Summary: Tolstoy’s brilliance and self-denial could not quiet his conscience, proving that only God’s grace—not rules—can renew the human heart.
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The great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy inherited vast wealth
and hundreds of serfs.
Though he freed them and gave away his book royalties, he was tormented by guilt and could not find peace.
He invented endless rules
—rise early, eat little, conquer lust
—to perfect himself, but slid deeper into despair.
He asked his wife to hide ropes and guns lest he take his life.
John Updike once wrote that Tolstoy’s beautiful art never penetrated the thick walls of his own soul.
Despite inspiring Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., Tolstoy died at a remote railway station, estranged from family and haunted by failure.
Tolstoy shows what happens when we try to obey without grace.
Rules cannot make the heart new.