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
I agree that two times two makes four is an excellent thing; but if we are dispensing praise, then two times two makes five is sometimes a most charming little thing as well.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the idea that strict logic can sometimes be less important than subjective experience or perception.
Fyodor Dostoevsky's quote plays with the balance between objective truth and subjective interpretation. While mathematical truths, like 'two times two makes four,' signify clarity and certainty, he suggests that there is beauty and charm in accepting less conventional ideas—such as 'two times two makes five.' This highlights a philosophical view where creative interpretation, imagination, and personal perception can hold significance in contrast to rigid logic and facts.
Themes
TruthPerceptionBeautyLogicInterpretation
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about art and mathematics, one might use this quote to illustrate the value of subjective experience.
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.
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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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