A Calendar of Wisdom
Encyclopedia
A Calendar of Wisdom
or Path of life or A Cycle of Readings or
Wise Thoughts for Every Day
is a collection of insights and wisdom compiled by Leo Tolstoy
between 1903 and 1910 that was published in three different editions. An English translation by Archibald J. Wolfe of the first Russian edition, which was organized by subject, was published in 1919. An English translation of the second Russian edition, which was organized by calendar date, was begun in 1911 as a monthly serial but abandoned after the first volume. The first translation of the entire yearly cycle, but which omitted some of the individual readings, was made by Peter Sekirin and published in 1997. The book, which title is literally translated as "Life's Way", was described by Tolstoy as "a wise thought for every day of the year, from the great philosophers of all times and all people" which he himself would consult daily for the rest of his life. Wisdom from such luminaries as Epictetus
, Marcus Aurelius, Lao-Tzu, Buddha
, Pascal, Jesus
, Confucius
, Emerson, Kant, Ruskin, Seneca, Socrates
, Thoreau and many more prompted Tolstoy to write in the introduction, "I hope that the readers of this book may experience the same benevolent and elevating feeling which I have experienced when I was working on its creation, and which I experience again and again when I reread it every day, working on the enlargement and improvement of the previous edition."
The translator, Peter Sekirin, explains that this was Tolstoy's last major work. He put an enormous amount of effort into this collection over a period of 15 years. He carefully selected the contributors and they cover a wide range of philosophical views. Tolstoy grouped the thoughts according to a topic for each day of the year, and he added his own thoughts to each daily entry. An edition of A Calendar of Wisdom was published in Russia in 1912 but was forbidden by the Soviet regime. It was republished in Russia in 1995 and was a great success, selling over 300,000 copies.
or Path of life or A Cycle of Readings or
Wise Thoughts for Every Day
is a collection of insights and wisdom compiled by Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
between 1903 and 1910 that was published in three different editions. An English translation by Archibald J. Wolfe of the first Russian edition, which was organized by subject, was published in 1919. An English translation of the second Russian edition, which was organized by calendar date, was begun in 1911 as a monthly serial but abandoned after the first volume. The first translation of the entire yearly cycle, but which omitted some of the individual readings, was made by Peter Sekirin and published in 1997. The book, which title is literally translated as "Life's Way", was described by Tolstoy as "a wise thought for every day of the year, from the great philosophers of all times and all people" which he himself would consult daily for the rest of his life. Wisdom from such luminaries as Epictetus
Epictetus
Epictetus was a Greek sage and Stoic philosopher. He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia , and lived in Rome until banishment when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece where he lived the rest of his life. His teachings were noted down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses...
, Marcus Aurelius, Lao-Tzu, Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, Pascal, Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
, Emerson, Kant, Ruskin, Seneca, Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
, Thoreau and many more prompted Tolstoy to write in the introduction, "I hope that the readers of this book may experience the same benevolent and elevating feeling which I have experienced when I was working on its creation, and which I experience again and again when I reread it every day, working on the enlargement and improvement of the previous edition."
The translator, Peter Sekirin, explains that this was Tolstoy's last major work. He put an enormous amount of effort into this collection over a period of 15 years. He carefully selected the contributors and they cover a wide range of philosophical views. Tolstoy grouped the thoughts according to a topic for each day of the year, and he added his own thoughts to each daily entry. An edition of A Calendar of Wisdom was published in Russia in 1912 but was forbidden by the Soviet regime. It was republished in Russia in 1995 and was a great success, selling over 300,000 copies.