Mikhail Bulgakov Quotes

'I do not know these good men,' replied the prisoner.

Gods, my gods! How sad the earth is at eventide! How mysterious are the mists over the swamps. Anyone who has wandered in these mists, who has suffered a great deal before death, or flown above the earth, bearing a burden beyond his strength knows this. Someone who is exhausted knows this. And without regret he forsakes the mists of the earth, its swamps and rivers, and sinks into the arms of death with a light heart knowing that death alone . . .

[S]aid the not entirely suppressed old Ivan, rearing his head from inside the new one, although without much confidence.

Unfortunately I cannot show it to you,' replied the master, 'because I burned it in my stove.'</br>'I'm sorry but I don't believe you,' said Woland. 'You can't have done. Manuscripts don't burn.

Manuscripts don't burn.

Quotations are sourced from published English translations of the original work. The translations are abbreviated as:

What's the use of dying in a ward surrounded by a lot of groaning and croaking incurables? Wouldn't it be much better to throw a party with that twenty-seven thousand and take poison and depart for the other world to the sound of violins, surrounded by lovely drunken girls and happy friends?

'You're not Dostoevsky,' said the citizeness, who was getting muddled by Koroviev.

The procurator studied the new arrival with avid, and slightly fearful eyes. It was the kind of look one gives someone one has heard of and thought a lot about, and whom one is meeting for the first time.

We have no idea whether there were any other strange occurences in Moscow that night, and we have no intention of trying to find out, since the time has come for us to proceed to Part Two of this true narrative. Follow me, reader!

The tongue can conceal the truth, but the eyes never! You're asked an unexpected question, you don't even flinch, it takes just a second to get yourself under control, you know just what you have to say to hide the truth, and you speak very convincingly, and nothing in your face twitches to give you away. But the truth, alas, has been disturbed by the question, and it rises up from the depths of your soul to flicker in your eyes and all is lost.

Cowardice was undoubtedly one of the most terrible vices - thus spoke Yeshua Ha-Nozri. 'No, philosopher, I disagree with you: it is the most terrible vice!'

It's all over, so let's not burden the telegraph system.

Well, as everyone knows, once witchcraft gets started, there's no stopping it.

No documents, no person.