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
There are things which a man is afraid to tell even to himself, and every decent man has a number of such things stored away in his mind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the internal struggles and fears that individuals often hide, even from themselves.
Dostoevsky suggests that everyone harbors secrets and fears that they are unwilling to confront, even if they are inherently decent people. This reveals a deep truth about human nature: that beneath the surface of our minds, we often contain unacknowledged fears and unresolved issues that shape our lives, potentially leading to internal conflicts and a lack of self-knowledge.
Themes
FearSecretsInternal StruggleSelf-AwarenessHuman Nature
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a discussion about mental health and the importance of confronting one's fears.
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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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