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
Viper will eat viper, and it would serve them both right!
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that betrayal and conflict among similar individuals are inevitable and justified.
Fyodor Dostoevsky's quote, 'Viper will eat viper, and it would serve them both right!' refers to the destructive nature of betrayal within similar groups or individuals, illustrating that those who engage in deceit and malice towards each other ultimately meet a fitting end. The imagery of vipers consuming one another underscores the idea that self-destructive behavior can lead to one's downfall, especially when those involved share similar traits or motivations.
Themes
BetrayalConflictSelf-DestructionDeceitSimilarity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about loyalty and betrayal in friendships.
More from Fyodor Dostoevsky
All quotes βWhat if, when this fog scatters and flies upward, the whole rotten, slimey city goes with it, rises with the fog and vanishes like smoke.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
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
Similar quotes
The past exists only in our memories, the future only in our plans. The present is our only reality. The tree that you are aware of intellectually, because of that small time lag, is always in the past and therefore is always unreal. Any intellectually conceived object is always in the past and therefore unreal. Reality is always the moment of vision before the intellectualization takes place. There is no other reality.
Robert M. PirsigRead
Maintain a spirit of peace and you will save a thousand souls.
Seraphim Of SarovRead
When you are Real, shabbiness doesn't matter.
Margery WilliamsRead
Sing the songs of joy to the Lord, serve the Name of the Lord, and become the servant of His servants.
Guru NanakRead
I must have been one of the least surprised people on earth on September 11. I felt very braced for that. I knew something like that was going to come.
Christopher HitchensRead
Everything that everyone is afraid of has already happened: The fragility of capitalism, which we don't want to admit; the loss of the empire of the United States; and American exceptionalism. In fact, American exceptionalism is that we are exceptionally backward in about fifteen different categories, from education to infrastructure.
James HillmanRead