Inspirational Quotes by Fyodor Dostoevsky

“She leant back while the more earnest members of the club began to misconstrue her. The female mind, though cruelly practical in daily life, cannot bear to hear ideals belittled in conversation, and Miss Schlegel was asked however she could say such dreadful things, and what it would profit Mr. Bast if he gained the whole world and lost his own soul. She answered: “Nothing, but he would not gain his soul until he had gained a little of the world.” Then they said no they did not believe it, and she admitted that an overworked clerk may save his soul in the superterrestrial sense, where the effort will be taken for the deed, but she denied that he will ever explore the spiritual resources of this world, will ever know the rarer joys of the body, or attain to clear and passionate intercourse with his fellows.”

“The violence of Björnson’s political activity led to his withdrawing for a time to Germany under threat of prosecution for high treason; and for a time he returned to the writing of novels.”

“Envy and Arrogance and Avarice Are the three sparks that have all hearts enkindled.”

“It is clear that the varied productions of such a man cannot be represented by any one work. “A Happy Boy”, however, though one of his early books and written before he became immersed either in political controversy or modern social problems, is typical of his work in the period when he was recording the simple life of the peasantry among whom he had been born;”

“He had a good healthy sense of meum, and as little of tuum as he could help.”

“Oyvind was obliged to admit, as he laid himself down, that he had never gone to bed so happy before; he gave this an interpretation of his own, — he understood it to mean: I have never before gone to bed feeling so resigned to God’s will and so happy in it.”

“Now who art thou, that on the bench wouldst sit In judgment at a thousand miles away, With the short vision of a single span?”

“A burden becomes lightest when it is well borne—”

“Is any man so foolish as to fear change, to which all things that once were not owe their being?”

“Quien admita la doctrina de la creación separada para cada especie, tendrá que admitir que para las islas oceánicas no fue creado un número suficiente de plantas y animales bien adaptados, pues el hombre involuntariamente las ha poblado de modo mucho más completo y perfecto que lo hizo la naturaleza.”

“Pero a partir de hoy mi vida, toda mi vida, independientemente de lo que pueda pasar, no será ya irrazonable, no carecerá de sentido como hasta ahora, sino que en todos y en cada uno de sus momentos poseerá el sentido indudable del bien, que yo soy dueño de infundir en ella.»”

“How great would be the disgrace to such a borough as that of Westminster if it should find that it had been taken in by a false spirit of speculation and that it had surrendered itself to gambling when it had thought to do honour to honest commerce.”

“Per Lévin, come persona miscredente e nello stesso tempo rispettosa delle credenze delle altre persone, la presenza e la partecipazione a qualsiasi rito chiesastico era molto penosa. Adesso, in quello stato d'animo sensibile a tutto e raddolcito in cui egli era, questa necessità di fingere non soltanto era penosa per lui, ma gli sembrò affatto impossibile. Adesso, nel suo stato di gloria, di fioritura, avrebbe dovuto o mentire o commettere sacrilegio. Non si sentiva in grado di fare né una cosa, né l'altra. [...] Assistendo alla prima messa, Lévin si sforzò di rinfrescare in sé i ricordi giovanili di quel forte sentimento religioso che egli aveva provato dai sedici ai diciassette anni; ma si convinse immediatamente che questo gli era affatto impossibile. Si sforzò di considerare tutto ciò come un uso vuoto che non avesse senso, simile all'uso di fare le visite; ma sentì che anche questo non lo poteva fare in nessun modo. Lévin riguardo alla religione era nella situazione più indefinita, come del resto la maggior parte dei suoi contemporanei. Credere non poteva, e nello stesso tempo non era fermamente convinto che tutto quello non fosse giusto. E perciò, non potendo credere che fosse significativo quel ch'egli faceva, né guardarvi con indifferenza, come a una vuota formalità, durante tutta quella preparazione alla comunione egli provava un senso di disagio e di vergogna, facendo quello che egli stesso non capiva, e perciò, come gli diceva una voce interna, qualcosa di menzognero e di poco buono.”

“他一会儿信心十足，一会儿又悲观失望，明明看出他的希望不切实际，可是当他看到她的笑容，听到她说“再见”以后，又觉得自己仿佛变成了另一个人。”

“squeezing out words so as not to be silent.”

“She does nothing, and is perfectly satisfied.” Levin, in his heart, censured this, and did not as yet understand that she was preparing for that period of activity which was to come for her when she would at once be the wife of her husband and mistress of the house, and would bear, and nurse, and bring up children. He knew not that she was instinctively aware of this, and preparing herself for this time of terrible toil, did not reproach herself for the moments of carelessness and happiness in her love that she enjoyed now while gaily building her nest for the future. 30 A type of eyelet lace.”

“Изобщо ти си натура твърде prime-sautière*,както казват французите;ти желаеш една страстна,енергична дейност или нищо. [*импулсивна]”

“La conversation de Charles était plate comme un trottoir de rue, et les idées de tout le monde y défilaient dans leur costume ordinaire, sans exciter d’émotion, de rire ou de rêverie. Il n’avait jamais été curieux, disait-il, pendant qu’il habitait Rouen, d’aller voir au théâtre les acteurs de Paris. Il ne savait ni nager, ni faire des armes, ni tirer le pistolet, et il ne put, un jour, lui expliquer un terme d’équitation qu’elle avait rencontré dans un roman. Un homme, au contraire, ne devait-il pas, tout connaître, exceller en des activités multiples, vous initier aux énergies de la passion, aux raffinements de la vie, à tous les mystères ? Mais il n’enseignait rien, celui-là, ne savait rien, ne souhaitait rien. Il la croyait heureuse ; et elle lui en voulait de ce calme si bien assis, de cette pesanteur sereine, du bonheur même qu’elle lui donnait.”

“Tom se decía que, después de todo, el mundo no era un páramo. Había descubierto, sin darse cuenta, uno de los principios fundamentales de la conducta humana, a saber: que para que alguien, hombre o muchacho, anhele alguna cosa, sólo es necesario hacerla difícil de conseguir. Si hubiera sido un eximio y agudo filósofo, como el autor de este libro, hubiera comprendido entonces que el trabajo consiste en lo que estamos obligados a hacer, sea lo que sea, y que el juego consiste en aquello a lo que no se nos obliga.”

“Old Scratch,1 but laws-a-me! he’s my own dead sister’s boy, poor thing, and I ain’t got”