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
As for the men in power, they are so anxious to establish the myth of infallibility that they do their utmost to ignore truth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Those in power often prioritize their image over the truth.
Boris Pasternak highlights the tendency of those in authority to construct a false narrative of perfection, which leads them to dismiss or overlook the truth. This observation suggests that the desire to maintain a flawless reputation can result in a dangerous detachment from reality, affecting the integrity of leadership and the trust of the public.
Themes
TruthPowerAuthorityInfallibilityMyth
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about governmental accountability, one might use this quote to emphasize the dangers of power without truth.
More from Boris Pasternak
All quotes βEven 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.
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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
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