Remove the document—and you remove the man.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that a person's identity and essence are deeply intertwined with their written work or legacy.
Mikhail Bulgakov's quote reflects the idea that a person's existence is often defined by their creations, particularly written documents. If these creations are removed, one might argue that a fundamental part of the person—their thoughts, beliefs, and contributions—has also been erased. It speaks to the significance of art, literature, and personal expression in shaping who we are and how we are remembered.
In practice
In a literary discussion about the importance of an author's work in defining their identity.
But would you kindly ponder this question: What would your good do if evil didn't exist, and what would the earth look like if all the shadows disappeared? After all, shadows are cast by things and people. Here is the shadow of my sword. But shadows also come from trees and living beings. Do you want to strip the earth of all trees and living things just because of your fantasy of enjoying naked light? You're stupid.
just like a murderer jumps of nowhere in an ally, love jumped out in front of us and struck us both at once
The tongue can conceal the truth, but the eyes never! You're asked an unexpected question, you don't even flinch, it takes just a second to get yourself under control, you know just what you have to say to hide the truth, and you speak very convincingly, and nothing in your face twitches to give you away. But the truth, alas, has been disturbed by the question, and it rises up from the depths of your soul to flicker in your eyes and all is lost.
Well, as everyone knows, once witchcraft gets started, there's no stopping it.
Literature has become my life.
The tongue may hide the truth but the eyes—never!
The world begins anew with every birth, my father used to say. He forgot to say, with every death it ends. Or did not think he needed to. Because for a goodly part of his life he worked in a graveyard.
We may not live in the past, but the past lives in us.
The true Christian is like sandalwood, which imparts its fragrance to the axe which cuts it, without doing any harm in return.
I turn and turn in my cell like a fly that doesn't know where to die.
The trouble with many men is that they have got just enough religion to make them miserable. If there is not joy in religion, you have got a leak in your religion.
All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part and parcel of the ability to adapt. Without it, no species would survive.
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