Capital punishment kills immediately, whereas lifetime imprisonment does so slowly. Which executioner is more humane? The one who kills you in a few minutes, or the one who wrests your life from you in the course of many years?

Only one who loves can remember so well.

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.

The more cultured a man, the less fortunate he is.

Dear, sweet, unforgettable childhood!

The thirst for powerful sensations takes the upper hand both over fear and over compassion for the grief of others.

One usually dislikes a play while writing it, but afterward it grows on one. Let others judge and make decisions.