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“They must understand that we can only lose by taking the offensive. Patience and time are my warriors, my champions,” thought Kutúzov. He knew that an apple should not be plucked while it is green. It will fall of itself when ripe, but if picked unripe the apple is spoiled, the tree is harmed, and your teeth are set on edge.

— Leo Tolstoy War and Peace (1865)

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More quotes by Leo Tolstoy

I cannot recall those years without horror, loathing, and heart-rending pain.

Confession (1882)

Art is a human activity having for its purpose the transmission to others of the highest and best feelings to which men have risen.

What is Art? (1897)

The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.

War and Peace (1865)

The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.

What Is To Be Done? (1886)

God is that infinite All of which man knows himself to be a finite part.
God alone exists truly. Man manifests Him in time, space and matter.

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You can never plan the future by the past.

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Nothing is there to come, and nothing past,
But an eternal now does always last.

Abraham Cowley Poems (1656)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Leo Tolstoy (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.