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Man's freedom lies in the power of this choice.
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“Man's freedom lies in the power of this choice.”

Leo Tolstoy

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Source
The Kingdom of God Is Within You
Date
1894
English wording
Constance Garnett — Translator · from Russian
Meaning

Meaning of “Man's freedom lies in the power of this…”

Tolstoy locates a limited but meaningful freedom in whether a person recognizes and acts upon the truth they believe they have understood.

Source context

Where does it come from?

The Kingdom of God Is Within You, Chapter XII; Constance Garnett translation, Project Gutenberg #43302. In the concluding chapter Tolstoy locates human freedom in the recognition or rejection of truth already revealed to conscience; the sentence states that freedom lies in this choice.

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Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

DecisionFreedomHonestyResponsibilityShortThinking Quotes About Reasoning, Reflection & JudgmentTruthConscienceSpiritual
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Though asleep, the conscience is there
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“Though asleep, the conscience is there”

Leo Tolstoy · The Kingdom of God Is Within You · 1894
Meaning & context

Tolstoy argues that social conditioning can suppress moral awareness without eliminating it, leaving open the possibility that conscience can reawaken.

Source details

The Kingdom of God Is Within You, Chapter XII; Constance Garnett translation, Project Gutenberg #43302. In the concluding chapter Tolstoy discusses soldiers, authority, hypnotic social conditioning and moral responsibility, arguing that conscience may be put to sleep without being destroyed.

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All warfare is based on deception.
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“All warfare is based on deception.”

Sun Tzu · The Art of War — Laying Plans · c. 5th century BCE
Meaning & context

Strategy depends partly on managing what an opponent believes about intentions, strength, timing, and position rather than revealing every fact directly.

Source details

The Art of War, Chapter I 'Laying Plans,' section 18, Lionel Giles translation (1910), original scan leaf 62. 'All warfare is based on deception' begins Giles's section 18 before the examples of seeming unable, inactive, near or far. This remains translation-mediated ancient military strategy, not generic business, relationship or current operational advice.

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truth is truth only when it is in action
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“truth is truth only when it is in action”

Leo Tolstoy · My Religion · 1885
Meaning & context

Tolstoy argues that truth becomes socially consequential when embodied in conduct rather than remaining only an inward opinion or abstract proposition.

Source details

My Religion, Chapter XII; Huntington Smith translation, represented 1885 Crowell edition, Project Gutenberg #43794. In the concluding chapter Tolstoy argues that truth becomes transmissible when embodied in action and brought to individual conscience; the explicitly Christian and social context remains visible.

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Intelligence is the key to freedom in act.
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“Intelligence is the key to freedom in act.”

John Dewey · Human Nature and Conduct · 1922
Meaning & context

Effective freedom depends on understanding conditions well enough to form workable plans and act through real constraints, rather than merely asserting an unconstrained will.

Source details

Human Nature and Conduct (1922), Part Four, Section III, “What is Freedom?”, printed page 304, Project Gutenberg #41386. Dewey states “Intelligence is the key to freedom in act” while arguing that effective action depends on consulting conditions and forming plans that enlist their cooperation; the following page stresses study, foresight and adaptation. This is historical philosophical / social-psychological argument rather than current neuroscientific or experimentally settled behavioral evidence.

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We must know the truth; and we must avoid error.
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“We must know the truth; and we must avoid error.”

William James · The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy · 1897
Meaning & context

James separates two intellectual duties—seeking truth and avoiding falsehood—to show that prioritizing one over the other can produce different habits of belief and inquiry.

Source details

The Will to Believe, essay “The Will to Believe”; Project Gutenberg #26659. James immediately argues that truth-seeking and error-avoidance are distinct laws rather than two phrasings of one command.

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