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Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov Quotes

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Famous Anton Chekhov Quotes

“MASHA: Happy is he who doesn’t notice whether it's winter or summer. If I were in Moscow, I think I wouldn’t mind about the weather. VERSHININ: Just recently I read the prison memoirs of a French minister — he was imprisoned over the Panama affair. He describes with such ecstasy the little birds he could see through the prison window, which he had never noticed before when he was a minister. Now that he is free again, he notices them no more. And so it will be with you when you live in Moscow — you won’t notice it. There is no happiness, nor should there be; we can only long for it.”

HappinessLongingMoscow
Book:The Three Sisters
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“Civilized people must, I believe, satisfy the following criteria: 1) They respect human beings as individuals and are therefore always tolerant, gentle, courteous and amenable ... They do not create scenes over a hammer or a mislaid eraser; they do not make you feel they are conferring a great benefit on you when they live with you, and they don't make a scandal when they leave. (...) 2) They have compassion for other people besides beggars and cats. Their hearts suffer the pain of what is hidden to the naked eye. (...) 3) They respect other people's property, and therefore pay their debts. 4) They are not devious, and they fear lies as they fear fire. They don't tell lies even in the most trivial matters. To lie to someone is to insult them, and the liar is diminished in the eyes of the person he lies to. Civilized people don't put on airs; they behave in the street as they would at home, they don't show off to impress their juniors. (...) 5) They don't run themselves down in order to provoke the sympathy of others. They don't play on other people's heartstrings to be sighed over and cosseted ... that sort of thing is just cheap striving for effects, it's vulgar, old hat and false. (...) 6) They are not vain. They don't waste time with the fake jewellery of hobnobbing with celebrities, being permitted to shake the hand of a drunken [judicial orator], the exaggerated bonhomie of the first person they meet at the Salon, being the life and soul of the bar ... They regard prases like 'I am a representative of the Press!!' -- the sort of thing one only hears from [very minor journalists] -- as absurd. If they have done a brass farthing's work they don't pass it off as if it were 100 roubles' by swanking about with their portfolios, and they don't boast of being able to gain admission to places other people aren't allowed in (...) True talent always sits in the shade, mingles with the crowd, avoids the limelight ... As Krylov said, the empty barrel makes more noise than the full one. (...) 7) If they do possess talent, they value it ... They take pride in it ... they know they have a responsibility to exert a civilizing influence on [others] rather than aimlessly hanging out with them. And they are fastidious in their habits. (...) 8) They work at developing their aesthetic sensibility ... Civilized people don't simply obey their baser instincts ... they require mens sana in corpore sano. And so on. That's what civilized people are like ... Reading Pickwick and learning a speech from Faust by heart is not enough if your aim is to become a truly civilized person and not to sink below the level of your surroundings. [From a letter to Nikolay Chekhov, March 1886]”

CivilizationDecencyBreedingGood MannersCivilized BehaviorHigh Mindedness
Book:A Life in Letters
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“Anna Sergeevna e lui si amavano come due esseri molto vicini, affini, come marito e moglie, come se il destino li avesse destinati l'uno all'altra e non capivano perché li aveva fatti sposare con altri; erano come due uccelli migratori, maschio e femmina, catturati insieme e messi in due gabbie separate.”

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Book:The Lady with the Little Dog
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“But the permitting, the authorizing of something always concealed an element of dubiousness for him, something vague and not quite spoken. When a dramatic circle, a reading room or tearoom was permitted in town, he would shake his head and say softly: 'That's very well, of course, it's all splendid, but something may come of it.' - The Man in a Case”

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Book:Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov
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“The lamp, in which the kerosene was getting low, was smoking and smelling. A stray cockroach was running about the table in alarm near Nevyrazimov's writing hand. [. . .] On the ceiling he saw a dark circle—the shadow of the lamp-shade. Below it was the dusty cornice, and lower still the wall, which had once been painted a bluish muddy color. And the office seemed to him such a place of desolation that he felt sorry, not only for himself, but even for the cockroach.”

