Saturday's Words of Wisdom

I recently read an interesting essay about the death of Leo Tolstoy in Harper's Magazine, which made me think he ought to be represented on my blog. Tolstoy (1828-1910) was one of the great literary figures of the modern era, most famous for his novels. Here's something that appeared in his collection of essays entitled On Life and Essays on Religion:

"Freethinkers are those willing to use their minds
without prejudice and without fearing to understand
things that clash with their own customs, privileges,
or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it
is essential for right thinking; where it is absent,
discussion is apt to become worse than useless."