--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One step across the dividing line, so…" description: "\"“One step across the dividing line, so like the one between the living and the dead and you enter an unknown world of suffering and death. What will yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/leo-tolstoy-55_death_one-step-across-the-dividing-line-so-lik_1056877.jpg" --- # One step across the dividing line, so like the one between… ![“One step across the dividing line, so like the one between the living and the dead and you enter an unknown world of suffering and death. What will you find there? Who will be there? There, just just beyond the field, that tree, that sunlit roof? No one knows, and yet you want to know. You dread…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/leo-tolstoy-55_death_one-step-across-the-dividing-line-so-lik_1056877.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/leo-tolstoy-55_death_one-step-across-the-dividing-line-so-lik_1056877.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c6/leo-tolstoy-55_death_one-step-across-the-dividing-line-so-lik_1056877.jpg) > ““One step across the dividing line, so like the one between the living and the dead and you enter an unknown world of suffering and death. What will you find there? Who will be there? There, just just beyond the field, that tree, that sunlit roof? No one knows, and yet you want to know. You dread crossing that line, and yet you want to cross it. You know sooner or later you will have to go across and find out what is there beyond it, just as you must inevitably found out what lies beyond death. Yet here you are, fit and strong, carefree and excited, with men all around you just the same- strong, excited and full of life.' This is what all men think when they get sight of the enemy, or they feel it if they do not think it, and it is this feeling that gives a special lustre and a delicious edge to the awareness of everything that is now happening.”” [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. Facing the unknown, especially death or battle, creates fear and curiosity, yet drives us forward despite dread. **In simple terms:** Fear of the unknown pushes us to act. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty, act despite fear. Themes courage death war human nature existential dread Mood anxious determined reflective Type philosophical literary inspirational When to use this quote - battlefield - personal crisis - life decisions - grieving - spiritual awakening Key Concepts mortality psychology motivation Questions to Reflect On - What unknown are you avoiding? - How can you prepare for fear without being paralyzed? A Different Perspective The quote romanticizes fear, ignoring practical preparation and possible paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Sooner or later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) ## Related quotes > [“You are a warrior in a dark forest, with no compass and are unable to tell who the actual enemy is, So you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-a-warrior-in-a-dark-forest-with-no-compass-and-are-unable-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To love our enemy is impossible. The moment we understand our enemy, we feel compassion towards him/her, and he/she is no longer our enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/to-love-our-enemy-is-impossible-the-moment-we-understand-our-enemy-we/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [“But if I had lived to be twenty-nine years old like I am, and with all my chances made no enemy, I'd feel myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-wister/but-if-i-had-lived-to-be-twenty-nine-years-old-like-i-am-and-with-all/) [Owen Wister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-wister/) > [People need an enemy to feel a sense of purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/people-need-an-enemy-to-feel-a-sense-of-purpose/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“I am my own worst enemy I only feel beautiful when I am holding my son Always expect the worst, that way you're never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-norris/i-am-my-own-worst-enemy-i-only-feel-beautiful-when-i-am-holding-my/) Bill Norris > [“Life meanwhile, the actual life of men with their real interests of health and sickness, labour and rest, with their interests of thought, science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/life-meanwhile-the-actual-life-of-men-with-their-real-interests-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Hazel had read enough books to know that a line like this one is the line down which your life breaks in two. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/hazel-had-read-enough-books-to-know-that-a-line-like-this-one-is-the/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [When I voted against the cap-and-trade bill, the phone rang and it was the chief of staff of the president of the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-massa/when-i-voted-against-the-cap-and-trade-bill-the-phone-rang-and-it-was/) [Eric Massa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-massa/) > […the majority of men do not think in order to know the truth, but in order to assure themselves that the life which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-majority-of-men-do-not-think-in-order-to-know-the-truth-but-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [In my family, it was kind of an unwritten rule that certain behaviors that would have been crossing a line for other people were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/in-my-family-it-was-kind-of-an-unwritten-rule-that-certain-behaviors/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [Girls are supposed to sing. It's the guys' thing to play the guitar. Crossing the line is kind of like trying to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orianthi/girls-are-supposed-to-sing-it-s-the-guys-thing-to-play-the-guitar/) [Orianthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orianthi/) > [There are subtle things you can do without crossing the line. If I see I've got up my opponent's nose, I will be over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-poulter/there-are-subtle-things-you-can-do-without-crossing-the-line-if-i-see/) [Ian Poulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-poulter/) > [The worst thing about crossing a line is not knowing you already have-find your love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/the-worst-thing-about-crossing-a-line-is-not-knowing-you-already-have/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [So many people mad at me for crossing the line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/falling-in-reverse/so-many-people-mad-at-me-for-crossing-the-line/) [Falling In Reverse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/falling-in-reverse/) > [“Crossing the line, that's what the Highway Patrol woman said. Neely was on a gurney, his injuries deemed non-life-threatening, she was taking her initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendric-neal/crossing-the-line-that-s-what-the-highway-patrol-woman-said-neely-was/) [Kendric Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendric-neal/) ## 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 Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. 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You dread crossing that line, and yet you want to cross it. You know sooner or later you will have to go across and find out what is there beyond it, just as you must inevitably found out what lies beyond death. Yet here you are, fit and strong, carefree and excited, with men all around you just the same- strong, excited and full of life.' 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