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Author:Anton Chekhov
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“You're not content in your position as a factory owner and a rich heiress, you don't believe in your right to it, and now you can't sleep, which, of course, is certainly better than if you were content, slept soundly, and thought everything was fine. Your insomnia is respectable; in any event, it's a good sign. In fact, for our parents such a conversation as we're having now would have been unthinkable; they didn't talk at night, they slept soundly, but we, our generation, sleep badly, are anguished, talk a lot, and keep trying to decide if we're right or not. - A Medical Case”

ConscienceRussiaInheritanceGeneration GapLand Ownership
Book:Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov
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“Вижу вот облако, похожее на рояль. Думаю: надо будет упомянуть где-нибудь в рассказе, что плыло облако, похожее на рояль. Пахнет гелиотропом. Скорее мотаю на ус: приторный запах, вдовий цвет, упомянуть при описании летнего вечера.”

ConfessionsTragicomedyOccam The Razor
Book:Чайка
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“When describing nature, a writer should seize upon small details, arranging them so that the reader will see an image in his mind after he closes his eyes. For instance: you will capture the truth of a moonlit night if you'll write that a gleam like starlight shone from the pieces of a broken bottle, and then the dark, plump shadow of a dog or wolf appeared. You will bring life to nature only if you don't shrink from similes that liken its activities to those of humankind." (Letter to Alexander Chekhov, May 10, 1886)”

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Author:Anton Chekhov
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“If Makar Denisych was just a clerk or a junior manager, then no one would have dared talk to him in such a condescending, casual tone, but he is a 'writer', and a talentless mediocrity! People like Mr Bubentsov do not understand anything about art and are not very interested in it, but whenever they happen to come across talentless mediocrities they are pitiless and implacable, They are ready to forgive anyone, but not Makar, that eccentric loser with manuscripts lying in his trunk. The gardener damaged the old rubber plant, and ruined lots of expensive plants, and the general does nothing and goes on spending money like water; Mr Bubentsov only got down to work once a month when he was a magistrate, then stammered, muddled up the laws, and spoke a lot of rubbish, but all this is forgiven and not noticed; but there is no way that anyone can pass by the talentless Makar, who writes passable poetry and stories, without saying something offensive. No one cares that the general's sister-in-law slaps the maids' cheeks, and swears like a trooper when she is playing cards, that the priest's wife never pays up when she loses, and the landowner Flyugin stole a a dog from the landower Sivobrazov, but the fact that Our Province returned a bad story to Makar recently is know to the whole district and has provoked mockery, long conversations and indignation, while Makar Denisych is already being referred to as old Makarka. If someone does not write the way required, they never try to explain what is wrong, but just say: 'That bastard has gone and written another load of rubbish!”

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Book:The Exclamation Mark
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“Mutsuz insanlar bencil, kinci, acımasız olur, kolaylıkla haksızlık yapar, birbirlerini anlamayacak kadar ahmaklaşırlar. Mutsuzluk insanları birleştirmez, birbirinden koparır; üzüntülerin benzer olduğu, karşılıklı yakınlaşmanın beklendiği durumlarda bile hallerinden oldukça memnun insanlardan daha fazla haksızlık, kötülük yaparlar.”

MutsuzlukKötülükHaksızlıkAnton çEhovDoktor çEhov Dan öYküler
Book:Doktor Çehov'dan Öyküler
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“Akıl, hayvanlar ve insanlar arasında keskin bir sınır çizer, insandaki ilahi yöne ışık tutar, hatta bir dereceye kadar gerçekte var olmayan ölümsüzlüğün yerini tutar. Buradan yola çıkarak şunu söyleyebilirim ki akıl, elimizde olan yegâne zevk kaynağıdır. Etrafımızda akla dair hiçbir şey görmüyor, duymuyoruz, bu da zevkten mahrum olduğumuz anlamına geliyor. Gerçi elimizin altında kitaplar var, ama canlı bir sohbetin, karşılıklı ilişkinin yerini tutmuyor. Çok da doğru olmayan bir kıyaslama yapmama müsaade edecek olursanız, bence kitaplar notaya, sohbet ise şarkı söylemeye benziyor.”

