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Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov Quotes

Physician

Anton Chekhov, born on January 29, 1860, was a prominent Russian physician and short story writer. His works are renowned for their profound psychological insights and critical portrayal of social realities. Chekhov's short stories have had a profound impact on literature both in Russia and around the world.

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All People Ifs Men Writing Knows Literature Should Two Thinking Persons Years Artist Life Lying Doe Firsts Happiness Looks Seems Want

Famous Anton Chekhov Quotes

“While you're playing cards with a regular guy or having a bite to eat with him, he seems a peaceable, good-humoured and not entirely dense person. But just begin a conversation with him about something inedible, politics or science, for instance, and he ends up in a deadend or starts in on such an obtuse and base philosophy that you can only wave your hand and leave.”

Persons Ends Philosophy Hands Seems Guy Conversation Wave Cards Instance Bites Dense Playing Cards

Author:Anton Chekhov

“When a man fails to understand something he is conscious of a discord, and seeks for the cause of it not in himself, as he should, but outside himself - hence the war with what he does not understand.”

Feels Should Persons War Internals Discord

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Death can only be profitable: there's no need to eat, drink, pay taxes, offend people, and since a person lies in a grave for hundreds or thousands of years, if you count it up the profit turns out to be enormous.”

People Ifs Needs Years Persons Lying Turns Pay Drink Taxes Profit Graves Enormous Profitable

Author:Anton Chekhov

“He who doesn't know how to be a servant should never be allowed to be a master; the interests of public life are alien to anyone who is unable to enjoy others' successes, and such a person should never be entrusted with public affairs.”

Knows Should Persons Enjoy Interest Know How Masters Affair Aliens Servant Public Life Public Affairs

Author:Anton Chekhov

“I abide by a rule concerning reviews: I will never ask, neither in writing nor in person, that a word be put in about my book.... One feels cleaner this way. When someone asks that his book be reviewed he risks running up against a vulgarity offensive to authorial sensibilities.”

Way Feels Writing Persons Book Running Asks Risk Reviews Sensibility Offensive Cleaners Vulgarity

Author:Anton Chekhov

“When a person expends the least amount of motion on one action, that is grace.”

Persons Action Grace Amount

Author:Anton Chekhov

“It's not a matter of old or new forms; a person writes without thinking about any forms, he writes because it flows freely from his soul.”

Thinking Writing Persons Soul Matter Form Flow

Author:Anton Chekhov

“There is something beautiful, touching and poetic when one person loves more than the other, and the other is indifferent.”

Persons Beautiful Poetic Touching Indifferent Something Beautiful Persons Love

Author:Anton Chekhov

“At the door of every happy person there should be a man with a hammer whose knock would serve as a constant reminder of the existence of unfortunate people.”

People Men Should Persons Happiness Existence Responsibility Doors Constant Happy Unhappiness Unfortunate Very Happy Reminders Hammers Be A Man Happy Person

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

“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

“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

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

Feels Persons Dog Goodness Guilt Guilty Good Person

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Every person lives his real, most interesting life under the cover of secrecy.”

Persons Real Interesting Secrecy Most Interesting Interesting Life

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Perhaps the feelings that we experience when we are in love represent a normal state. Being in love shows a person who he should be.”

Love Should Persons States Shows Feelings Love Is Normal Self Improvement Being In Love I Love Him

Author:Anton Chekhov

“[Six principles that make for a good story:] 1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of a political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality: flee the stereotype; 6. compassion.”

Persons Stories Political Social Compassion Principles Economic Objects Six Extremes Absence Description Originality Truthful Stereotype Objectivity Good Story Brevity Audacity Lengthy

Author:Anton Chekhov

“You don't understand, you fool' says Yegor, looking dreamily up at the sky. 'You've never understood what kind of person I am, nor will you in a million years... You just think I'm a mad person who has thrown his life away... Once the free spirit has taken hold of a man, there's no way of getting it out of him.”

Thinking Men Way Years Kind Persons Spirit Millions Taken Sky Fool Understood Mad Thrown Free Spirit Mad Person

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Money, like vodka, turns a person into an eccentric.”

Persons Turns Literature Eccentric Vodka

Author:Anton Chekhov

“When a person is born, he can embark on only one of three roads of life: if you go right, the wolves will eat you; if you go left, you’ll eat the wolves; if you go straight, you’ll eat yourself.”

Ifs Persons Three Left Born

Author:Anton Chekhov

“Everything I have written up to now is trifling compared to that which I would like to write and would write with great pleasureEither I am a fool and a self-conceited person, or I am a being capable of becoming a good writer; I am displeased and bored with everything now being written, while everything in my head interests, moves, and excites me-whence I draw the conclusion that no one is doing what is needed, and I alone know the secret of how it should be done. In all likelihood everyone who writes thinks that. In fact, the devil himself will be brought to his knees by these questions.”

Thinking Knows Should Writing Persons Self Done Facts Moving Interest Secret Written Fool Becoming Needed Capable Draws Devil Conclusion Bored Knees Good Writers Likelihood Conceited Trifling

Author:Anton Chekhov

“When a person hasn't in him that which is higher and stronger than all external influences, it is enough for him to catch a good cold in order to lose his equilibrium and begin to see an owl in every bird, to hear a dog's bark in every sound.”

Persons Enough Order Sound Loses Influence Dog Cold Higher Bird Stronger Equilibrium Bark Owl External Influences

Author:Anton Chekhov

“It always seems to the brothers and the father that their brother or son didn't marry the right person.”

Persons Seems Father Son Brother Sister Right Person

Author:Anton Chekhov