Inspirational Quotes by Fyodor Dostoevsky

“They have science; but in science there is nothing but what is the object of sense. The spiritual world, the higher part of man’s being is rejected altogether, dismissed with a sort of triumph, even with hatred. The world has proclaimed the reign of freedom, especially of late, but what do we see in this freedom of theirs? Nothing but slavery and self-destruction! For the world says: “You have desires and so satisfy them, for you have the same rights as the most rich and powerful. Don’t be afraid of satisfying them and even multiply your desires.” That is the modern doctrine of the world. In that they see freedom. And what follows from this right of multiplication of desires? In the rich, isolation and spiritual suicide; in the poor, envy and murder; for they have been given rights, but have not been shown the means of satisfying their wants.”

“Every prisoner knows perfectly that he is a convict and a reprobate, and knows the distance which separates him from his superiors; but neither the branding irons nor chains will make him forget that he is a man. He must, therefore, be treated with humanity. Humane”

“Men will unite to take from life all it can give, but only for joy and happiness in the present world. Man will be lifted up with a spirit of divine Titanic pride and the man-god will appear. From hour to hour extending his conquest of nature infinitely by his will and his science, man will feel such lofty joy from hour to hour in doing it that it will make up for all his old dreams of the joys of heaven. Every one will know that he is mortal and will accept death proudly and serenely like a god. His pride will teach him that it’s useless for him to repine at life’s being a moment, and he will love his brother without need of reward. Love will be sufficient only for a moment of life, but the very consciousness of its momentariness will intensify its fire, which now is dissipated in dreams of eternal love beyond the grave’... and so on and so on in the same style. Charming!”

“¿Sigues rogando a Dios, Rodia, crees en la misericordia de nuestro Creador y de nuestro Salvador? Sentiría en el alma que te hubieras contaminado de esa enfermedad de moda que se llama ateísmo. Si es así, piensa que ruego por ti. Acuérdate, querido, de cuando eras niño; entonces, en presencia de tu padre, que aún vivía, tú balbuceabas tus oraciones sentado en mis rodillas. Y todos éramos felices”

“El delegado del arzobispo me reconoce cuando voy a prestar juramento y me trata con tanta familiaridad como si hubiera entre nosotros algún lazo de masonería.”

“Chapter 44 — The Coming Election       The very greatness of Mr Melmotte’s popularity, the extent of the admiration which was accorded by the public at large to his commercial enterprise and financial sagacity, created a peculiar bitterness in the opposition that was organized against him at Westminster. As the high mountains are intersected by deep valleys, as puritanism in one age begets infidelity in the next, as in many countries the thickness of the winter’s ice will be in proportion to the number of the summer musquitoes, so was the keenness of the hostility displayed on this occasion in proportion to the warmth of the support which was manifested. As the great man was praised, so also was he abused. As he was a demi-god to some, so was he a fiend to others. And indeed there was hardly any other way in which it was possible to carry on the contest against him. From the moment in which Mr Melmotte had declared his purpose of standing for Westminster in the Conservative interest, an attempt was made to drive him down the throats of the electors by clamorous assertions of his unprecedented commercial greatness.”

“[...] ma la mia vita adesso, tutta la mia vita, indipendentemente da tutto quel che mi può accadere, in ogni suo momento, non solo non è senza senso, com'era prima, ma ha un indubitabile senso di bene, che ho il potere di immettere in essa!”

“Ο πατέρας του του μιλούσε -έτσι αισθανόταν ο Σιεριόζα- μ' ένα ύφος σάμπως ν' αποτεινόταν σε κάποιο φανταστικό παιδί, σ' ένα από κείνα τα παιδιά που βρίσκουμε στα βιβλία, μα που δεν είχε καμία απολύτως ομοιότητα με τον Σιεριόζα. Κι ο μικρός όταν βρισκόταν με τον πατέρα του, προσπαθούσε να προσποιείται πως ήταν ένα τέτοιο παιδί των βιβλίων.”

“Эцэс төгсгөлгүй цаг хугацаанд эхэн адаггүй түмэн бодисын дунд хааяа хязгааргүй уудам зайнд хөөс шиг өчүүхэн амьд бие бий болон хэсэг байзнаад хага үсэрнэ. Тэр хөөс чинь би шүү дээ.”

“Entonces comprendió Levin por primera vez lo que no había comprendido cuando salió con ella de la iglesia después de la boda; a saber, que esa mujer estaba tan cerca de él que ya no sabía donde acababa ella y dónde empezaba él.”

“Formerly each separate desire caused by suffering or privation, such as hunger, fatigue, thirst, had been satisfied by a bodily function that gave pleasure; but now privation and suffering received no satisfaction, and the attempt at satisfaction caused new suffering.”

“..а един друг глас в душата му казваше,че човек не трябва да се подчинява на миналото и че може да направи всичко със себе си.”

“for him all the girls in the world were divided into two classes: one class—all the girls in the world except her, and those girls with all sorts of human weaknesses, and very ordinary girls: the other class—she alone, having no weaknesses of any sort and higher than all humanity.”

“Felaket tek başına gelmez.”

“Todo cambio de conformación y función que pueda efectuarse por pequeños grados está bajo el poder de la selección natural; de manera que un órgano que por el cambio de costumbres se ha vuelto inútil o perjudicial para un objeto, puede modificarse y ser utilizado para otro. Un órgano pudo también conservarse para una sola de sus antiguas funciones. Órganos primitivamente formados con el auxilio de la selección natural pueden muy bien, al volverse inútiles, ser variables, pues sus variaciones ya no pueden seguir siendo refrenadas por la selección natural.”

“received the cross of the Legion of Honour.”

“It seemed to her that certain places on the earth must yield happiness, like a plant peculiar to that soil and growing poorly anywhere else.”

“Her şey bir yana, aramaya değmezdi aslında; her şey bir yalandı. Her gülüş altında bir parça sıkkınlık, her neşe bir lanet, tüm o şevkler ise bir doygunluk gizlerdi ve tüm o dünya tatlısı öpücükler dudaklarda sadece daha güzeli için ulaşılamaz bir haz bıraktı.”

“Mais plus Emma s’apercevait de son amour, plus elle le refoulait, afin qu’il ne parût pas, et pour le diminuer. Elle aurait voulu que Léon s’en doutât ; et elle imaginait des hasards, des catastrophes qui l’eussent facilité. Ce qui la retenait, sans doute, c’était la paresse ou l’épouvante, et la pudeur aussi. Elle songeait qu’elle l’avait repoussé trop loin, qu’il n’était plus temps, que tout était perdu. Puis l’orgueil, la joie de se dire : « je suis vertueuse », et de se regarder dans la glace en prenant des poses résignées, la consolait un peu du sacrifice qu’elle croyait faire.”

“triste comme une maison démeublée ;”