When a man sees a dying animal, horror comes over him: that which he himself is, his essence, is obviously being annihilated before his eyes--is ceasing to be. But when the dying one is a person, and a beloved person, then, besides a sense of horror at the annihilation of life, there is a feeling of severance and a spiritual wound which, like a physical wound, sometimes kills and sometimes heals, but always hurts and fears any external, irritating touch.
About This Quote
About Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace.
Themes
- Death — Contemplations on mortality, loss, and the legacy we leave