A celebration of spirit, born on this day in Moscow, novelist Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy (1828–1910) created timeless portraits of Russian life and history. His masterpieces War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877) are considered among the greatest novels ever written.

“I am what I have written,” he once said.

Tolstoy carried a notebook everywhere, scribbling ideas constantly. A seeker of perfection, he was his own fiercest critic. “One must reject the idea of writing without correction,” he believed. “Three or four drafts are not enough.”

The son of nobility, Tolstoy experienced a midlife spiritual awakening at age 48. He renounced wealth, questioned his beliefs, and searched for the deeper meaning of life. “It is amazing,” he wrote, “how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.”

In The Confession (1879) and What I Believe (1884), he wrote about Christian love, truth, and passive resistance. His books were banned in Russia, and he was excommunicated by the Eastern Orthodox Church—but he remained steadfast in his faith and continued to write.

“All art has this characteristic—it unites people,” he believed.

Tolstoy’s holy spirit of pacifism profoundly influenced Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and César Chávez.

“The greatest truth,” he observed, “is the most simple one.” Tolstoy wrestled with God, truth, and society… and kept writing anyway.

More Leo TOLSTOY Quotations