--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Answer me two more questions,’ said the…" description: "\"“Answer me two more questions,’ said the King. ‘The first is, Why did the earth bear such grain then and has ceased to do so now? And the second is, Wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/leo-tolstoy-55_nature_answer-me-two-more-questions-said-the-ki_2402033.png" --- # Answer me two more questions,’ said the King. ‘The first… ![“Answer me two more questions,’ said the King. ‘The first is, Why did the earth bear such grain then and has ceased to do so now? And the second is, Why your grandson walks with two crutches, your son with one, and you yourself with none? Your eyes are bright, your teeth sound, and your speech…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/leo-tolstoy-55_nature_answer-me-two-more-questions-said-the-ki_2402033.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/leo-tolstoy-55_nature_answer-me-two-more-questions-said-the-ki_2402033.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/leo-tolstoy-55_nature_answer-me-two-more-questions-said-the-ki_2402033.png) > ““Answer me two more questions,’ said the King. ‘The first is, Why did the earth bear such grain then and has ceased to do so now? And the second is, Why your grandson walks with two crutches, your son with one, and you yourself with none? Your eyes are bright, your teeth sound, and your speech clear and pleasant to the ear. How have these things come about?’ And the old man answered: ‘These things are so, because men have ceased to live by their own labour, and have taken to depending on the labour of others. In the old time, men lived according to God’s law. They had what was their own, and coveted not what others had produced.”” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The king questions why people no longer work for themselves, suggesting societal decay when labor is outsourced and personal ownership fades. **In simple terms:** People stopped working for themselves, relying on others. Key Takeaway Encourage self-reliance and personal effort. Themes labor self-reliance societal change Mood reflective serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - education - policy making - community building Key Concepts economic independence dependence historical perspective Questions to Reflect On - How does reliance on others affect personal dignity? - What can restore balance between labor and ownership? A Different Perspective The view may oversimplify complex economic systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [According God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/according-god-369714/) [Answered Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answered-things-6018415/) [Man Answered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-answered-683979/) [Men Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-lived-335324/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Old time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-time/) [Questions Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions-said-549818/) [Ur Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ur-eyes/) ## Related quotes > [Reason unites us, not only with our contemporaries, but with men who lived two thousand years before us, and with those who will live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/reason-unites-us-not-only-with-our-contemporaries-but-with-men-who/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I’m just asking questions,” I said. “It’s a passive-aggressive approach. 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I heard the diesel rattle of vehicles driving away from the scene. “Hey,” I replied,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/hey-he-said-his-hand-gently-rubbing-my-back-i-heard-the-diesel-rattle/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [Do you have children? she asked. No. Why? The man answered that one had to have faith in the world to have children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-have-children-she-asked-no-why-the-man-answered-that-one-had/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What was wrong with that young man who answered the door?” Wyndle asked. “Dunno,” Lift said. “Some people are just born like that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/what-was-wrong-with-that-young-man-who-answered-the-door-wyndle-asked/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“I’ll see you in the morning. Oh, and hey…if I don’t answer the door right away it probably means I’m doing some weight training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/i-ll-see-you-in-the-morning-oh-and-hey-if-i-don-t-answer-the-door/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [“What is it?” I asked, pasting a magazine photo of a football--found in an old Seventeen magazine spread--on my beloved’s collage. “Well, a bunch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/what-is-it-i-asked-pasting-a-magazine-photo-of-a-football-found-in-an/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. 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She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. 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