“I simply want to live; to cause no evil to anyone but myself.”

—  Leo Tolstoy , book War and Peace

Source: War and Peace

Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "I simply want to live; to cause no evil to anyone but myself." by Leo Tolstoy?
Leo Tolstoy photo
Leo Tolstoy 456
Russian writer 1828–1910

Related quotes

Leo Tolstoy photo

“But I'm glad you'll see me as I am. Above all, I wouldn't want people to think that I want to prove anything. I don't want to prove anything, I just want to live; to cause no evil to anyone but myself. I have that right, haven't I?”

Leo Tolstoy book Anna Karenina

Source: Anna Karenina

Emil M. Cioran photo

“I find in myself as much evil as in anyone, but detesting action — mother of all vices — I am the cause of no one's suffering.”

Emil M. Cioran book A Short History of Decay

A Short History of Decay (1949)

“I really want to improve myself and better myself, not just for me, but for anyone that looks up to me or anyone that's influenced by me.”

Феликс Челльберг (PewDiePie) (1989)
Peter Sellers photo

“If I can't really find a way to live with myself, I can't expect anyone else to live with me.”

Peter Sellers (1925–1980) British film actor, comedian and singer

As quoted in The Hollywood Book of Extravagance: The Totally Infamous, Mostly Disastrous, and Always Compelling Excesses of America's Film and TV Idols (2007) by James Robert Parish, p. 95

“The presumed causes of Americas troubles can be summed up simply: the evils of unlimited competition, and abuses by those with economic power.”

Charles A. Reich book The Greening of America

Source: The Greening of America (1970), Chapter III : The Failure Of Reform, p. 43

Franz Kafka photo

“April 27. Incapable of living with people, of speaking. Complete immersion in myself, thinking of myself. Apathetic, witless, fearful. I have nothing to say to anyone - never.”

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) author

Source: Diaries of Franz Kafka

Eric Maisel photo

““I nominate myself” means “I won’t follow.” This isn’t hubris: it is simply the fruit of your decision to live on your own terms.”

Eric Maisel (1947) American writer

Source: The Atheist’s Way (2009), p. 67

Thomas Merton photo

“I simply like Chuang Tzu because he is what he is and I feel no need to justify this liking to myself or to anyone else. He is far too great to need any apologies from me.”

Thomas Merton (1915–1968) Priest and author

"A Note To The Reader".
The Way of Chuang-Tzŭ (1965)
Context: I simply like Chuang Tzu because he is what he is and I feel no need to justify this liking to myself or to anyone else. He is far too great to need any apologies from me. … His philosophical temper is, I believe, profoundly original and sane. It can of course be misunderstood. But it is basically simple and direct. It seeks, as does all the greatest philosoph­ical thought, to go immediately to the heart of things.
Chuang Tzu is not concerned with words and formulas about reality, but with the direct existential grasp of reality in itself. Such a grasp is necessarily obscure and does not lend itself to abstract analysis. It can be presented in a parable, a fable, or a funny story about a conversation between two philosophers.

Related topics