Anton Chekhov Quotes

“For the salvation of his soul the Muslim digs a well. It would be a fine thing if each of us were to leave behind a school, or a well, or something of the sort, so that life would not pass by and retreat into eternity without a trace.”

Ifs Life Wells Soul Would Be School Behinds Fine Eternity Salvation Retreat Fine Things Without A Trace

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Death is terrifying, but it would be even more terrifying to find out that you are going to live forever and never die.”

Life Would Be Death Dies Forever Live Forever Life Death

Author:Anton Chekhov

“We go to great pains to alter life for the happiness of our descendants and our descendants will say as usual: things used to be so much better, life today is worse than it used to be.”

Life Today Pain Used Generations Used To Be Usual Better Life Descendants

Author:Anton Chekhov

“In my head there is a whole army of people asking to be let out and waiting for the word of command.”

People Whole Literature Army Command Pleading

Author:Anton Chekhov

“I don't like being successful; the subjects which sit in my head are annoyed and jealous of what has already been written.”

Ideas Care Success Literature Written Sitting Don't Care I Don't Care Annoyed Envious

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Everyone judges plays as if they were very easy to write. They don't know that it is hard to write a good play, and twice as hardand tortuous to write a bad one.”

Ifs Knows Writing Hard Play Easy Judging Criticism

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Whoever sincerely believes that elevated and distant goals are as little use to man as a cow, that "all of our problems" come fromsuch goals, is left to eat, drink, sleep, or, when he gets sick of that, to run up to a chest and smash his forehead on its corner.”

Men Believe Littles Use Problem Running Left Goal Sleep Drink Sick Corners Chests Cows Sincerely Foreheads

Author:Anton Chekhov

“In two or three hundred years life on earth will be unimaginably beautiful, astounding. Man needs such a life and if it hasn't yetappeared, he should begin to anticipate it, wait for it, dream about it, prepare for it. To achieve this, he has to see and know more than did his grandfather and father.”

Ifs Knows Men Needs Should Years Two Dream Earth Beautiful Three Father Waiting Change Generations Achieve Hundred Grandfather Anticipate

Author:Anton Chekhov

“We old bachelors smell like dogs, do we? So be it. But I must take issue with your claim that doctors who treat female illnesses are womanizers and cynics at heart. Gynecologists deal with savage prose the likes of which you have never dreamed of.”

Heart Women Deals Issues Dog Female Doctors Treats Claims Medicine Illness Smell Likes Prose Savages Doctor Who Bachelors Womanizer Gynecologists

Author:Anton Chekhov

“If you fear loneliness, then don't get married.”

Ifs Fear Marriage Loneliness Married

Author:Anton Chekhov

“A person loves to talk about his illnesses although that is the least interesting part of his life.”

Persons Interesting Medicine Illness Persons Love

Author:Anton Chekhov

“To describe drunkenness for the colorful vocabulary is rather cynical. There is nothing easier than to capitalize on drunkards.”

Literature Easier Drinking Cynical Vocabulary Drunkenness Colorful Drunkards

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Is it our job to judge? The gendarme, policemen and bureaucrats have been especially prepared by fate for that job. Our job is towrite, and only to write.”

Writing Has Beens Jobs Literature Fate Judging Prepared Policemen Bureaucrats

Author:Anton Chekhov

“I have no faith in our hypocritical, false, hysterical, uneducated and lazy intelligentsia when they suffer and complain: their oppression comes from within. I believe in individual people. I see salvation in discrete individuals, intellectuals and peasants, strewn hither and yon throughout Russia. They have the strength, although there are few of them.”

People Believe Suffering Individual I Believe Integrity Salvation I Believe In Complaining Russia Oppression Lazy Individualism Peasants Hysterical Uneducated Hypocritical Discrete

Author:Anton Chekhov

“He is no longer a city dweller who has even once in his life caught a ruff or seen how, on clear and cool autumn days, flocks of migrating thrushes drift over a village. Until his death he will be drawn to freedom.”

