--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is one thing, and only one thing…" description: "\"There is one thing, and only one thing, in which it is granted to you to be free in life, all else being beyond your power: that is to recognize and pr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/leo-tolstoy-55_free-life_there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in_2598800.png" --- # There is one thing, and only one thing, in which it is… ![“There is one thing, and only one thing, in which it is granted to you to be free in life, all else being beyond your power: that is to recognize and profess the truth.” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/leo-tolstoy-55_free-life_there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in_2598800.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/leo-tolstoy-55_free-life_there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in_2598800.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/leo-tolstoy-55_free-life_there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in_2598800.png) > “There is one thing, and only one thing, in which it is granted to you to be free in life, all else being beyond your power: that is to recognize and profess the truth.” [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. Freedom lies in acknowledging truth; all other control is beyond us. **In simple terms:** Truth gives freedom. Key Takeaway Seek truth to be free. Themes freedom truth personal responsibility Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - political activism - personal decision making - education - media consumption Key Concepts philosophy ethics existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern truth? - What truths limit your freedom? A Different Perspective Truth can be subjective and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Free life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“I was given this gift by silba. It is not right to charge for what was granted for free”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/i-was-given-this-gift-by-silba-it-is-not-right-to-charge-for-what-was/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [One thing must be granted to the rich: they are goodnatured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/one-thing-must-be-granted-to-the-rich-they-are-goodnatured/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [I just learned not to take a single thing for granted, and I think it just is extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-kerry/i-just-learned-not-to-take-a-single-thing-for-granted-and-i-think-it/) [Vanessa Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-kerry/) > [“In life and living, there is just one thing you should never take for granted: anything can happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-a-o-neal/in-life-and-living-there-is-just-one-thing-you-should-never-take-for/) [Terry a O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-a-o-neal/) > [“The problem with Christianity is more people profess the truth than live it. So much hypocrisy abounds that I can no longer say I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/the-problem-with-christianity-is-more-people-profess-the-truth-than/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [People must not attempt to impose their own 'truth' on others. The right to profess the truth must always be upheld, but not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/people-must-not-attempt-to-impose-their-own-truth-on-others-the-right/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [That's not a thing any of us are granted. To go back. Wipe away what later doesn't suit us and make it the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/that-s-not-a-thing-any-of-us-are-granted-to-go-back-wipe-away-what/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“It was a rare thing to be granted one’s heart’s desire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-was-a-rare-thing-to-be-granted-one-s-heart-s-desire/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Preparation is such a big thing and you should never take that for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-harris/preparation-is-such-a-big-thing-and-you-should-never-take-that-for/) [Joe Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-harris/) > [You are free to give life meaning, whatever meaning you want to give it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/you-are-free-to-give-life-meaning-whatever-meaning-you-want-to-give-it/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [God never promised us a trouble-free life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/god-never-promised-us-a-trouble-free-life/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“A free spirit lives a free life, not bound by rules but guided by wonder, and in their wake they inspire others to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julieanne-o-connor/a-free-spirit-lives-a-free-life-not-bound-by-rules-but-guided-by/) [Julieanne O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julieanne-o-connor/) > [Create an inspirational environment for yourself filled with uplifting books, movies, quotes, and music. Surround yourself with nature and people who encourage you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/create-an-inspirational-environment-for-yourself-filled-with/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [It is only when our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way, that the mind can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/it-is-only-when-our-life-proceeds-within-bounds-and-in-an-accepted/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [You can't have a pain-free life. It can't all be roses and unicorns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/you-can-t-have-a-pain-free-life-it-can-t-all-be-roses-and-unicorns/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) ## 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. 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. 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 Free life quotes > [It is only when our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way, that the mind can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/it-is-only-when-our-life-proceeds-within-bounds-and-in-an-accepted/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [Create an inspirational environment for yourself filled with uplifting books, movies, quotes, and music. Surround yourself with nature and people who encourage you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/create-an-inspirational-environment-for-yourself-filled-with/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [“A free spirit lives a free life, not bound by rules but guided by wonder, and in their wake they inspire others to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julieanne-o-connor/a-free-spirit-lives-a-free-life-not-bound-by-rules-but-guided-by/) [Julieanne O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julieanne-o-connor/) > [God never promised us a trouble-free life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/god-never-promised-us-a-trouble-free-life/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [You are free to give life meaning, whatever meaning you want to give it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/you-are-free-to-give-life-meaning-whatever-meaning-you-want-to-give-it/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [You can't have a pain-free life. It can't all be roses and unicorns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/you-can-t-have-a-pain-free-life-it-can-t-all-be-roses-and-unicorns/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [I have three sons, and the oldest wants to play pirates all the time. It has all these associations of living some kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-lindholm/i-have-three-sons-and-the-oldest-wants-to-play-pirates-all-the-time/) [Tobias Lindholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-lindholm/) > [Nobody is free from problems. A problem-free life is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ace-kid/nobody-is-free-from-problems-a-problem-free-life-is-an-illusion/) [Ace Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ace-kid/) > [I hate cats. But this cancer cat made me feel bad, so I was like, Okay, I'll take her back to L. A. and give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmy-rossum/i-hate-cats-but-this-cancer-cat-made-me-feel-bad-so-i-was-like-okay-i/) [Emmy Rossum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmy-rossum/) > [“I've never been free in my whole life. Inside I've always chased myself. I've become intolerable to myself. I live in a lacerating duality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/i-ve-never-been-free-in-my-whole-life-inside-i-ve-always-chased/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [Moving to Australia was not a career move, but a quality of life issue. It has no guns, no God, and no gangster rap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklyn-ajaye/moving-to-australia-was-not-a-career-move-but-a-quality-of-life-issue/) [Franklyn Ajaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklyn-ajaye/) > [All meditations are nothing but efforts to bring you to the present. When you live in the present moment, with no past hanging around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/all-meditations-are-nothing-but-efforts-to-bring-you-to-the-present/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I remained a socialist for several years, even after my rejection of Marxism; and if there could be such a thing as socialism combined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-remained-a-socialist-for-several-years-even-after-my-rejection-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You must live a very free life." "Me?" she laughed. "I am not who swoops out of the sky to rain fire on pirates!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-starbuck/you-must-live-a-very-free-life-me-she-laughed-i-am-not-who-swoops-out/) [Sam Starbuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-starbuck/) > [All the joys - animal and human - of a free life are mine. I have escaped everything that is artificial, conventional, customary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/all-the-joys-animal-and-human-of-a-free-life-are-mine-i-have-escaped/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) [Browse all 108 Free life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is one thing, and only one thing, in which it is granted to you to be free in life, all else being beyond your power: that is to recognize and profess the truth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Tolstoy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in-which-it-is-granted-to-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Free life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in-which-it-is-granted-to-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/leo-tolstoy-55_free-life_there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in_2598800.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/leo-tolstoy-55_free-life_there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in_2598800.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/leo-tolstoy-55_free-life_there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in_2598800.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is one thing, and only one thing, in which it is granted to you to be free in life, all else being…” — 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": "There is one thing, and only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in-which-it-is-granted-to-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/there-is-one-thing-and-only-one-thing-in-which-it-is-granted-to-you/#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 } } ] } ```