Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
. . . finally, I couldn't imagine how I could live without books, and I stopped dreaming about marrying that Chinese prince. . . .
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books are essential to life, surpassing even romantic fantasies.
In this quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the speaker reflects on the immense importance of books in their life, suggesting that the desire for knowledge and the richness of reading overshadow superficial dreams and romantic ideals. It emphasizes that literature and learning are foundational to personal fulfillment and identity.
Themes
BooksReadingKnowledgeImaginationLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of literacy, I might quote Dostoevsky to emphasize how crucial books are to our existence.
More from Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.
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But do you understand, I cry to him, do you understand that if you have the guillotine in the forefront, and with such glee, it's for the sole reason that cutting heads off is the easiest thing, and having an idea is difficult!
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
...to return to their 'native soil,' as they say, to the bosom, so to speak, of their mother earth, like frightened children, yearning to fall asleep on the withered bosom of their decrepit mother, and to sleep there for ever, only to escape the horrors that terrify them.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
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If someone has children, the first thing they want is for them to be happy, and then become someone in life and all that. But the educational system, I mean always, not just now, creates competitive, successful people, and does not educate them to be happy. The problem is that success gives money, not happiness. The eternal problem.
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