Vanjr

“Modern Christians who find Matthew's preoccupation with [Judaism] tedious and even distasteful, should realise that they live in a very different world from that of early Christians, for whom the 'Jewishness' of Jesus and his church was not just a matter of historical interest but an existential concern crying out for answers, answers which Matthew's gospel offered to provide.”
― R.T. France

“I often tried to question AS about those olden days, about the men who surrounded the Empress...But he generally evaded the subject. What's the use of talking about old times? he said, One only tortures himself. One says to himself, "thou wert a young man then, but now thy last teeth have vanished from thy mouth. And thee's no denying it-the good times were good..well, and God be with them”
― Turgenev

“AS had received a scanty education, like all nobles of that epoch; but he had completed it, to a certain degree, by reading. He read only Russian books of the end of the last century; he considered the newer writers unleavened and weak in style.”
― Turgenev

“from In Memory of JP Vresky:

Life smiled upon her; but there are smiles which are worse than tears

And to what end? The sacrifice has been made...the deed is done. But it is sorrowful to think that no one said "thank you" even to her corpse, although she herself was ashamed of and shunned all thanks.”
― Turgenev