“He suffered from an unlucky faculty—common to many men, especially Russians—the faculty of seeing and believing in the possibility of good and truth, and at the same time seeing too clearly the evil and falsity of life to be capable of taking a serious part in it.”

Russian novelist and philosopher of the 19th century, Tolstoy is best known for his monumental works *War and Peace* and *Anna Karenina*, which explore moral and social questions with psychological depth. His later years were devoted to ethical and religious writings, advocating for nonviolence and a return to simple living.