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
Man is a creative animal, doomed to strive toward a goal, engaged in full-time engineering.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Humans have an innate drive to create and work towards goals, reflecting their nature as imaginative beings.
In this quote, Dostoevsky suggests that creativity is inherent to humanity and that our existence is defined by a continuous pursuit of goals. This relentless striving shapes our identity and purpose, underscoring the idea that engagement in creation and problem-solving is a fundamental aspect of being human.
Themes
CreativityGoalsHuman NatureExistenceStriving
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about pursuing passions, one might say, 'Remember, as Dostoevsky noted, we are all creative animals striving toward our goals.'
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.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
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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Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the poet to become tender and imaginitive in the loneliness of confinement. He banquets upon the honey of his own thoughts, and, like the captive bird, pours forth his soul in melody.
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If language is lost, humanity is lost. If writing is lost, certain kinds of civilization and society are lost, but many other kinds remain - and there is no reason to think that those alternatives are inferior.
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We judge ourselves by our intentions. And others by their actions.
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