If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there.
Anton ChekhovRead
The stupider the peasant, the better the horse understands him.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that a lack of intelligence in a person can sometimes lead to clearer communication with simpler beings, like horses.
Chekhov's quote reflects on the relationship between intelligence and communication, implying that those who may not have the wisdom or insight expected of them can, in fact, achieve a more direct understanding with others, particularly animals. It suggests that simplicity in thought can sometimes facilitate a more straightforward connection, contrasting the complexities of human communication which may lead to misunderstanding.
Themes
CommunicationIntelligenceSimplicityUnderstandingRelationship
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the importance of clear communication, one might use this quote to emphasize the value of simplicity in understanding.
More from Anton Chekhov
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To a chemist, nothing on earth is unclean. A writer must be as objective as a chemist; he must abandon the subjective line; he must know that dungheaps play a very respectable part in a landscape, and that evil passions are as inherent in life as good ones.
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When you want to touch the reader's heart, try to be colder. It gives their grief as it were, a background, against which it stands out in greater relief.
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Why are we worn out? Why do we, who start out so passionate, brave, noble, believing, become totally bankrupt by the age of thirty or thirty-five? Why is it that one is extinguished by consumption, another puts a bullet in his head, a third seeks oblivion in vodka, cards, a fourth, in order to stifle fear and anguish, cynically tramples underfoot the portrait of his pure, beautiful youth? Why is it that, once fallen, we do not try to rise, and, having lost one thing, we do not seek another? Why?
Anton ChekhovRead
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