“I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabrics of their life.” —Leo Tolstoy, "What Is Art?" (1897)

“The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.” —Leo Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894)

Leo Tolstoy on learning and unlearning

jules ⟢
@julesinbloom_

i heard someone say recently that they've switched the idea of discipline to devotion, and its stuck with me ever since

3:30 AM · Jun 5, 2023