Quotation
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“They see neither the dragon that awaits them nor the mice gnawing the shrub by which they are hanging, and they lick the drops of honey.”
Leo Tolstoy · Moral and political thought · Modern · 1882
What does it mean?
In his early fifties, rich and famous, he found he could not answer 'Why should I live?' The fable is his picture of life without an answer: death below, time gnawing, and small pleasures that distract. He describes four ways people respond: ignorance, epicureanism, suicide, and weakness. A rival reading says honey is enough, and that he turned a mood into a metaphysics. The book itself is the record of him not accepting that.
Did Leo Tolstoy really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Checked against Maude's translation on Wikisource. Chapter 4 tells the Eastern fable of the traveller in the well, the dragon below, the mice gnawing the branch and the honey. Chapter 7 uses it to describe people who do not see their situation.
Where it comes from
A Confession, chapter 7 (tr. Aylmer Maude)
Approximate date: 1882.
How to use it
When a busy week leaves no room to ask whether the work means anything, notice it. You do not have to have a crisis; you can ask the question on a quiet Sunday instead.
A mindset reading
He took his own despair as evidence to reason about, not just something to feel. You can do the same with your doubts.
Understand the philosophy
A Confession, written 1879 to 1880 and published 1882. Censored in Russia, it first came out in Geneva. In chapter 4 he says he hid a cord from himself so that he would not hang himself.
- meaning
- self
- knowledge
FAQ
What does it mean?
In his early fifties, rich and famous, he found he could not answer 'Why should I live?' The fable is his picture of life without an answer: death below, time gnawing, and small pleasures that distract. He describes four ways people respond: ignorance, epicureanism, suicide, and weakness. A rival reading says honey is enough, and that he turned a mood into a metaphysics. The book itself is the record of him not accepting that.
Did Leo Tolstoy really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Checked against Maude's translation on Wikisource. Chapter 4 tells the Eastern fable of the traveller in the well, the dragon below, the mice gnawing the branch and the honey. Chapter 7 uses it to describe people who do not see their situation.
Which work is it in?
A Confession, chapter 7 (tr. Aylmer Maude) Approximate date: 1882.