Tolstoy – Use my marker

On knowledge

Knowledge is a tool and not an end in itself.

Simplicity

The truly useful, the truly good, and therefore the truly great, is always simple.

Note to self: Focus beats Encyclopedia

It is not how much you know that is important, but what you know. It is possible to know a great many things, but without knowing what you most need to know.

—Tolstoy, in “A Calendar of Wisdom“

On Fear

If you are afraid of something, you should know that the cause of your fear is something within, rather than outside, you.

—Tolstoy (from “A Calendar of Wisdom” by Leo Tolstoy, Roger Cockrell)

Definition: Cowardice

Cowardice is knowing what you should do and then not doing it.

—Confucius (from “A Calendar of Wisdom” by Leo Tolstoy, Roger Cockrell)

Love, evil & violence

The essence of all religious teaching lies in love. The special characteristic of the teaching about love lies in the fact that it has clearly and precisely defined the main condition of love – a condition which, if not observed, destroys any possibility of love. This condition is as follows: do not resist evil with violence.

—Tolstoy, in “A calendar of wisdom“

Tone trumps the message

The most common reason why people are reluctant to accept the truth is that they feel offended by the form in which it has been expressed.

—Tolstoy (from “A Calendar of Wisdom” by Leo Tolstoy, Roger Cockrell)

Self improvement needs both solitude and the world

Any self-improvement is impossible if you live constantly in the bustle of the everyday world. But it is even less possible if you live in constant solitude. If you want to improve yourself, the very best approach is to develop and establish your view of things in solitude and then to apply it as you live in the everyday world.

— Tolstoy (from “A Calendar of Wisdom” by Leo Tolstoy, Roger Cockrell)

Life ∞ Death

There must be a limit to life, just as with the fruits of a tree and of the earth, or the seasons of the year; everything must have a beginning, a continuation and an end. Wise people accept this process willingly.

— Cicero, TD (from ‘A calendar of wisdom’ by Leo Tolstoy, Roger Cockrell)