Inspirational Quotes by Fyodor Dostoevsky

“It was the tragic part of happiness; one’s right was always made of the wrong of some one else.”

“a character exposed to those strongest of all influences: the intrigues, flattery, and self-deception inseparable from power;”

“I don’t think I know what you mean,” she said; “you use too many figures of speech; I could never understand allegories. The two words in the language I most respect are Yes and No.”

“we must inevitably assume that the historian who judges Alexander will also after the lapse of some time turn out to be mistaken in his view of what is good for humanity.”

“Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship By J. W. von Goethe”

“The wood I walk in on this mild May day, with the young yellow-brown foliage of the oaks between me and the blue sky, the white star-flowers and the blue-eyed speedwell and the ground ivy at my feet, what grove of tropic palms, what strange ferns or splendid broad-petalled blossoms, could ever thrill such deep and delicate fibres within me as this home scene? These familiar flowers, these well-remembered bird-notes, this sky, with its fitful brightness, these furrowed and grassy fields, each with a sort of personality given to it by the capricious hedgerows,–such things as these are the mother-tongue of our imagination, the language that is laden with all the subtle, inextricable associations the fleeting hours of our childhood left behind them. Our delight in the sunshine on the deep-bladed grass to-day might be no more than the faint perception of wearied souls, if it were not for the sunshine and the grass in the far-off years which still live in us, and transform our perception into love.”

“They were a set of clever, strong-headed, lively geniuses, who saw well enough that the sum of our existence, divided by reason, never gives an integer number, but that a surprising fraction is always left behind.”

“let this little book be thy friend, if, owing to fortune or through thine own fault, thou canst not find a dearer companion.”

“Then Marit laughed and said, — “He is the son of the houseman at Pladsen.” Oyvind had always known that he was a houseman’s son; but until now he had never realized it. It made him feel so very little, smaller than all the rest; in order to keep up he had to try and think of all that hitherto had made him happy and proud, from the coasting hill to each kind word. He thought, too, of his mother and his father, who were now sitting at home and thinking that he was having a good time, and he could scarcely hold back his tears”

“When a nation which has long groaned under the intolerable yoke of a tyrant rises at last and throws off its chains, do you call that weakness? The man who, to rescue his house from the flames, finds his physical strength redoubled, so that he lifts burdens with ease which in the absence of excitement he could scarcely move; he who under the rage of an insult attacks and puts to flight half a score of his enemies,—are such persons to be called weak? My good friend, if resistance be strength, how can the highest degree of resistance be a weakness?”

“God of heaven! and is this the destiny of man? Is he only happy before he has acquired his reason or after he has lost it?”

“Afterward I could not help admiring the discrimination of the host and hostess in the distribution of the children’s presents. The little girl, who had already a portion of three hundred thousand rubles, received the costliest doll. Then followed presents diminishing in value in accordance with the rank of the parents of these happy children; finally, the child of lowest degree, a thin, freckled, red-haired little boy of ten, got nothing but a book of stories about the marvels of nature and tears of devotion, etc., without pictures or even woodcuts. He was the son of a poor widow, the governess of the children of the house, an oppressed and scared little boy. He was dressed in a short jacket of inferior nankeen. After receiving his book he walked around the other toys for a long time; he longed to play with the other children, but did not dare; it was evident that he already felt and understood his position. I”

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“At the time he left the university he was fond of science, took an interest in humanity; now one-half of his abilities is devoted to deceiving himself, and the other to justifying the deceit.”

“the sun rose brilliant and quickly wore away the thin layer of ice that covered the water, and all the warm air was quivering with the steam that rose up from the quickened earth.”

“E allora sarabande senza fine si srotolavano nella sua mente: come una baiadera ondeggiava di sogno in sogno , di malinconia in malinconia”

“[...] Y haciéndole sentar al borde del lecho, empezaba a hablarle de sus penas. "El la olvidaba... Amaba a otra... Ya le habíand dicho que sería desgraciada." Y acababa pidiéndole algún jarabe para su salud y un poco más de amor.”

“C’était cette rêverie que l’on a sur ce qui ne reviendra plus, la lassitude qui vous prend après chaque fait accompli, cette douleur enfin que vous apportent l’interruption de tout mouvement accoutumé, la cessation brusque d’une vibration prolongée.”

“[...] perdu dans un de ces bonheurs complets, n'appartenant sans doute qu'aux occupations médiocres qui amusent l'intelligence par des difficultés faciles, et l'assouvissent en une réalisation au delà de laquelle il n'y a pas à rêver.”

“El origen de la mayor parte de nuestros animales domésticos, probablemente quedará siempre dudoso. Pero puedo decir que, considerando los perros domésticos de todo el mundo, después de una laboriosa recopilación de todos los datos conocidos, he llegado a la conclusión de que han sido amansadas varias especies salvajes de cánidos, y que su sangre, mezclada en algunos casos, corre por las venas de nuestras razas domésticas.”