--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How horrified he would have been if…" description: "\"“How horrified he would have been if, seven years ago, when he had just come from abroad, someone had told him that there was no need to seek or invent..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/leo-tolstoy-55_years-ago_how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seve_2884987.png" --- # How horrified he would have been if, seven years ago, when… ![“How horrified he would have been if, seven years ago, when he had just come from abroad, someone had told him that there was no need to seek or invent anything, that his rut had long been carved out for him and determined from all eternity, and that, however he twisted and turned, he would be that…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/leo-tolstoy-55_years-ago_how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seve_2884987.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/leo-tolstoy-55_years-ago_how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seve_2884987.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/leo-tolstoy-55_years-ago_how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seve_2884987.png) > ““How horrified he would have been if, seven years ago, when he had just come from abroad, someone had told him that there was no need to seek or invent anything, that his rut had long been carved out for him and determined from all eternity, and that, however he twisted and turned, he would be that which everybody was in his position. He could not have believed it. Had he not wished with all his soul to establish a republic in Russia, then to become a Napoleon himself, a philosopher, a tactician, the defeater of Napoleon? Had he not seen the possibility and passionately wished to transform depraved mankind and bring his own self to the highest degree of perfection? ... He sometimes comforted himself with the thought that he happened to be leading his life just so, in the meantime; but then he would be horrified by another thought, that it was just so, in the meantime, that so many people had entered this life, this club, as he had, with all their teeth and hair, and come out of it with not a single tooth or hair left.”” [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. He feared that destiny would confine him to a predetermined role, denying his ambitions for greatness and transformation. **In simple terms:** Fear of a fixed destiny limits ambition. Key Takeaway Question your assumptions about destiny. Themes ambition destiny self‑actualization Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career aspirations - political activism - philosophical self‑development Key Concepts existentialism determinism personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What would you do if you believed your path was pre‑written? - How can you balance ambition with acceptance? A Different Perspective Such fatalism can paralyze action and ignore agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Did this fat little priest mean to take her as a wife? 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He could not have believed it. Had he not wished with all his soul to establish a republic in Russia, then to become a Napoleon himself, a philosopher, a tactician, the defeater of Napoleon? Had he not seen the possibility and passionately wished to transform depraved mankind and bring his own self to the highest degree of perfection? ... He sometimes comforted himself with the thought that he happened to be leading his life just so, in the meantime; but then he would be horrified by another thought, that it was just so, in the meantime, that so many people had entered this life, this club, as he had, with all their teeth and hair, and come out of it with not a single tooth or hair left.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Tolstoy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seven-years-ago-when-he-had-just/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Years ago" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seven-years-ago-when-he-had-just/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/leo-tolstoy-55_years-ago_how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seve_2884987.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/leo-tolstoy-55_years-ago_how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seve_2884987.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/leo-tolstoy-55_years-ago_how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seve_2884987.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How horrified he would have been if, seven years ago, when he had just come from abroad, someone had told…” — Leo Tolstoy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Leo Tolstoy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“How horrified he would have been...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seven-years-ago-when-he-had-just/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/how-horrified-he-would-have-been-if-seven-years-ago-when-he-had-just/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```