Quotation
Last reviewed:
“There can be only one permanent revolution — a moral one; the regeneration of the inner man. … And yet in our world everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself.”
Leo Tolstoy · Moral and political thought · Modern · 1900
What does it mean?
He sets moral self-reform above political reform. Revolutions of government, in his view, only swap one set of rulers using force for another. A rival reading says this is the comfort of a count who could afford to wait, and that laws and votes change lives faster than inner regeneration.
Did Leo Tolstoy really say this?
The library’s label is Paraphrase or translation. Sourced on Wikiquote to the 1900 Maude translation, page 29. It is the real text behind the short poster line 'Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself', which is a compression and is listed separately.
Where it comes from
'Three Methods of Reform', in Pamphlets: Translated from the Russian (1900), tr. Aylmer Maude, p. 29
Approximate date: 1900.
How to use it
Before a meeting where you plan to fix everyone else's habits, name one of your own you will change first. Then still bring the proposal.
A mindset reading
Personal change and structural change are not rivals by necessity. He thought they were. You can weigh that.
Understand the philosophy
'Three Methods of Reform', 1900. Compare the Gandhi page: the same pattern of a long real passage and a short poster line.
- change
- self
- society
FAQ
What does it mean?
He sets moral self-reform above political reform. Revolutions of government, in his view, only swap one set of rulers using force for another. A rival reading says this is the comfort of a count who could afford to wait, and that laws and votes change lives faster than inner regeneration.
Did Leo Tolstoy really say this?
Paraphrase or translation. Sourced on Wikiquote to the 1900 Maude translation, page 29. It is the real text behind the short poster line 'Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself', which is a compression and is listed separately.
Which work is it in?
'Three Methods of Reform', in Pamphlets: Translated from the Russian (1900), tr. Aylmer Maude, p. 29 Approximate date: 1900.