A Calendar of Wisdom

by Leo Tolstoy, GP Editors (Editor)

“A bedside companion." —USA Today
“A surprisingly powerful book." —The Washington Post
“A self-help book.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
"This book will inspire." —The Sun, London (UK)
"Let's just say that Tolstoy is transcendent, and that we are grateful he lived long enough to endow us with his grand inheritance." —THOMAS KENEALLY, author of Schindler's List

'A Calendar of Wisdom' by Leo Tolstoy is a timeless daily devotional that offers profound spiritual insights for every day of the year. First published in 1904, this carefully curated collection reflects Tolstoy’s deep philosophical and moral inquiries in the final years of his life. Drawing on wisdom from across cultures and centuries—featuring voices such as Socrates, the Bible, Marcus Aurelius, Confucius, and Eastern sages—Tolstoy weaves together a rich tapestry of thought that speaks to the human soul.
Each daily entry is centered around a theme like kindness, death, humility, or purpose, combining excerpts from great thinkers with Tolstoy’s own contemplations. The result is a book that not only nourishes the mind but also calls the reader to live more thoughtfully and ethically.
Unlike Tolstoy’s epic novels, this work is compact and meditative, showing the author’s skill in distilling complex ideas into accessible daily reflections. Banned in the Soviet era but rediscovered in recent decades, A Calendar of Wisdom remains a source of daily inspiration, moral clarity, and inner peace for readers seeking guidance in a chaotic world.

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2025

About the author

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой; most appropriately used Liev Tolstoy; commonly Leo Tolstoy in Anglophone countries) 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 fiction. Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.

His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reviews

[Dave Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leo Tolstoy was a Russian writer who lived in the 1800’s. He wrote two famous works, War and Peace and Anna Karenina. His work explored love, faith, war, and everyday life. His works influenced many writers and social leaders. He also wrote “A Calendar of Wisdom,” a collection of ideas and quotes from the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud, Greek philosophy, and Buddhist teachings, along with reflections from great thinkers such as Marcus Aurelius. Because it is laid out as a day-by-day calendar, a person could read this as a daily meditation. But I couldn’t resist. I read it cover to cover but will refer back to it periodically.

Memorable Quotes

Kindness and virtue come from the heart and should be performed without thought for the opinion of others, or of future rewards. Virtue and charity start at home. If you have to go somewhere to display it, then it is not a virtue.

Charity is good only when it comes as a sacrifice; only then do those who receive the material gift receive the spiritual gift too. If it is not a sacrifice but a discharge of excess, it can only irritate those who receive it.

It is important to teach children kindness and simplicity in life and work. All of children’s moral and spiritual education should be supported by your own good example. You should live virtuously, or at least try to do so; the success of your good life will educate your children
The kinder and the more thoughtful a person is, the more kindness he can find in other people. Kindness enriches our life; with kindness mysterious things become clear, difficult things become easy, and dull things become cheerful.

Nothing can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness.