--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where did I get it from? Was it by reason…" description: "\"Where did I get it from? Was it by reason that I attained to the knowledge that I must love my neighbour and not throttle him? They told me so when I w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c47/leo-tolstoy-55_children_where-did-i-get-it-from-was-it-by-reason_1776659.png" --- # Where did I get it from? Was it by reason that I attained… ![“Where did I get it from? Was it by reason that I attained to the knowledge that I must love my neighbour and not throttle him? They told me so when I was a child, and I gladly believed it, because they told me what was already in my soul. But who discovered it? Not reason! Reason has discovered…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c47/leo-tolstoy-55_children_where-did-i-get-it-from-was-it-by-reason_1776659.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c47/leo-tolstoy-55_children_where-did-i-get-it-from-was-it-by-reason_1776659.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c47/leo-tolstoy-55_children_where-did-i-get-it-from-was-it-by-reason_1776659.png) > “Where did I get it from? Was it by reason that I attained to the knowledge that I must love my neighbour and not throttle him? They told me so when I was a child, and I gladly believed it, because they told me what was already in my soul. But who discovered it? Not reason! Reason has discovered the struggle for existence and the law that I must throttle all those who hinder the satisfaction of my desires. That is the deduction reason makes. But the law of loving others could not be discovered by reason, because it is unreasonable.” [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. Love for others is a moral intuition not derived from reason; reason justifies self‑interest and conflict. **In simple terms:** Moral love comes from intuition, not logic. Key Takeaway Trust your inner sense of compassion. Themes morality intuition reason Mood contemplative philosophical Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - community service - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethical intuition humanism Questions to Reflect On - What inner feelings guide your actions? - How do you reconcile reason with compassion? A Different Perspective Reason can also guide moral decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Loving others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-others/) [Neighbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbour/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Struggle for existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle-for-existence/) ## Related quotes > [“Was it by reason that I attained to the knowledge that I must love my neighbor and not to throttle him?. 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Reason discovered the struggle for existence, and the law that requires us to oppress all who hinder the satisfaction of our desires.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/not-reason-reason-discovered-the-struggle-for-existence-and-the-law/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“Pierre's insanity consisted in the face that he did not wait, as before, for personal reasons, which he called people's merits, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/pierre-s-insanity-consisted-in-the-face-that-he-did-not-wait-as/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [But the law of loving others could not be discovered by reason, because it is unreasonable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/but-the-law-of-loving-others-could-not-be-discovered-by-reason/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [When I had gone through the whole, and saw what a plain, simple, reasonable thing Christianity was, suited to all conditions and capacities; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/when-i-had-gone-through-the-whole-and-saw-what-a-plain-simple/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [“Without the friendship we'd never have discovered the reason we were friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-a-lancaster/without-the-friendship-we-d-never-have-discovered-the-reason-we-were/) [Mike A. 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My father is right. 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