Leo Tolstoy in: The Death of Ivan Ilych: English-Russian Parallel Text Edition, Lulu.com, 17 April 2010, p. 70
“
In the depth of his heart he knew he was dying, but not only was he not accustomed to the thought, he simply did not and could not grasp it. The syllogism he had learnt from Kiesewetter's Logic: “Caius is a man, men are mortal, therefore Caius is mortal” had always seemed to him correct, but he was Cauis, not an abstract man, but a creature quite, quite separate from all others.
— Leo Tolstoy on Syllogism
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "In the depth of his heart he knew he was dying, but not only was he not accustomed to the thought, he simply did not and could not grasp it. The syllogism he had learnt from Kiesewetter's Logic: “Caius is a man, men are mortal, therefore Caius is mortal” had always seemed to him correct, but he was Cauis, not an abstract man, but a creature quite, quite separate from all others." in the context of "Leo Tolstoy in: The Death of Ivan Ilych: English-Russian Parallel Text Edition, Lulu.com, 17 April 2010, p. 70" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Syllogism" (Quotes: Quotes are arranged alphabetically by author, S - Z)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevitch Tolstoy Ле́в Никола́евич Толсто́й, usually rendered Leo Tolstoy, or sometimes Tolstoi (9 September 1828 – 20 November 1910) was a Russian writer, philosopher and social activist (social critic), whose novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina are internationally praised classics of world literature. He was a major influence on the development of Christian anarchism and pacifism, contributing to such nonviolent resistance movements as those of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and James Bevel.
About Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevitch Tolstoy Ле́в Никола́евич Толсто́й, usually rendered Leo Tolstoy, or sometimes Tolstoi (9 September 1828 – 20 November 1910) was a Russian writer, philosopher and social activist (social critic), whose novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina are internationally praised classics of world literature. He was a major influence on the development of Christian anarchism and pacifism, contributing to such nonviolent resistance movements as those of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and James Bevel.
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