Quotation
Last reviewed:
“Faith is a knowledge of the meaning of human life in consequence of which man does not destroy himself but lives.”
Leo Tolstoy · Moral and political thought · Modern · 1882
What does it mean?
He redefines faith as whatever gives a life meaning strong enough to keep living, not as agreement with church doctrine. That move let him keep faith while later rejecting most of the church's teaching. A rival reading, from believers and sceptics alike, says this definition empties the word, since almost any reason to live would count.
Did Leo Tolstoy really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Checked against Maude's translation on Wikisource, chapter 9. The full sentence first says what faith is not: not just 'the evidence of things not seen', not revelation, not mere agreement with what one is told.
Where it comes from
A Confession, chapter 9 (tr. Aylmer Maude)
Approximate date: 1882.
How to use it
Ask someone what keeps them going before asking what they believe. The answers are often more revealing than their label.
A mindset reading
Check a definition by its edges. If his definition of faith fits a keen gardener, is that a strength or a flaw?
Understand the philosophy
A Confession, chapter 9. Read with chapter 13, where he reports the theologians telling him the church's basic dogma is its infallibility, and the later chapters where he begins to doubt it.
- meaning
- religion
- knowledge
FAQ
What does it mean?
He redefines faith as whatever gives a life meaning strong enough to keep living, not as agreement with church doctrine. That move let him keep faith while later rejecting most of the church's teaching. A rival reading, from believers and sceptics alike, says this definition empties the word, since almost any reason to live would count.
Did Leo Tolstoy really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Checked against Maude's translation on Wikisource, chapter 9. The full sentence first says what faith is not: not just 'the evidence of things not seen', not revelation, not mere agreement with what one is told.
Which work is it in?
A Confession, chapter 9 (tr. Aylmer Maude) Approximate date: 1882.