Favourite Quotes
“all happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” - p. 1
“the pleasure lies not in discovering the truth, but in searching for it” - p. 162
“I am not to blame if God has made me so that I must love and live” - p. 292
“I’ve always loved you, and when you love someone, you love the whole person, as they are, and not as you’d like them to be” - p. 614
“Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be. But if you don’t love me, it would be better and more honest to say so.” p. 744
“where love stops, hatred begins” - p. 763
“it is not given to man to comprehend divine truths, but it is given to an aggregate of men united by love - the Church” p. 788
“reason could not discover love for the other, because it’s unreasonable.” p. 797
Summary
Did not write a summary.
Analysis
Notes and Quotes
Meaning or Purpose in Life
- “He had to live his life to the end, until death came. Darkness covered everything for him; but precisely because of this darkness he felt that his undertaking was the only guiding thread in this darkness, and he seized it and held on to it with all his remaining strength.” p. 352
- this reflects the importance of purpose. Reminds me of how Cus D’Amato said that training Mike Tyson gave him purpose and allowed him to live life a bit longer
- “without knowing what I am and why I’m here, it is impossible for me to live. And I cannot know that, therefore I cannot live.” p. 788
- a good compromise is to then SEARCH for the answers to those questions. Be on a journey of truth, but don’t let that take over your life or drive you to despair
- “When Levin thought about what he was and what he lived for, he found no answer and fell into despair; but when he stopped asking himself about it, he seemed to know what he was and what he lived for, because he acted and lived firmly and definitely; recently he had even lived much more firmly and definitely than before” - p. 789
- you just need to LIVE life. Contemplating on things you can never discover will only bring despair. Instead, find some purpose/meaning, have a family, get some hobbies, improve yourself, and just live life and things will get better
- “but my life now, my whole life, regardless of all that may happen to me, every minute of it, is not only not meaningless, as it was before, but has the unquestionable meaning of the good which it is in my power to put into it!” p. 817
- your life is what you make it to be. No meaning or purpose in your life? Then put a meaning or purpose into it.
Love
- “I am not to blame if God has made me so that I must love and live” - p. 292
- “He suddenly felt that the very thing that had once been the source of his suffering had become the source of his spiritual joy, that what had seemed insoluble when he condemned, reproached and hated, became simple and clear when he forgave and loved.” p. 419
- love and forgiveness are the most important things a person can have. It can be hard at times, but one must make sure they embody these principles.
- “I’ve always loved you, and when you love someone, you love the whole person, as they are, and not as you’d like them to be” - p. 614
- “Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be. But if you don’t love me, it would be better and more honest to say so.” p. 744
- if you have love for someone, you’ll also have respect usually. But the opposite is not true
- “where love stops, hatred begins” - p. 763
- “it is not given to man to comprehend divine truths, but it is given to an aggregate of men united by love - the Church” p. 788
- is love the key to unlock the mysteries of truth?
- “reason could not discover love for the other, because it’s unreasonable.” p. 797
Truth
- “the pleasure lies not in discovering the truth, but in searching for it” - p. 162
- it’s the journey that brings pleasure, not the destination
- “it is not given to man to comprehend divine truths, but it is given to an aggregate of men united by love - the Church” p. 788
- is love the key to unlock the mysteries of truth?
- “one should live for the truth, for God, and I understand him from a hint! And I and millions of people who lived ages ago and are living now, muzhiks, the poor in spirit, and the wise men who have thought and written about it, saying the same thing in their vague language - we’re all agreed on this one thing: what we should live for and what is good. I and all people have only one firm, unquestionable and clear knowledge, and this knowledge cannot be explained by reason - it is outside it, and has no causes, and can have no consequences.” p. 795
- truth is outside reason
Faith
- “while his wife was giving birth an extraordinary thing had happened to him. He, the unbeliever, had begun to pray, and in the moment of praying he had believed. But that moment had passed, and he was unable to give any place in his life to the state of mind he had been in then.” p. 787
- it’s very common for people in tough circumstances to fall back on praying or faith, even if they don’t believe in it. It might suggest that we have an archaic part inside of us that naturally wants or needs to have faith
Other
- “The terrible thing is that we older men, who already have a past… not of love, but of sins… suddenly become close with a pure, innocent being; it’s disgusting, and so you can’t help feeling yourself unworthy” - p. 39
- Levin said this to Stepan when they were talking about Levin’s intention to propose to Kitty
- Stiva’s wife Dolly has an inner monologue about feeling trapped in motherhood and views Anna as an inspiration - p. 606 - 609
- “There was nothing happy or joyful in this feeling; on the contrary, there was a new tormenting fear. There was an awareness of a new region of vulnerability. And this awareness was so tormenting at first, the fear lest this helpless being should suffer was so strong, that because of it he scarcely noticed the strange felling of senseless joy and even pride he had experienced when the baby sneezed” p. 719
- Levin talking about his new born son
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”A woman whose heart cannot tell her what makes for the happiness and honor of her son, is a woman with no heart” p. 748
- “his unbelief did not make her unhappy; and while she acknowledged that there was no salvation for an unbeliever, and she loved her husband’s soul more than anything in the world, she smiled as she thought about his unbelief and said to herself that he was funny” - p. 784
- I just thought this was a funny passage
Main Idea of the Book
- I think the central message in this book is about finding meaning or purpose in your life (see above)