The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others. Reality, even seen through the eyes of many, is not enough. I will see what others have invented. Even the eyes of all humanity are not enough. I regret that the brutes connot write books. Very gladly would I learn what face things present to a mouse or a bee; more gladly still would I perceive the olfactory world charged with all the information and emotion it carries for a dog. Literary experience heals the wound, without undermining the privilege, of individuality.. in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in the Greek poem, I see with a myriad of eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do.C.s. Lewis
About This Quote
In this quote, Tolstoy is speaking of the way that we create our own individual reality. In other words, we have a sense of who we are and what makes us unique. Unfortunately, many people do not see themselves as vital. Instead, they see themselves as a number or a statistic who depends on their circumstances to define them. They can become less than human when they give up their personal power in exchange for something impersonal or mundane.
Source: An Experiment In Criticism
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