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Book:Anton Çehov Öyküler
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“¡Los ciclos naturales! ¡Qué cobardía consolarse con este sucedáneo de la inmortalidad! Los procesos inconscientes que se dan en la naturaleza no son siquiera superiores a la tontería humana, ya que, de todos modos, en la tontería hay una conciencia y una voluntad, y en los procesos no hay nada en absoluto. Sólo un cobarde, que tiene ante la muerte más pavor que dignidad, puede consolarse con la idea de que su cuerpo con el tiempo vivirá en la hierba, en una piedra, o en un sapo... Verse inmortal en los ciclos naturales es tan extraño como predecir un futuro brillante a un estuche después de que el valioso violín que contenía esté roto y ya no sirva para nada”

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Author:Anton Chekhov
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“Уся Росія - країна якихось жадібних і лінивих людей: вони страшенно багато їдять, п'ють, люблять спати вдень й уві сні хропуть. Одружуються вони задля порядку в домі, а коханок заводять задля престижу в суспільстві. Психологія у них собача: б'ють їх - вони тихесенько поскиглюють і ховаються по своїх норах, приголублять - вони лягають на спину, лапки догори й виляють хвостиками.”

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Author:Anton Chekhov
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“Oh, I don't object, of course, to cutting wood from necessity, but why destroy the forests? The woods of Russia are trembling under the blows of the axe. Millions of trees have perished. The homes of the wild animals and birds have been desolated; the rivers are shrinking, and many beautiful landscapes are gone forever. And why? Because men are too lazy and stupid to stoop down and pick up their fuel from the ground.”

MenHas BeensHomeBeautifulCoursesAnimalMillionsGoneForeverCuttingTreeStupidObjectsBirdPicksRiversDown AndBlowWoodsRussiaForestsLandscapeFuelLazyTremblingShrinkingStoopsWild AnimalBeautiful Landscapes
Book:The Collected Works of Anton Chekhov: Novellas, Short Stories, Plays, Letters & Diary: Three Sisters, Seagull , The Shooting Party, Uncle Vanya, Cherry Orchard, Chameleon, Tripping Tongue, On The Road, Vanka, Ward No. Six, Swedish Match, Nightmare, Bear, Reluctant Hero, Joy…
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“My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying . . . one must ruthlessly suppress everything that is not concerned with the subject. If, in the first chapter, you say there is a gun hanging on the wall, you should make quite sure that it is going to be used further on in the story.”

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Author:Anton Chekhov
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“I am not a liberal, not a conservative, not a believer in gradual progress, not a monk. I should like to be a free artist and nothing more.”

ShouldArtistFreedomProgressConservativeBelieverMonk
Book:The Life and Genius of Anton Chekhov: Letters, Diary, Reminiscences and Biography: Assorted Collection of Autobiographical Writings of the Renowned Russian Author and Playwright of Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sisters and The Seagull
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“You confuse two things: solving a problem and stating a problem correctly. It is only the second that is obligatory for an artist.”

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Book:The Collected Works of Anton Chekhov: Novellas, Short Stories, Plays, Letters & Diary: Three Sisters, Seagull , The Shooting Party, Uncle Vanya, Cherry Orchard, Chameleon, Tripping Tongue, On The Road, Vanka, Ward No. Six, Swedish Match, Nightmare, Bear, Reluctant Hero, Joy…
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“When one sees one of the romantic creatures before him he imagines he is looking at some holy being, so wonderful that its one breath could dissolve him in a sea of a thousand charms and delights; but if one looks into the soul -- it's nothing but a common crocodile.”

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Book:The Collected Works of Anton Chekhov: Novellas, Short Stories, Plays, Letters & Diary: Three Sisters, Seagull , The Shooting Party, Uncle Vanya, Cherry Orchard, Chameleon, Tripping Tongue, On The Road, Vanka, Ward No. Six, Swedish Match, Nightmare, Bear, Reluctant Hero, Joy…
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