--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At the time we were all convinced that we…" description: "\"“At the time we were all convinced that we had to speak, write,and publish as quickly as possible and as much as possible and that this was necessary f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/leo-tolstoy-55_life-lessons_at-the-time-we-were-all-convinced-that-w_1211908.jpg" --- # At the time we were all convinced that we had to speak… ![“At the time we were all convinced that we had to speak, write,and publish as quickly as possible and as much as possible and that this was necessary for the good of mankind. Thousands of us published and wrote in an effort to teach others, all the while disclaiming and abusing one another. Without…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/leo-tolstoy-55_life-lessons_at-the-time-we-were-all-convinced-that-w_1211908.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/leo-tolstoy-55_life-lessons_at-the-time-we-were-all-convinced-that-w_1211908.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/leo-tolstoy-55_life-lessons_at-the-time-we-were-all-convinced-that-w_1211908.jpg) > ““At the time we were all convinced that we had to speak, write,and publish as quickly as possible and as much as possible and that this was necessary for the good of mankind. Thousands of us published and wrote in an effort to teach others, all the while disclaiming and abusing one another. Without taking note of the fact that we knew nothing, that we did not know the answer to the simplest question of life, the question of what is right and what is wrong, we all went on talking without listening to one another.”” [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. Writers rushed to produce work without humility, leading to conflict and a neglect of moral reflection. **In simple terms:** Speed over thought caused chaos. Key Takeaway Pause to reflect before publishing. Themes ethics communication humility Mood contemplative serious Type ethical literary When to use this quote - publishing - academic discourse - public debates Key Concepts Moral philosophy literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How can creators balance urgency with responsibility? - What practices foster listening over speaking? A Different Perspective Speed can compromise truth and empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-lessons/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“You're saying nothing lasts forever, he heard the fellow whine. (Well, pretty trite, he thought.) No, he heard her say. I'm saying with very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/you-re-saying-nothing-lasts-forever-he-heard-the-fellow-whine-well/) [Iain M. 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White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) > [(We are on a bus) I'm extremely silent facing the window...My friend raquel was talking to jack and she said to me ''when someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/we-are-on-a-bus-i-m-extremely-silent-facing-the-window-my-friend/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [“What had happened in these ten years for there suddenly be so much to say — so much so pressing that it couldn’t wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-had-happened-in-these-ten-years-for-there-suddenly-be-so-much-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“To speak, to write , without charm is to make utterances without reference to a reality outside oneself. It is an act devoid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/to-speak-to-write-without-charm-is-to-make-utterances-without/) [Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) > [One ritual is that I don't speak to anyone before I write in the morning. I like to get to my desk before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luanne-rice/one-ritual-is-that-i-don-t-speak-to-anyone-before-i-write-in-the/) [Luanne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luanne-rice/) > [Always speak the truth, think before you speak, and write it down afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/always-speak-the-truth-think-before-you-speak-and-write-it-down/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [Those who write as they speak, even though they speak well, write badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/those-who-write-as-they-speak-even-though-they-speak-well-write-badly/) [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-louis-leclerc-comte-de-buffon/) > [Man has the right . . . to play as he will . . . to think what he will: to speak what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/man-has-the-right-to-play-as-he-will-to-think-what-he-will-to-speak/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [“Only inferior minds speak or write in order to discover what they think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hoffman/only-inferior-minds-speak-or-write-in-order-to-discover-what-they/) [Paul Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hoffman/) > [If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it, write it in the sand near the water's edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/if-you-must-speak-ill-of-another-do-not-speak-it-write-it-in-the-sand/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I have a call to speak, to write, to do sort of deep-heart surgery in people's lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/i-have-a-call-to-speak-to-write-to-do-sort-of-deep-heart-surgery-in/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [I've always asked to be able to speak and write about injustice and to do it in a way that would encourage people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-ve-always-asked-to-be-able-to-speak-and-write-about-injustice-and/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [“Unspoken thoughts get you nowhere. If you can't speak out, then write it out”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/unspoken-thoughts-get-you-nowhere-if-you-can-t-speak-out-then-write/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Life lessons quotes > [“Ask anyone; possibly ninety-five percent of their wishes have come true. The unfortunate part is, we all overlook that, and regret all our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uday-mukerji/ask-anyone-possibly-ninety-five-percent-of-their-wishes-have-come/) Uday Mukerji > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) > [“I met Suffering on a quiet road, just as the sun was setting behind me. 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Get your hopes up, get your faith up, look up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/today-if-anything-is-trying-to-hold-you-back-give-no-attention-to-it/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“It is not about giving her the world, it is all about making her realize that she is the only one in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nehali-lalwani/it-is-not-about-giving-her-the-world-it-is-all-about-making-her/) [Nehali Lalwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nehali-lalwani/) > [“To lovers out there… Pregnancy is the main reason why most couples are married today. Yet every day they ask themselves why they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/de-philosopher-dj-kyos/to-lovers-out-there-pregnancy-is-the-main-reason-why-most-couples-are/) De philosopher DJ Kyos > [“I want to try get rid of this rep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dawson/i-want-to-try-get-rid-of-this-rep/) Thomas Dawson > [“DON'T let the past hold you back, you're missing the coming good stuff”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rame-ammar/don-t-let-the-past-hold-you-back-you-re-missing-the-coming-good-stuff/) Rame Ammar > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Whats the point of life if you're not rich XD”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-delgado/whats-the-point-of-life-if-you-re-not-rich-xd/) Kevin Delgado [Browse all 3,964 Life lessons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-lessons/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At the time we were all convinced that we had to speak, write,and publish as quickly as possible and as much as possible and that this was necessary for the good of mankind. 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