“When it is impossible to stretch the very elastic threads of historical ratiocination any farther, when actions are clearly contrary to all that humanity calls right or even just, the historians produce a saving conception of ‘greatness.’ ‘Greatness,’ it seems, excludes the standards of right and wrong. For the ‘great’ man nothing is wrong, there is no atrocity for which a ‘great’ man can be blamed.”

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About Leo Tolstoy

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.

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"When it is impossible to stretch the very elastic threads of historic…" — Leo Tolstoy | Daily Quotes