To desire and expect nothing for oneself and to have profound sympathy for others is genuine holiness.

Nature cares nothing for logic, our human logic: she has her own, which we do not recognize and do not acknowledge until we are crushed under its wheel

Go forward while you can, but if your strength fails you, sit down near the road and gaze without anger or envy at those who pass by. They don't have far to go, either.

I share no man's opinions; I have my own.

We Russians have assigned ourselves no other task in life but the cultivation of our own personalities, and when we're barely past childhood, we set to work to cultivate them, those unfortunate personalities.

a person who gets angry at his own illness is sure to overcome it

He was the soul of politeness to everyone -- to some with a hint of aversion, to others with a hint of respect.