He does not like showing his feelings and would rather do a cruel thing than open his heart freely.

I could not become anything; neither good nor bad; neither a scoundrel nor an honest man; neither a hero nor an insect. And now I am eking out my days in my corner, taunting myself with the bitter and entirely useless consolation that an intelligent man cannot seriously become anything, that only a fool can become something.

Only through suffering can we find ourselves.

We are born dead, and we are becoming more and more contented with our condition. We are acquiring the taste for it.

The Russian soul is a dark place.

Beggars, especially noble beggars, should never show themselves in the street; they should ask for alms through the newspapers. It's still possible to love one's neighbor abstractly, and even occasionally from a distance, but hardly ever up close.

Bad people are to be found everywhere, but even among the worst there may be something good.