Fyodor Dostoyevsky Quotes

It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise.

Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart.

You can be sincere and still be stupid.

It is not the brains that matter most, but that which guides them — the character, the heart, generous qualities, progressive ideas.

To love is to suffer and there can be no love otherwise.

This is my last message to you: in sorrow, seek happiness.

I used to analyze myself down to the last thread, used to compare myself with others, recalled all the smallest glances, smiles and words of those to whom I’d tried to be frank, interpreted everything in a bad light, laughed viciously at my attempts ‘to be like the rest’ –and suddenly, in the midst of my laughing, I’d give way to sadness, fall into ludicrous despondency and once again start the whole process all over again – in short, I went round and round like a squirrel on a wheel.

My God, a moment of bliss. Why, isn't that enough for a whole lifetime?

Besides, nowadays, almost all capable people are terribly afraid of being ridiculous, and are miserable because of it.

If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you.

When reason fails, the devil helps!

Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him.

You will burn and you will burn out; you will be healed and come back again.

I did not bow down to you, I bowed down to all the suffering of humanity.

Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams.