fade away like stars before the sun, and a person cannot but recognize a higher ideal, just as he cannot but see the sun.
A lot is needed for art, but the main thing is fire!
In art, everything is a little bit.
Art is the highest manifestation of power in man.
Great objects of art are great only because they are accessible and understandable to everyone.
tests
Both what we call happiness and what we call unhappiness are equally useful to us if we look at both as a test.
All truths are paradoxes. The direct conclusions of the mind are erroneous, the absurd conclusions of experience are unmistakable.
The main obstacle to the knowledge of truth is not a lie, but a semblance of truth.
Truth expressed in words is a powerful force in the lives of people.
The greatest truths are the simplest.
Any slander only gains more meaning from objection to it.
In any case, a little, but good, is better than a lot, but bad. It's the same in books.
The difference between material poisons and mental poisons is that most material poisons are nasty in taste, but mental poisons, in the form of bad books, unfortunately, are often attractive.
Books of sayings not only do not suppress the independent activity of the mind, but, on the contrary, cause it.
Beauty does not cause love, but love makes us see beauty.
Beauty, joy, only as joy, regardless of goodness, is disgusting.
The beauty of bodily forms always coincides with the concept of healthy strength, about the activity of vital energy.
Criticism is only fruitful when, by judging, it indicates what that which is bad should be.
Love destroys death and turns it into an empty ghost; it also turns life from nonsense into something meaningful and makes happiness out of misfortune.
To love is to live the life of the one you love.
Love is a priceless gift. It's the only thing we can give and yet you keep it.
Love? What is love? Love prevents death. Love is life. Everything, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists only because I love. Everything is connected by her. Love is God, and to die means for me, a particle of love, to return to the common and eternal source.
The main thing is not to forget for a minute because of marital love, not to lose love and respect as a person to a person.
True love in itself feels so much holiness, innocence, strength, enterprise and independence that for it there is neither crime, nor obstacles, nor the whole prosaic side of life.
Any discussion of love destroys love.
Love cannot be harmful, but if only it were love, and not a wolf of egoism in the sheep's clothing of love.
All people live and act partly according to their own thoughts, partly according to the thoughts of other people. The extent to which people live according to their own thoughts and how much according to the thoughts of other people is one of the main differences between people.
People often take pride in the purity of their conscience just because they have a short memory.
If people interfere with you, then you have no reason to live. Leaving people is suicide.
True social progress lies in greater and greater unity of people.
Is it really crowded for people to live in this beautiful world, under this immeasurable starry sky? Can a feeling of malice, vengeance, or the passion for the extermination of one's own kind be retained in the human soul in the midst of this charming nature?
Every opportunity must be seized to bring joy to people, but people must also try to make them happy not with trifles, but with important things.
All people of the world have the same rights to enjoy the natural benefits of the world and the same rights to respect.
If only people knew that the goal of mankind is not material progress, that this progress is inevitable growth, and that the goal is the same - the good of all people.
People who recognize war not only as inevitable but also useful and therefore desirable—these people are terrible, terrible in their moral perversity.
People differ in that some people think first, then they say and do, while others say and do first, and then think.
The evils of war and the good of peace are known to people to such an extent that since we know people, the most best wishes was the greeting "peace be upon you".
There is a side to the dream that is better than reality; actually there is a side better dreams. Complete happiness would be a combination of both.
There is a side to the dream that is better than reality; in reality there is a side better than dreams. Complete happiness would be a combination of both.
You often hear young people say: I don't want to live with someone else's mind, I'll think it over myself. Why do you think about what you think about? Take what you have and move on. This is the strength of humanity.
People learn how to speak, and the main science is how and when to be silent.
If you regret once that you didn't say it, you will regret it a hundred times. that did not speak.
Wisdom in all worldly affairs, it seems to me, consists not in knowing what to do, but in knowing what to do before and what to do after.
Wisdom is not about knowing too much. We cannot know everything. Wisdom is not in knowing as much as possible, but in knowing what knowledge is most needed, what is less and what is even less needed.
What could be more precious than daily contact with the wisest people in the world.
Eloquence, like pearls, shines with content. True wisdom is laconic.
