In the first place, [his eyes] never laughed when he laughed. Have you ever noticed this peculiarity some people have? It is either the sign of an evil nature or of a profound and lasting sorrow.
Mikhail LermontovAfraid of decision, I buried my finer feelings in the depths of my heart and they died there.
Mikhail LermontovOne should never spurn a penitent criminal: in his despair he may become twice as much a criminal as before.
Mikhail LermontovFor what did the creator prepare me,Why did he so terribly contradictThe hopes of my youth?
Mikhail LermontovThere are two men in me--one lives in the full sense of the word, the other reasons and passes judgment on the first. The first will perhaps take leave of you and the world forever in an hour now; and the second . . . the second?
Mikhail LermontovThe history of a man's soul, even the pettiest soul, is hardly less interesting and useful than the history of a whole people; especially when the former is the result of the observations of a mature mind upon itself, and has been written without any egotistical desire of arousing sympathy or astonishment. Rousseau's Confessions has precisely this defect – he read it to his friends.
Mikhail Lermontov