Nature Freedom Cities Clear Caught Autumn Village Flocks Dwellers Autumn Days

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Country acquaintances are charming only in the country and only in the summer. In the city in winter they lose half of their appeal.”

Country Lost Loses Cities Half Summer Winter Appeals Charming Acquaintance Country Life

Author:Anton Chekhov

“When performing an autopsy, even the most inveterate spiritualist would have to question where the soul is.”

Soul Death Medicine Performing Autopsy

Author:Anton Chekhov

“It is depressing to hear the unfortunate or dying man jest.”

Men Death Dying Depressing Unfortunate Jest

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Love is a great thing. It is not by chance that in all times and practically among all cultured peoples love in the general senseand the love of a man for his wife are both called love. If love is often cruel or destructive, the reasons lie not in love itself, but in the inequality between people.”

People Ifs Men Love Reason Lying Chance Love Is Wife Great Things All Time Inequality Destructive

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Love is a scandal of the personal sort.”

Love Love Is Scandal

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Of course politics is an interesting and engrossing thing. It offers no immutable laws, nearly always prevaricates, but as far asblather and sharpening the mind go, it provides inexhaustible material.”

Mind Law Courses Politics Interesting Materials Offers Sharpening

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Nature's law says that the strong must prevent the weak from living, but only in a newspaper article or textbook can this be packaged into a comprehensible thought. In the soup of everyday life, in the mixture of minutia from which human relations are woven, it is not a law. It is a logical incongruity when both strong and weak fall victim to their mutual relations, unconsciously subservient to some unknown guiding power that stands outside of life, irrelevant to man.”

“I think that it would be less difficult to live eternally than to be deprived of sleep throughout life.”

Thinking Would Be Difficult Sleep Eternity Deprived

Author:Anton Chekhov

“The wealthy man is not he who has money, but he who has the means to live in the luxurious state of early spring.”

Men Mean States Wealth Spring Wealthy Luxurious Early Spring

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Nothing lulls and inebriates like money; when you have a lot, the world seems a better place than it actually is.”

World Seems Money Better Place Lulls

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Pharisaism, obtuseness and tyranny reign not only in the homes of merchants and in jails; I see it in science, in literature, and among youth. I consider any emblem or label a prejudice.... My holy of holies is the human body, health, intellect, talent, inspiration, love and the most absolute of freedoms, the freedom from force and falsity in whatever forms they might appear.”

“To dine, drink champagne, raise a racket and make speeches about the people's consciousness, the people's conscience, freedom andso forth while servants in tails are scurrying around your table, just like serfs, and out in the severe cold on the street await coachmen--this is the same as lying to the holy spirit.”

People Spirit Lying Consciousness Streets Cold Drink Holy Speech Conscience Raises Tables Slavery Servant Holy Spirit Hypocrisy Tails Severe Champagne Racket Dine Serfs

Author:Anton Chekhov

“It's easier to ask for money from the poor than from the wealthy.”

Asks Poor Money Easier Wealthy Borrowing

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Everything should be first-rate in a person, his face, clothes, soul and thoughts.”

Should Firsts Persons Soul Faces Clothes Excellence Rate

Author:Anton Chekhov

“There is nothing more vulgar than a petty bourgeois life with its halfpence, its victuals, its futile talk, and its useless conventional virtue.”

Existence Virtue Conversation Useless Mediocrity Conventional Petty Bourgeois Philistines Vapid Vacuous

Author:Anton Chekhov

“The desire to serve the common good must without fail be a requisite of the soul, a necessity for personal happiness; if it issuesnot from there, but from theoretical or other considerations, it is not at all the same thing.”

Ifs Soul Helping Desire Common Failing Charity Consideration Theoretical Common Good Personal Happiness

Author:Anton Chekhov

“If you can't distinguish people from lap-dogs, you shouldn't undertake philanthropic work.”

People Ifs Work Dog Charity Lap Philanthropic Lap Dogs

Author:Anton Chekhov

“The more cultured a man, the less fortunate he is.”

