Mediocrity wages a terrible and ceaseless battle with those who are above it.
That's how men are: they can resist the most rational arguments, but they can't resist a single look.
A man's talent is like a woman's beauty - just a promise. To be truly great, his heart and character must be equal to his talent.
Where ambition intervenes, there is no room for sincerity.
The mind, like a country road, has its own beaten path.
It is the lie that degrades man.
To doubt is to lose your powers.
The success of one brave man always inspires to zeal and courage a whole generation.
To say that it is impossible to always love the same woman is as absurd as to think that a famous musician needs different violins to play differently.
Courting women, many dry, so to speak, the wood that will not burn for them.
Reaching the edge does not mean reaching the goal.
Man needs to know strong feelings in order to develop the noble traits in himself that widen the circle of his life.
What would happen to literature, if its species were not defended? We have our own cassation court - this is the future. Happy is he who will be able to appear before her!
To reach the goal, you must, first of all, walk.
To appreciate excellent works of literature... requires a wide education, a developed intelligence, quietude, leisure, and some effort of the mind.
Contentment is the most beautiful flower of the soul.
In this world it is not what we receive that makes us rich, but what we give.
In everyday cares, diligence can do all that a genius is capable of doing, and besides that, a lot of other things that a genius does not know how to do.
Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right application of power.
All the lofty intentions, ideas, plans and feelings of man are of no use if they do not strengthen him to better fulfill his duty in his daily life.
Newspaper ads contain more truth about what's going on without than editorials.
A proud man is seldom grateful: he is always convinced that he receives less than he deserves.
A soul without imagination is like an observer without a telescope.
There are people so dry, you can soak them in jokes for a whole month and not one of them will get under their skin
Of all earthly music the nearest to heaven is the beat of a truly loving heart.
Every merciful deed is a rung on a ladder that leads to heaven.
True self-respect consists in not thinking about yourself.
It is not the noble deeds of men, but the successful deeds that history hastens to record.
Don't keep the blue vessels of your love and sensitivity sealed until your friends die. Fill their lives with sweetness while they are still alive. Speak words of comfort to them as long as their ears can hear them and as long as their hearts can be moved by your words.
A person who does not know how to obsess about something when necessary cannot be considered rational.