Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Telling a thief he is a thief states a fact, unlike insulting an honest person.
In plain terms
Calling a thief a thief is just stating a fact, not an insult.
What can you take from it?
Accusations are facts if they match the truth.

Where it applies

  • conflict
  • moral judgment

Putting it to work

  • stick to facts
  • avoid insults

Questions to consider

  • When does an insult become a fact?
  • Is truth always neutral?

Another view

It simplifies the impact of labels regardless of intent.

More from Leo Tolstoy

  1. There is one evident, indubitable manifestation of the Divinity, and that is the laws of right which are made known to the world through Revelation.

    Permalink to quote #37
  2. Go - take the mother's soul, and learn three truths: Learn What dwells in man, What is not given to man, and What men live by. When thou hast learnt these thin…

    Permalink to quote #39
  3. Vronsky, meanwhile, in spite of the complete realization of what he had so long desired, was not perfectly happy. He soon felt that the realization of his desi…

    Permalink to quote #36

Related quotes

  1. There's this old line the wise folks in Washington have that 'it's not the crime, but the cover-up.' But only fools believe that. It's always about the crime. …

    Joshua Micah MarshallJoshua Micah Marshall quote #6
  2. I gambled and I lost. I failed in securing my options for this choice for myself, but I succeeded in verifying the Dark Age is still with us.

    Jack KevorkianJack Kevorkian quote #12
  3. My conscience compels me to make the following declaration. In the solitude of my prison cell I have come to the bitter recognition that I have sinned gravely …

    Rudolf HossRudolf Hoss quote #13