Even the most rational approach to ethics is defenseless if there isn't the will to do what is right.

For me faith is the foundation and support of one's life.

Bless you prison, bless you for being in my life. For there, lying upon the rotting prison straw, I came to realize that the object of life is not prosperity as we are made to believe, but the maturity of the human soul.

Everyone is guilty of something or has something to conceal. All one has to do is look hard enough to find what it is.

Human beings are better and lazier than their rules and instructions.

A great disaster had befallen Russia: Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.

And keep as few things as possible, so that you don't have to fear for them. Give them up without a struggle-because otherwise the humiliation will poison your heart. They will take them away from you in a fight, and trying to hold onto your property will only leave you with a bloodied mouth ... But by owning things and trembling about their fate aren't you forfeiting the rare opportunity of observing and understanding?