There are moments when a man says to a woman Furthermore what she should know about him. He said - and forgot, but she remembers.
Most men demand virtues from their wives, which they themselves are not worth.
Music is shorthand for feelings.
The vagueness of a word is an invariable sign of the vagueness of thought.
All thoughts that have huge consequences are always simple.
The grain is invisible in the ground, but only from it grows a huge tree. The thought is just as imperceptible, but only from the thought grow greatest events human life.
Short thoughts are good because they make the serious reader think for himself.
Despondency and bad mood are not only painful for others, but also contagious.
I know only two real misfortunes in life: remorse and illness.
Crazy people always achieve their goals better than healthy ones. This happens because for them there are no moral barriers, no shame, no justice, not even fear.
Effort is a necessary condition for moral perfection.
You must definitely shake yourself up physically in order to be healthy morally.
The need for education lies in every person; the people love and seek education, just as they love and seek air to breathe.
Pessimism is stupidity in bad taste. I always want to say to a pessimist: if the world is not for you, do not flaunt your displeasure, leave it and do not interfere with others.
Pessimism has always seemed to me not only sophism, but stupidity, and in addition, stupidity in bad taste ... I always want to say to a pessimist: "If the world is not for you, do not flaunt your displeasure, leave it and do not interfere with others."
Do not believe the words of your own or those of others, believe only in the deeds of your own and those of others.
In order to learn to tell the truth to people, one must learn to tell it to oneself.
The degree of truthfulness of a person is an indicator of the degree of his moral perfection.
If only people would believe that strength is not in strength, but in truth, and they would boldly express it.
When you were betrayed, it's like having your hands broken. You can forgive, but hugging will NEVER work.
Nine-tenths of the total number of crimes that stain humanity are committed under the influence of wine.
The tenderness and delight that we experience from the contemplation of nature is a memory of the time when we were animals, trees, flowers, earth. More precisely: it is the consciousness of unity with everything, hidden from us by time.
No selfish excitement can resist the soothing, enchanting influence of beautiful and calm nature.
progress
Progress consists in the ever greater predominance of reason over the animal law of struggle.
Is it not the usual course of progress that inventions and material improvements are made that destroy the moral order of life? When this disorder becomes very heavy, moral questions are raised.
Work is only joyful when it is undoubtedly needed.
Nothing encourages idleness like empty talk.
Never listen to those who speak badly of others and good things about you.
Reasonable and moral always coincide.
Each creature has organs that indicate its place in the world. For man, this organ is the mind.
If your mind does not show you your place in the world and your destination, then know that it is not the bad structure of the world, not your mind, that is to blame for this, but the false direction that you gave it.
The purpose of dinner is nourishment, and the purpose of marriage is the family.
If the purpose of marriage is a family, then he who wants to have many wives and husbands may enjoy a lot, but in no case will he have a family.
All happy families similar to each other, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Often modesty is mistaken for weakness and indecisiveness, but when experience proves to people that they were mistaken, then modesty gives new charm, strength and respect to character.
words
Time passes, but the spoken word remains.
I died - I woke up. Yes, death is an awakening!
temptations
One of the most common and leading to the greatest disasters of temptations is the temptation to say: "Everyone does it."
By killing animals for food, a person suppresses the highest spiritual feelings in himself - compassion and pity for other living beings like him - and, stepping over himself, hardens his heart.
The true strength of a person is not in impulses, but in indestructible calmness.
Old age is the biggest surprise in life.
The world moves forward thanks to those who suffer.
The fear of death is inversely proportional to the good life.
Shame in front of people is a good feeling, but the best thing is shame in front of yourself.
One can and should be ashamed not of any kind of work, even the most impure, but only one thing: an idle life.
There are no accidents in fate; man creates rather than meets his destiny.
The most evil person's face lights up when he is told that he is loved. So this is happiness...
There are two desires, the fulfillment of which can constitute the true happiness of a person - to be useful and to have a calm conscience.
One of the first and universally recognized conditions of happiness is a life in which the connection between man and nature is not broken, that is, life under open sky, in the light of the sun, fresh air; communication with the earth, plants, animals.
