--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I came then to a conviction that has…" description: "\"I came then to a conviction that has never left me: that there is too much for me to attend to in this mortal life without overspeculation on the immor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5da/ida-tarbell-15988_affair_i-came-then-to-a-conviction-that-has-nev_2594113.png" --- # I came then to a conviction that has never left me: that… ![“I came then to a conviction that has never left me: that there is too much for me to attend to in this mortal life without overspeculation on the immortal, that it is not necessary to my peace of mind or to my effort to be a decent and useful person, to have a definite assurance about the affairs…” quote by Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5da/ida-tarbell-15988_affair_i-came-then-to-a-conviction-that-has-nev_2594113.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5da/ida-tarbell-15988_affair_i-came-then-to-a-conviction-that-has-nev_2594113.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5da/ida-tarbell-15988_affair_i-came-then-to-a-conviction-that-has-nev_2594113.png) > “I came then to a conviction that has never left me: that there is too much for me to attend to in this mortal life without overspeculation on the immortal, that it is not necessary to my peace of mind or to my effort to be a decent and useful person, to have a definite assurance about the affairs of the next world.” [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One should focus on present duties rather than obsess over speculative afterlife concerns, as they distract from peace and usefulness. **In simple terms:** Focus on present life, not afterlife speculation. Key Takeaway Prioritize present responsibilities. Themes focus present afterlife peace usefulness Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - daily planning - goal setting - mindful meditation - ethical decision making - volunteering Key Concepts philosophy pragmatism spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How does afterlife speculation affect your daily peace? - What present actions bring you meaning? A Different Perspective Neglecting afterlife thoughts may cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Assurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assurance/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Decent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decent/) [Definite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definite/) [Definite Assurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definite-assurance-1886330/) [Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dying/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Immortal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortal/) [Immortal Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortal-necessary-1886331/) [Immortality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortality/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Overspeculation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-overspeculation-1886332/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mortals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortals/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Overspeculation Immortal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overspeculation-immortal-1886329/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Peace of mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace-of-mind/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Men die, but the plutocracy is immortal; and it is necessary that fresh generations should be trained to its service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/men-die-but-the-plutocracy-is-immortal-and-it-is-necessary-that-fresh/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Confidentially, the type of male I find most enjoyable for a friend is one who has enough fire and assurance to speak up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/confidentially-the-type-of-male-i-find-most-enjoyable-for-a-friend-is/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [Do not rest, believer, until you have full assurance of your interest in Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/do-not-rest-believer-until-you-have-full-assurance-of-your-interest/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Out of all its squalor and human decay, its eruptions of butchery, India produced so many people of grace and beauty, ruled by elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-all-its-squalor-and-human-decay-its-eruptions-of-butchery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have a commitment to serve our Lord. 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Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Everybody in the real world will agree - the moment a project is behind deadline, quality assurance tends to go out the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cox/everybody-in-the-real-world-will-agree-the-moment-a-project-is-behind/) [Alan Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cox/) > [There are believers who by God's grace, have climbed the mountains of full assurance and near communion, their place is with the eagle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-are-believers-who-by-god-s-grace-have-climbed-the-mountains-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-really-distinguishes-this-generation-in-all-countries-from/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [When God overcomes our difficulties for us, we have the assurance that we are engaged in His work and not our own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/when-god-overcomes-our-difficulties-for-us-we-have-the-assurance-that/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. 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He can choose the fair and open path, the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/in-walking-through-the-world-there-is-a-choice-for-a-man-to-make-he/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [There is no more effective medicine to apply to feverish public sentiments than figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/there-is-no-more-effective-medicine-to-apply-to-feverish-public/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [I have never had illusions about the value of my individual contribution! I realized early that what a man or a woman does is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/i-have-never-had-illusions-about-the-value-of-my-individual/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [ \[John D. Rockefeller\] didn't care about anyone he did anything just to be rich and be the only company standing without any competition. He… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/john-d-rockefeller-didn-t-care-about-anyone-he-did-anything-just-to/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [I decided to write the book to open the eyes of the people of how corrupt John D. Rockefeller company was and the unfair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/i-decided-to-write-the-book-to-open-the-eyes-of-the-people-of-how/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Now, if the Standard Oil Company were the only concern in the country guilty of the practices which have given it monopolistic power, this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/now-if-the-standard-oil-company-were-the-only-concern-in-the-country/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Rockefeller and his associates did not build the Standard Oil Co. in the board rooms of Wall Street banks. 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From the first, oil men had to contend with wild fluctuations in the price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/speculation-in-oil-stock-companies-was-another-great-evil-from-the/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) [Explore all 41 Ida Tarbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) ## More Affair quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. 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