Though the children did not know Levin well and did not remember when they had last seen him, they did not feel towards him any of that strange shyness and antagonism so often felt by children towards grown-up people who 'pretend, ' which causes them to suffer as painfully. Pretence about anything sometimes deceives the wisest and shrewdest man, but, however cunningly it is hidden, a child of the meanest capacity feels it and is repelled by it. Leo Tolstoy
About This Quote

In Act 3, Scene 3 of "War and Peace" there is a scene where the children of the Rostovs are playing a game of hide-and-seek. The children are not fond of Levin, they do not really know him, but they do not feel any animosity towards him. In contrast, they feel a little shy and uncomfortable around Pierre who is pretending to be their father. 

Source: Anna Karenina

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More Quotes By Leo Tolstoy
  1. I think... if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts.
  2. Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be.
  3. Love. The reason I dislike that word is that it means too much for me, far more than you can understand."- Anna Karenina {Anna Karenina}
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