Do silly things. Foolishness is a great deal more vital and healthy than our straining and striving after a meaningful life.

You look boldly ahead; isn't it only that you don't see or divine anything terrible in the future; because life is still hidden from your young eyes.

When a lot of remedies are suggested for a disease, that means it can't be cured.

Just as I shall lie alone in the grave, so, in essence, do I live alone.

Ivanov: Once I worked hard and thought a lot but I never got tired; now I do nothing and think of nothing, but I'm tired in body and spirit. My conscience aches day and night, I feel deeply guilty but I don't understand where I am actually at fault. And add to that my wife's illness, my lack of money, the constant bickering, gossip, unnecessary conversations, that stupid Borkin... My home has become loathsome to me and I find living there worse than torture.

Our pride and self-importance are European, while our development and actions are Asiatic.

Country acquaintances are charming only in the country and only in the summer. In the city in winter they lose half of their appeal.