When a man sees a dying animal, horror comes over him: that which he himself is, his essence, is obviously being annihilated before his eyes — is cea… - Leo Tolstoy

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When a man sees a dying animal, horror comes over him: that which he himself is, his essence, is obviously being annihilated before his eyes — is ceasing to be. But when the dying one is a person, and a beloved person, then, besides a sense of horror at the annihilation of life, there is a feeling of severance and a spiritual wound which, like a physical wound, sometimes kills and sometimes heals, but always hurts and fears any external, irritating touch.

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About Leo Tolstoy

Lev Nikolayevitch Tolstoy [Ле́в Никола́евич Толсто́й, usually rendered Leo Tolstoy, or sometimes Tolstoi] (9 September 1828 – 20 November 1910) was a Russian writer, philosopher and social activist (social critic), whose novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina are internationally praised classics of world literature. He was a major influence on the development of Christian anarchism and pacifism, contributing to such nonviolent resistance movements as those of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and James Bevel.

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Also Known As

Pen Names: Л. Н. Т. Л. Н.
Birth Name: Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy
Native Name: Лев Никола́евич Толсто́й
Alternative Names: Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910 Tolstoĭ, Lev Nikolaevich, graf, 1828-1910 Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoĭ Leo Tolstoi Tolstoĭ, Lev Nikolaevich, graf Tolstoy, Leo, graf
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Vronsky meanwhile, in spite of the complete fulfilment of what he had so long desired, was not completely happy. He soon felt that the realization of his longing gave him only one grain of the mountain of bliss he had anticipated. That realization showed him the eternal error men make by imagining that happiness consists in the gratification of their wishes. When first he united his life with hers and donned civilian clothes, he felt the delight of freedom in general, such as he had not before known, and also the freedom of love — he was contented then, but not for long. Soon he felt rising in his soul a desire for desires — boredom. Involuntarily he began to snatch at every passing caprice, mistaking it for a desire and a purpose.

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