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.
How does it come about that what an intelligent man expresses is much stupider than what remains inside him?
Interpretation
What this quote means
Intelligent thoughts can often be misunderstood or miscommunicated, leading to expressions that seem less intelligent than the original ideas.
This quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky reflects on the complex nature of communication and the challenge of articulating profound thoughts. It suggests that even the most intelligent individuals may struggle to convey their inner thoughts accurately, resulting in a disconnect between their internal intelligence and external expression. Essentially, the richness of oneβs intelligence can sometimes be overshadowed by the limitations of language and communication.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the nature of creativity and the challenges of sharing ideas.
More from Fyodor Dostoevsky
All quotes βWhat if, when this fog scatters and flies upward, the whole rotten, slimey city goes with it, rises with the fog and vanishes like smoke.
Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled.
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.
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!
...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.
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This formidable censor of the public functionaries [the press], by arraigning them at the tribunal of public opinion, produces reform peaceably, which must otherwise be done by revolution. It is also the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man and improving him as a rational, moral, and social being.
You either have commercial pressure or ideological pressure. I prefer commercial pressure; otherwise, you can be at the mercy of one or two idiots.
People now live their lives like an open wound to be famous - they do bad things because they're rewarded for it.
Religion says earn your life. Secular society says create your life. Jesus says, 'My life for your life.
When a government controls both the economic power of individuals and the coercive power of the state ... this violates a fundamental rule of happy living: Never let the people with all the money and the people with all the guns be the same people.