And Sergey Ivanovitch put before him the alternative: either you are so undeveloped that you can’t see all that you can do, or you won’t sacrifice your ease, your vanity, or whatever it is, to do it.
Leo Tolstoy
- Life
- 1828-1910
- Occupations
- writer, playwright, philosopher
- Notable works
- War and Peace, Anna Karenina, A Confession
Facts: Wikidata (CC0), as of 2026-07-09
I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself a superabundance of energy.
Leo Tolstoy
She had no need to ask why he had come. She knew as certainly as if he had told her that he was here to be where she was.
Leo Tolstoy