Patience and long-term thinking
The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.
— Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), War and Peace (1865–1867; 1869), Bk. X, ch. 16

Patience and long-term thinking

What it means

In War and Peace, Kutuzov holds that time and patience win more battles than force. Waiting well can be a powerful strategy.

About the author

Leo Tolstoy — Russian writer (1828–1910).

Source and verification

Source
War and Peace (1865–1867; 1869), Bk. X, ch. 16
Reference
Leo Tolstoy on Wikiquote
Checked
Wording and source taken from the sourced section of the author’s Wikiquote page, which cites the work given here (accessed 2026-10-11).
Copyright
Public domain: the author died in 1910.

The explanation above is ToDoMatriX’s own reading of the quote, not the author’s words.

More on patience and long-term thinking

“It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it.”

Seneca

“Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is nigh at hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.”

Marcus Aurelius

“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”

Charles Darwin