--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the body, washed and dressed, lay in…" description: "\"“When the body, washed and dressed, lay in the coffin on a table, everyone came to take leave of him and they all wept. Little Nicholas cried because h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/leo-tolstoy-55_death_when-the-body-washed-and-dressed-lay-in_3133482.png" --- # When the body, washed and dressed, lay in the coffin on a… ![“When the body, washed and dressed, lay in the coffin on a table, everyone came to take leave of him and they all wept. Little Nicholas cried because his heart was rent by painful perplexity. The countess and Sonya cried from pity for Natasha and because he was no more. The old count cried because…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/leo-tolstoy-55_death_when-the-body-washed-and-dressed-lay-in_3133482.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/leo-tolstoy-55_death_when-the-body-washed-and-dressed-lay-in_3133482.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e82/leo-tolstoy-55_death_when-the-body-washed-and-dressed-lay-in_3133482.png) > ““When the body, washed and dressed, lay in the coffin on a table, everyone came to take leave of him and they all wept. Little Nicholas cried because his heart was rent by painful perplexity. The countess and Sonya cried from pity for Natasha and because he was no more. The old count cried because he felt that before long, he, too, must take the same terrible step. Natasha and Princess Mary also wept now, but not because of their own personal grief; they wept with a reverent and softening emotion which had taken possession of their souls at the consciousness of the simple and solemn mystery of death that had been accomplished in their presence.”” [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. People mourn death with a mix of personal grief and a profound, shared reverence for the mystery of mortality, showing how death unites humanity in solemn reflection. **In simple terms:** Death brings shared, solemn reflection. Key Takeaway Recognize the collective humanity in moments of loss. Themes death grief humanity spirituality community Mood somber reflective Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - Funerals - memorial services - war casualties - family loss Key Concepts Mourning collective consciousness existential reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does shared grief affect personal healing? - Can communal rituals ease personal sorrow? A Different Perspective The description may idealize mourning, ignoring individual coping differences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Count Cried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/count-cried-5552691/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Grief Wept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-wept-4569898/) [Mary Wept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mary-wept-5552690/) [Mystery of death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery-of-death/) [Nicholas Cried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nicholas-cried-5552692/) [Wept Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wept-personal-5552689/) ## Related quotes > [“I became my grief. I wept in advance for all the things that would happen, the unimaginable things beyond the horizon of all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/i-became-my-grief-i-wept-in-advance-for-all-the-things-that-would/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [In spite of death, he felt the need of life and love. 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We begin things, we continue to be engaged in things, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adi-da-samraj/in-the-play-of-living-we-engage-in-three-fundamental-forms-of-action/) [Adi Da Samraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adi-da-samraj/) > [The religious man, the mystic, tries to explore the mystery of death. 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So the mystery of death couldn't be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mcgreevy/that-if-a-thing-is-defined-in-contrast-that-s-what-life-is-the-shadow/) [Brian McGreevy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mcgreevy/) > [“Ah! ah! wherefore didst thou not look at me? If thou hadst looked at me thou hadst loved me. Well I know that thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/ah-ah-wherefore-didst-thou-not-look-at-me-if-thou-hadst-looked-at-me/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“To some degree, the entirety of human culture and civilization has been built upon survival and death avoidance. From the creation of society and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-seeley/to-some-degree-the-entirety-of-human-culture-and-civilization-has/) [Tim Seeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-seeley/) > [“To be of the Earth is to know the restlessness of being a seed the darkness of being planted the struggle toward the light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-soos/to-be-of-the-earth-is-to-know-the-restlessness-of-being-a-seed-the/) [John Soos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-soos/) ## 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. 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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. 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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. 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