“I used to analyze myself down to the last thread, used to compare myself with others, recalled all the smallest glances, smiles and words of those to whom I’d tried to be frank, interpreted everything in a bad light, laughed viciously at my attempts ‘to be like the rest’ –and suddenly, in the midst of my laughing, I’d give way to sadness, fall into ludicrous despondency and once again start the whole process all over again – in short, I went round and round like a squirrel on a wheel.”
― Crime and Punishment
― Crime and Punishment
“Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him.”
―
―
“There is something at the bottom of every new human thought, every thought of genius, or even every earnest thought that springs up in any brain, which can never be communicated to others, even if one were to write volumes about it and were explaining one's idea for thirty-five years; there's something left which cannot be induced to emerge from your brain, and remains with you forever; and with it you will die, without communicating to anyone perhaps the most important of your ideas.”
― The Idiot
― The Idiot
“Besides, nowadays, almost all capable people are terribly afraid of being ridiculous, and are miserable because of it.”
― The Brothers Karamazov
― The Brothers Karamazov
“If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you.”
― The Insulted and Humiliated
― The Insulted and Humiliated
Karen’s 2025 Year in Books
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