--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men are so accustomed to maintaining…" description: "\"Men are so accustomed to maintaining external order by violence that they cannot conceive of life being possible without violence.\" — Leo Tolstoy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/leo-tolstoy-55_accustomed_men-are-so-accustomed-to-maintaining-ext_2878030.png" --- # Men are so accustomed to maintaining external order by… ![“Men are so accustomed to maintaining external order by violence that they cannot conceive of life being possible without violence.” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/leo-tolstoy-55_accustomed_men-are-so-accustomed-to-maintaining-ext_2878030.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/leo-tolstoy-55_accustomed_men-are-so-accustomed-to-maintaining-ext_2878030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/leo-tolstoy-55_accustomed_men-are-so-accustomed-to-maintaining-ext_2878030.png) > “Men are so accustomed to maintaining external order by violence that they cannot conceive of life being possible without violence.” [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. Society normalizes violence as a means to enforce order, making non‑violent alternatives seem impossible. **In simple terms:** People think violence is necessary for order. Key Takeaway Recognize and practice non‑violent ways to create order. Themes violence order society peace human nature Mood reflective critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical political ethical When to use this quote - political activism - conflict resolution - community building - education reform Key Concepts social contract power dynamics ethical philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How can we redesign institutions to rely on cooperation? - What examples show lasting peace without violence? A Different Perspective Non‑violent societies still face threats and may struggle to enforce rules without force. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Ubuntu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ubuntu/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The generality of men are so accustomed to judge of things by their senses that, because the air is indivisible, they ascribe but little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-boyle/the-generality-of-men-are-so-accustomed-to-judge-of-things-by-their/) [Robert Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-boyle/) > [Men become accustomed to poison by degrees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/men-become-accustomed-to-poison-by-degrees/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [No free people ever existed, or can ever exist, without keeping the purse strings in their own hands. Where this is the case, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dickinson/no-free-people-ever-existed-or-can-ever-exist-without-keeping-the/) [John Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dickinson/) > [“Violence is already active here; it is built into the very structure od the existing society. If we seek a world in which men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/violence-is-already-active-here-it-is-built-into-the-very-structure/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [“I jump over dead bodies, and in my mind flashes a thought: how quickly men become accustomed to things which, at one time, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mansur-abdulin/i-jump-over-dead-bodies-and-in-my-mind-flashes-a-thought-how-quickly/) Mansur Abdulin > [The phrases men are accustomed to repeat incessantly, end by becoming convictions and ossify the organs of intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-phrases-men-are-accustomed-to-repeat-incessantly-end-by-becoming/) [Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“This is a generation of men accustomed to warfare, inured to danger and familiar with cruelty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/this-is-a-generation-of-men-accustomed-to-warfare-inured-to-danger/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [... men, accustomed to think of men as possessing sex attributes and other things besides, are accustomed to think of women as having sex,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/men-accustomed-to-think-of-men-as-possessing-sex-attributes-and-other/) [Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/) > [Why does man have reason if he can only be influenced by violence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/why-does-man-have-reason-if-he-can-only-be-influenced-by-violence/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Violence produces only something resembling justice, but it distances people from the possibility of living justly, without violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/violence-produces-only-something-resembling-justice-but-it-distances/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The law of violence is not a law, but a simple fact which can only be a law when it does not meet with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-law-of-violence-is-not-a-law-but-a-simple-fact-which-can-only-be/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [There are no conditions to which a person cannot grow accustomed, especially if he sees that everyone around him lives in the same way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/there-are-no-conditions-to-which-a-person-cannot-grow-accustomed/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [There are no conditions to which a man cannot become accustomed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/there-are-no-conditions-to-which-a-man-cannot-become-accustomed/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [All works of love are works of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/all-works-of-love-are-works-of-peace/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) ## 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! 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