Men Culture Education Manners Fortunate Less Fortunate

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Not one of our mortal gauges is suitable for evaluating non-existence, for making judgments about that which is not a person.”

Persons Soul Existence Judgment Mortals Afterlife Suitable Gauges Non Existence

Author:Anton Chekhov

“The unhappy are egotistical, base, unjust, cruel, and even less capable of understanding one another than are idiots. Unhappinessdoes not unite people, but separates them.”

People Understanding Capable Unhappy Idiot Unhappiness Unjust Egotism Discontent Egotistical

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Our pride and self-importance are European, while our development and actions are Asiatic.”

Self Action Pride Development Importance Self-importance

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Who keeps the tavern and serves up the drinks? The peasant. Who squanders and drinks up money belonging to the peasant commune, the school, the church? The peasant. Who would steal from his neighbor, commit arson, and falsely denounce another for a bottle of vodka? The peasant.”

Country School Church Class Drink Drinking Neighbor Stealing Commit Belonging Bottles Peasants Vodka Communes Country Life Taverns Arson

Author:Anton Chekhov

“God's world is a good place. The one thing not good in it is we. How little justice and humility there is in us. How little we understand true patriotism!”

World Littles Justice Humility Fine Patriotism

Author:Anton Chekhov

“There are plenty of good people, but only a very, very few are precise and disciplined.”

People Discipline Plenty Good People Precise

Author:Anton Chekhov

“I do not know why one should not hunt two hares even in the literal sense....”

Ifs Knows Two Determination Pursue Hunting Rabbits Literal Hounds

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Common hypocrites pass themselves off as doves; political and literary hypocrites pose as eagles. But don't be fooled by their eagle-like appearance. These are not eagles, but rats or dogs.”

Political Common Dog Appearance Hypocrisy Rats Eagles Hypocrite Fooled Dove

Author:Anton Chekhov

“I've noticed that people who get married cease to be curious.”

People Marriage Married Curiosity Cease Curious

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Dear, sweet, unforgettable childhood! Why does this irrevocable time, forever departed, seem brighter, more festive and richer than it actually was?”

Doe Seems Forever Childhood Sweet Dear Idealism Brighter Departed Unforgettable Irrevocable Festive

Author:Anton Chekhov

“A good person will feel guilty even before a dog.”

Feels Persons Dog Goodness Guilt Guilty Good Person

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Instructing in cures, therapists always recommend that "each case be individualized." If this advice is followed, one becomes persuaded that those means recommended in textbooks as the best, means perfectly appropriate for the template case, turn out to be completely unsuitable in individual cases.”

Ifs Mean Turns Individual Cases Advice Medicine Cures Appropriate Individualism Therapists Textbooks

Author:Anton Chekhov

“It is as acceptable now to love the wives of others as it is to smoke their cigars and read their books.”

Book Wife Smoke Acceptable Cigar

Author:Anton Chekhov

“The problem is that we attempt to solve the simplest questions cleverly, thereby rendering them unusually complex. One should seekthe simple solution.”

Should Problem Simple Solutions Complexes Simplicity Solve Simplest Rendering Simple Solutions

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Not everyone knows how to be silent or to leave in good time. It happens that even people of good breeding fail to notice that their presence provokes in the weary or preoccupied host a feeling akin to hatred, and that this feeling is tensely concealed and covered up with lies.”

People Knows Feelings Happens Lying Know How Failing Hatred Silent Manners Good Times Covered Host Guests Provoking Weary Concealed Breeding Good Breeding Covered Up

Author:Anton Chekhov

“The government is not God. It does not have the right to take away that which it can't return even if it wants to.”

Ifs Want Doe Government Return Capital Punishment

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Capital punishment kills immediately, whereas lifetime imprisonment does so slowly. Which executioner is more humane? The one who kills you in a few minutes, or the one who wrests your life from you in the course of many years?”

Years Doe Courses Minutes Lifetime Punishment Humane Imprisonment Capital Punishment Executioners

Author:Anton Chekhov

Filter quotes by topic

Famous Anton Chekhov Quotes