One of the most amazing misconceptions is the misconception that a person's happiness lies in doing nothing.
Happy is he who is happy at home.
Happiness is pleasure without remorse.
To become happy, you need to constantly strive for this happiness and understand it. It does not depend on circumstances, but on you.
Happiness is more likely to enter a house where a good mood always reigns.
Happiness is not in always doing what you want, but in always wanting what you do.
work
Physical labor not only excludes the possibility mental activity not only improves her dignity, but encourages her.
Labor, labor. How happy I feel when I work.
Where labor turns into creativity, naturally, even physiologically, the fear of death disappears.
Vanity, concern for human glory - this is the last dress to be removed. It is difficult to remove it, but it is terribly burdensome, because most of all it interferes with the freedom of the soul.
Vanity in grief is expressed by the desire to appear either distressed, or unhappy, or firm; and these low desires, which we do not admit, but which almost never - even in the strongest sadness - do not leave us, deprive her of strength, dignity and sincerity.
Vanity is some kind of immature love for fame, some kind of pride transferred to the opinions of others - he loves himself not as he is, but as he is shown to others.
One smile consists of what is called the beauty of the face: if a smile adds charm to the face, then the face is beautiful; if she does not change it, then it is usual; if she spoils it, then it is bad.
church
Church. The whole word is the name of a deceit by means of which some people want to rule over others.
civilization
If a person has learned to think - no matter what he thinks - he always thinks about his death.
Nothing so weakens the strength of a person as the hope in something other than one's own effort to find salvation and good.
A person will be the happier the more clearly he understands that his vocation is not to accept favors from other people, but to serve others and put his life at the disposal of many people. A person who does this will be worthy of his possessions and will never fail.
A man is like a fraction, the numerator is what he is, and the denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator, the smaller the fraction.
A man who knows his life is like a man-slave who suddenly finds out that he is a king.
Every person knows that he needs to do not what separates him from people, but what unites him with them.
The need for happiness is embedded in man; so it's legal.
on other topics
If you can admit whatever more important than feelings philanthropy, at least for one hour and at least in some one, exceptional case, then there is no crime that could not be committed against people, without considering oneself guilty.
If how many heads - so many minds, then how many hearts - so many kinds of love.
If you do something, do it well. If you can't or don't want to do well, don't do it at all.
Have a goal for your whole life, a goal for a certain time, a goal for the year, for the month, for the week, for the day, and for the hour, and for the minute, sacrificing lower goals to higher ones.
Everyone wants to change humanity, but no one thinks about how to change themselves.
How can we hope that peace and prosperity will reign on earth if our bodies are living graves in which dead animals are buried?
Those who have learned to think find it difficult to believe.
One and the same thing can be looked at tragically and made into torment, and looked at simply and even cheerfully.
Dissatisfaction with oneself is a necessary condition for rational life. Only this discontent induces to work on oneself.
There is no greater help for a selfish, quiet life than making art for art's sake. A despot, a villain must certainly love art... When people admire Shakespeare, Beethoven, they admire their thoughts, dreams, evoked by Shakespeare, Beethoven. Just as lovers love not an object, but what it evokes in them. In such admiration there is no real reality of art, but there is complete infinity.
There is no scoundrel who, having searched, would not find scoundrels in some respects worse than himself, and who therefore could not find a reason to be proud and be pleased with himself.
Effort is needed for all restraint, but of all such efforts, the most difficult is the effort to restrain the tongue. It is also the most necessary.
The right way is: learn what your predecessors did and move on.
A vocation can be recognized and proved only by the sacrifice that a scientist or artist makes to his peace and well-being in order to give himself up to his vocation.
What to do? To discard all those improvements in life, all the power that humanity has acquired? Forget what it has learned? Impossible. No matter how maliciously these mental acquisitions are used, they are nevertheless acquisitions, and people cannot forget them.
What could be more terrible than all these newly invented means of destruction - guns, cannonballs, bombs, smokeless powder rockets, torpedoes and other weapons of death?
I always tried not to get annoyed and to yield in a quarrel, which was how I achieved peace, and then, in a calm state, the matter was settled by itself. One almost always regrets that the quarrel was not stopped at the beginning.
