Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace is a monumental novel set against Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Russia. From Saint Petersburg to Moscow to the war's frontlines, the story weaves together the lives of five aristocratic families: the Bezukhovs, Bolkonskys, Drubetskoys, Kuragins, and RostovsDrubetskoys. The narrative explores their intertwined journeys and moral quests during this upheaval. These characters, among dozens more, provide a panoramic view of Russian society, from the battlefield to the ballroom.
War and Peace remains a classic more than 150 years since its publication. It's valued for its deep psychological insight and historical descriptions as well as for its exploration of universal themes of war, love, sacrifice, and fate. These 30+ quotes remain some of the most revered in literature.
The Best War and Peace Quotes about Resolution and Determination
"A battle is won by him who is firmly resolved to win it."
"A man on a thousand mile walk has to forget his goal and say to himself every morning, 'Today I'm going to cover twenty-five miles and then rest up and sleep.'"
"The strongest of all warriors are these two–Time and Patience."
The Best War and Peace Quotes about Humility and Wisdom
"All we can know is that we know nothing. And that's the height of human wisdom."
"Because of the self-confidence with which he had spoken, no one could tell whether what he said was very clever or very stupid."
The Best War and Peace Quotes about Friendship and Love
"'But one thing I beg of you, look on me as your friend; and if you want some help, advice, or simply want to open your heart to someone- not now, but when things are clearer in your heart- think of me.' He took her hand and kissed it. 'I shall be happy, if I am able...' Pierre was confused."
"Everything I know, I know because of love."
"You can love a person dear to you with a human love, but an enemy can only be loved with divine love."
"The whole world is divided for me into two parts: one is she, and there is all happiness, hope, light; the other is where she is not, and there is dejection and darkness."
The Best War and Peace Quotes About Life's Inevitability and Uncertainty
"Everything ends in death, everything. Death is terrible."
"Here I am alive, and it's not my fault, so I have to try and get by as best I can without hurting anybody until death takes over.”
"He had the unlucky capacity many men have of seeing and believing in the possibility of goodness and truth, but of seeing the evil and falsehood of life too clearly to take any serious part in it."
"Here's my advice to you: don't marry until you can tell yourself that you've done all you could, and until you've stopped loving the women you've chosen, until you see her clearly, otherwise you'll be cruelly and irremediably mistaken. Marry when you're old and good for nothing...Otherwise all that's good and lofty in you will be lost."
"How can one be well...when one suffers morally?"
"If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war."
"Life did not stop, and one had to live."
"Man lives consciously for himself, but serves as an unconscious instrument for the achievement of historical, universally human goals. "
"Life is too long to say anything definitely; always say perhaps."
"Pierre was right when he said that one must believe in the possibility of happiness in order to be happy, and I now believe in it. Let the dead bury the dead, but while I'm alive, I must live and be happy."
"Pure and complete sorrow is as impossible as pure and complete joy."
"Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly. It is the one thing we are interested in here."
The Best War and Peace Quotes About Existential Reflection
"If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed."
"In order to understand, observe, deduce, man must first be conscious of himself as alive."
"Man cannot possess anything as long as he fears death. But to him who does not fear it, everything belongs. If there was no suffering, man would not know his limits, would not know himself."
"There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.”
The Best War and Peace Quotes About Relationships and Society
"In the best, the friendliest and simplest relations flattery or praise is necessary, just as grease is necessary to keep wheels turning."
"Nothing is so necessary for a young man as the company of intelligent women."
"It's too easy to criticize a man when he's out of favour, and to make him shoulder the blame for everybody else's mistakes."
"One must be cunning and wicked in this world."
"Kings are the slaves of history."
