--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was necessary that millions of men in…" description: "\"“It was necessary that millions of men in whose hands lay the real power -- the soldiers who fired, or transported provisions and guns -- should consen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/leo-tolstoy-55_real-power_it-was-necessary-that-millions-of-men-in_3117441.png" --- # It was necessary that millions of men in whose hands lay… ![“It was necessary that millions of men in whose hands lay the real power -- the soldiers who fired, or transported provisions and guns -- should consent to carry out the will of these weak individuals...” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/leo-tolstoy-55_real-power_it-was-necessary-that-millions-of-men-in_3117441.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/leo-tolstoy-55_real-power_it-was-necessary-that-millions-of-men-in_3117441.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/leo-tolstoy-55_real-power_it-was-necessary-that-millions-of-men-in_3117441.png) > ““It was necessary that millions of men in whose hands lay the real power -- the soldiers who fired, or transported provisions and guns -- should consent to carry out the will of these weak individuals...”” [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. Mass conscription forces ordinary people to execute the will of a few, highlighting the moral burden of war. **In simple terms:** Common people bear the weight of leaders' decisions. Key Takeaway Question the ethics of using soldiers for political aims. Themes war power ethics Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical political When to use this quote - military recruitment - policy debates - historical analysis Key Concepts military obedience political authority Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do leaders have toward those they command? - Can war ever be justified ethically? A Different Perspective May simplify complex societal structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Real power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-power/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“It was necessary that millions of men in whose hands lay the real power—the soldiers who fired, or transported provisions and guns—should consent to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/it-was-necessary-that-millions-of-men-in-whose-hands-lay-the-real/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [If people should ever start to do only what is necessary millions would die of hunger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/if-people-should-ever-start-to-do-only-what-is-necessary-millions/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [“the event had to take place simply because it had to take place. 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My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. 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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 Real power quotes > [Progressive Conservative candidates from Quebec want to exert real power in Ottawa, not simply be content with playing a secondary role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/progressive-conservative-candidates-from-quebec-want-to-exert-real/) [Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/) > [Even a moderniser like Alexander II - who emancipated the serfs in 1861 - had no intention of devolving real power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-david/even-a-moderniser-like-alexander-ii-who-emancipated-the-serfs-in-1861/) [Saul David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-david/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I don't feel that the conductor has real power. The orchestra has the power, and every member of it knows instantaneously if you're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/itzhak-perlman/i-don-t-feel-that-the-conductor-has-real-power-the-orchestra-has-the/) [Itzhak Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/itzhak-perlman/) > [I think fundamentally, the real power behind the anti-choice movement in regard to abortion and the opposition to the rights of LGBT Americans is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-w-lynn/i-think-fundamentally-the-real-power-behind-the-anti-choice-movement/) [Barry W. Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-w-lynn/) > [“When you have no real power, go public—really public. The public is where the real power is. Those”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/when-you-have-no-real-power-go-public-really-public-the-public-is/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [“Don’t mistake me,” Jasnah continued. “Some kinds of power are real—power to command armies, power to Soulcast. These come into play far less often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/don-t-mistake-me-jasnah-continued-some-kinds-of-power-are-real-power/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“In a brilliant lecture written in 1944, C. S. Lewis described the fatal British obsession with the “inner ring,” the belief that somewhere, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-macintyre/in-a-brilliant-lecture-written-in-1944-c-s-lewis-described-the-fatal/) [Ben Macintyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-macintyre/) > [The real power of the Buddha was that he had so much love. He saw people trapped in their notions of small separate self,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/the-real-power-of-the-buddha-was-that-he-had-so-much-love-he-saw/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [For women, the need and desire to nurture each other is not pathological but redemptive, and it is within that knowledge that our real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-women-the-need-and-desire-to-nurture-each-other-is-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [This morning President Obama met with Britain's Prince William in the Oval Office. 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