Evil spawns evil. The first experience of torture gives an understanding of the pleasure in tormenting others.
Mikhail LermontovIn simple hearts the feeling for the beauty and grandeur of nature is a hundred-fold stronger and more vivid than in us, ecstatic composers of narratives in words and on paper.
Mikhail LermontovI was lying, but I wanted to rouse him. I have an inborn urge to contradict; my whole life has been a mere chain of sad and futile opposition to the dictates of either heart or reason. The presence of an enthusiast makes me as cold as a midwinter's day, and, I believe, frequent association with a listless phlegmatic would make me an impassioned dreamer.
Mikhail LermontovAfraid of decision, I buried my finer feelings in the depths of my heart and they died there.
Mikhail LermontovIt is sad to see a young man's fondest hopes and dreams shattered when the rose-colured veil is plucked away and he sees the actions and feelings of men for what they are. But he still has the hope of replacing his old illusions with others, just as fleeting, but also just as sweet.
Mikhail Lermontov