--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is bad? What is good? What should…" description: "\"“What is bad? What is good? What should one love and what hate? What does one live for? And what am I? What is life, and what is death? What power gove..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/leo-tolstoy-55_death_what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one_2599230.png" --- # What is bad? What is good? What should one love and what… ![“What is bad? What is good? What should one love and what hate? What does one live for? And what am I? What is life, and what is death? What power governs all? There was no answer to any of these questions, except one, and that not a logical answer and not at all a reply to them. The answer was…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/leo-tolstoy-55_death_what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one_2599230.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/leo-tolstoy-55_death_what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one_2599230.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/leo-tolstoy-55_death_what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one_2599230.png) > ““What is bad? What is good? What should one love and what hate? What does one live for? And what am I? What is life, and what is death? What power governs all? There was no answer to any of these questions, except one, and that not a logical answer and not at all a reply to them. The answer was: “You’ll die and all will end. You’ll die and know all, or cease asking.” But dying was also dreadful.”” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage questions morality, purpose, love, death, and existence, concluding that death ends all, making the search for meaning futile. **In simple terms:** Life’s big questions end with death, rendering meaning elusive. Key Takeaway Accept mortality and focus on present. Themes existentialism morality meaninglessness Mood philosophical melancholic Type existential reflection When to use this quote - philosophical debate - personal reflection - spiritual counseling Key Concepts nihilism ontological inquiry Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of death shape daily choices? - Can meaning be created without certainty? A Different Perspective It may overlook the value of lived experience despite death. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answer Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answer-questions/) [Asking Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking-dying-1929383/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Existential-questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential-questions-59037/) [Governs Answer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governs-answer-1929384/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-death/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“It’s like a man in the trenches again: he doesn’t know any more why he should go on living, because if he escapes now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/it-s-like-a-man-in-the-trenches-again-he-doesn-t-know-any-more-why-he/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Each person must implement their preferred problem solving method to address existential questions pertaining to life and death, living and loving, working and playing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/each-person-must-implement-their-preferred-problem-solving-method-to/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [“The question is: why can’t parking lots be modest paradises?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eran-ben-joseph/the-question-is-why-can-t-parking-lots-be-modest-paradises/) [Eran Ben-Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eran-ben-joseph/) > [“Emotional exhaustion follows fast on the footsteps of physical and mental depletion. I feel my lifeblood draining away in an oily spigot of inner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/emotional-exhaustion-follows-fast-on-the-footsteps-of-physical-and/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [“It's as if I had been going downhill when I thought I was going uphill. That's how it was. In society's opinion I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-s-as-if-i-had-been-going-downhill-when-i-thought-i-was-going/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The media is 15 minutes of my day, sometimes 30. So it's not the biggest thing to do. I'll answer the questions and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scottie-scheffler/the-media-is-15-minutes-of-my-day-sometimes-30-so-it-s-not-the/) [Scottie Scheffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scottie-scheffler/) > [When somebody asks, 'Whats the answer to all of these questions?' that's absurd. There is no answer, there are answers, along the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/when-somebody-asks-whats-the-answer-to-all-of-these-questions-that-s/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Every scene should be able to answer three questions: "Who wants what from whom? What happens if they don't get it? Why now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/every-scene-should-be-able-to-answer-three-questions-who-wants-what/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“Oh gods, Jane, the answer to all those questions is you. You turn me on; you’re what I want; you make me growl.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-peeler/oh-gods-jane-the-answer-to-all-those-questions-is-you-you-turn-me-on/) [Nicole Peeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-peeler/) > [I can 't answer you all of your questions but I learn as I live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sikhwetha-maanda-stanley/i-can-t-answer-you-all-of-your-questions-but-i-learn-as-i-live/) [Sikhwetha Maanda Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sikhwetha-maanda-stanley/) > [When I do interviews, I enter them with an open mind and try to answer the questions the best I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-araya/when-i-do-interviews-i-enter-them-with-an-open-mind-and-try-to-answer/) [Tom Araya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-araya/) > [I never think that a film should answer questions for you. I think it should make you ask a lot of questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/i-never-think-that-a-film-should-answer-questions-for-you-i-think-it/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [I'm lucky that I have a platform that I can answer my own questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/i-m-lucky-that-i-have-a-platform-that-i-can-answer-my-own-questions/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [“You need to answer questions on where, when and what to do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-need-to-answer-questions-on-where-when-and-what-to-do/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [I take my laptop with me on the road. When I come home, I log onto AOL, go to the Web site, and answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butch-trucks/i-take-my-laptop-with-me-on-the-road-when-i-come-home-i-log-onto-aol/) [Butch Trucks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butch-trucks/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What is bad? What is good? What should one love and what hate? What does one live for? And what am I? What is life, and what is death? What power governs all? There was no answer to any of these questions, except one, and that not a logical answer and not at all a reply to them. The answer was: “You’ll die and all will end. You’ll die and know all, or cease asking.” But dying was also dreadful.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Tolstoy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one-love-and-what-hate-what-does/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one-love-and-what-hate-what-does/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/leo-tolstoy-55_death_what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one_2599230.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/leo-tolstoy-55_death_what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one_2599230.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/leo-tolstoy-55_death_what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one_2599230.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is bad? What is good? What should one love and what hate? What does one live for? And what am I? What…” — Leo Tolstoy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Leo Tolstoy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What is bad? What is good?...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one-love-and-what-hate-what-does/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/what-is-bad-what-is-good-what-should-one-love-and-what-hate-what-does/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```