Quotessence
Home / Authors / Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov Quotes

Physician

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleIfsMenWritingKnowsLiteratureShouldTwoThinkingPersonsYearsArtistLifeLyingDoeFirstsHappinessLooksSeemsWant

Famous Anton Chekhov Quotes

“Critics are like horse-flies which hinder the horses in their plowing of the soil. The horse works, all its muscles drawn tight like the strings on a double-bass, and a fly settles on his flanks and tickles and buzzes. And what does the fly buzz about? It scarcely knows itself; simply because it is restless and wants to proclaim: 'Look, I too am living on the earth. See, I can buzz, too, buzz about anything.'”

KnowsWantLooksDoeI CanEarthHorseCriticsSettlingSoilMusclesStringsRestlessBassLiving OnHinderBuzzPlowingDouble Bass
Author:Anton Chekhov
Create image

“The unhappy are egoistic, spiteful, unjust, cruel, and less capable of understanding each other than fools. Unhappiness does not bring people together but draws them apart, and even where one would fancy people should be united by the similarity of their sorrow, far more injustice and cruelty is generated than in comparatively placid surroundings.”

PeopleShouldDoeTogetherUnderstandingUnitedFoolSorrowCapableDrawsInjusticeUnhappyCrueltyFancyUnhappinessUnjustSurroundingsSimilarityPlacidSpitefulUnderstanding Each Other
Book:Delphi Complete Works of Anton Chekhov (Illustrated)
Create image

“Not only after two or three centuries, but in a million years, life will still be as it was; life does not change, it remains for ever, following its own laws which do not concern us, or which, at any rate, you will never find out. Migrant birds, cranes for example, fly and fly, and whatever thoughts, high or low, enter their heads, they will still fly and not know why or where. They fly and will continue to fly, whatever philosophers come to life among them; they may philosophize as much as they like, only they will fly.”

KnowsYearsMayDoeStillsTwoLawThreeMillionsCenturyExampleLowsBirdConcernRemainsRatePhilosopherFollowingMigrantsCranes
Book:The Three Sisters
Create image

“Cross out as many adjectives and adverbs as you can. ... It is comprehensible when I write: "The man sat on the grass," because it is clear and does not detain one's attention. On the other hand, it is difficult to figure out and hard on the brain if I write: "The tall, narrow-chested man of medium height and with a red beard sat down on the green grass that had already been trampled down by the pedestrians, sat down silently, looking around timidly and fearfully." The brain can't grasp all that at once, and art must be grasped at once, instantaneously.”

IfsMenWritingDoeArtHardHandsDifficultAttentionBrainClearFiguresHe ManRedCrossesGreenMediumsCraftsGrassHeightSatTallBeardAdjectivesPedestriansAdverbsGreen GrassAdjectives And Adverbs
Author:Anton Chekhov
Create image

“My business is to be talented, that is, to be capable of selecting the important moments from the trivial ones. . . . It's about time for writers - particularly those who are genuine artists - to recognize that in this world you cannot figure out everything. Just have a writer who the crowds trust be courageous enough and declare that he does not understand everything, and that alone will represent a major contribution to the way people think, a long leap forward.”

PeopleThinkingWorldWayLongDoeImportantEnoughMomentsArtistUnderstandingBusinessFiguresThis WorldMajorsCapableCrowdsGenuineContributionCourageousLeapBe CourageousImportant Moments
Author:Anton Chekhov
Create image

“All I wanted was to say honestly to people: 'Have a look at yourselves and see how bad and dreary your lives are!' The important thing is that people should realize that, for when they do, they will most certainly create another and better life for themselves. I will not live to see it, but I know that it will be quite different, quite unlike our present life. And so long as this different life does not exist, I shall go on saying to people again and again: 'Please, understand that your life is bad and dreary!'”

PeopleKnowsShouldLooksLongDoeImportantDifferentWantedLife IsRealizingGoes OnPleaseImportant ThingsHonestlyAgain And AgainBetter LifeDrearyDifferent LifePresent Life
Author:Anton Chekhov
Create image