They don't ask much of you. They only want you to hate the things you love and to love the things you despise.
Boris PasternakRead
Even so, one step from my grave, I believe that cruelty, spite, The powers of darkness will in time, Be crushed by the spirit of light.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses hope that despite the presence of negativity and cruelty, goodness and light will ultimately prevail.
In this quote, Boris Pasternak reflects on the struggle between darkness and light, symbolizing good and evil. Even though one is close to death, there is an unwavering belief that the negative forces in the world—cruelty and spite—will eventually be overcome by a brighter, more positive spirit. This sentiment emphasizes resilience and the idea that hope and goodness can triumph over despair and malice, even in the darkest times.
Themes
CrueltySpiteDarknessLightHopeSpirit
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about overcoming adversity and promoting kindness.
More from Boris Pasternak
All quotes →He is her glory. Any woman could say it. For every one of them, God is in her child. Mothers of great men must have been familiar with this feeling, but then, all women are mothers of great men -- it isn't their fault if life disappoints them later.
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Our evenings are farewells. Our parties are testaments. So that the secret stream of suffering. May warm the cold of life.
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The most extraordinary discoveries are made when the artist is overwhelmed by what he has to say.
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Oh, how one wishes sometimes to escape from the meaningless dullness of human eloquence, from all those sublime phrases, to take refuge in nature, apparently so inarticulate, or in the wordlessness of long, grinding labor, of sound sleep, of true music, or of a human understanding rendered speechless by emotion!
Boris PasternakRead
They loved each other, not driven by necessity, by the "blaze of passion" often falsely ascribed to love. They loved each other because everything around them willed it, the trees and the clouds and the sky over their heads and the earth under their feet.
Boris PasternakRead
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