A litterateur is not a confectioner, not a dealer in cosmetics, not an entertainer. . . . He is just like an ordinary reporter. What would you say if a newspaper reporter, because of his fastidiousness or from a wish to give pleasure to his readers, were to describe only honest mayors, high-minded ladies, and virtuous railroad contractors.

In all my life I never met anyone so frivolous as you two, so crazy and unbusinesslike. I tell you in plain Russian your property is going to be sold and you don't seem to understand what I say.

Be sure not to discuss your hero's state of mind. Make it clear from his actions.

A writer should not so much write as embroider on paper; the work should be painstaking, laborious.

Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows a person who he should be.

What a delight it is to respect people!

We learn about life not from plusses alone, but from minuses as well.