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Yevgeny Zamyatin Quotes

Author

Russian author known for his dystopian novel 'We'. Born on February 1, 1884, in Taganrog, Russia, he passed away on March 10, 1937.

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Famous Yevgeny Zamyatin Quotes

“How do you know that nonsense isn't a good thing? If human nonsense had been nurtured and developed for centuries, just as intelligence has, then perhaps something extraordinarily precious could have come from it.”

Ifs Knows Humans Century Good Things Nonsense Do You Know

Book:We

Source: We

“It has never occurred to me before, but this is truly how it is: all of us on earth walk constantly over a seething, scarlet sea of flame, hidden below, in the belly of the earth. We never think of it. But what if the thin crust under our feet should turn into glass and we should suddenly see?”

Ifs Thinking Should Earth Turns Walks Sea Feet Glasses Flames What If Belly Scarlet Seething

Author:Yevgeny Zamyatin

“what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another about”

Ifs Poet Taste Inspired Absurd Primitive Mist

Book:We: New Edition

Source: We: New Edition

“Name me the final number, the highest, the greatest. But that's absurd! If the number of numbers is infinite, how can there be a final number? Then how can you speak of a final revolution? There is no final one. Revolutions are infinite.”

Ifs Inspirational Art Literature Names Speak Numbers Revolution Highest Infinite Finals Absurd

Author:Yevgeny Zamyatin

“To the feudal aristocracy and the aristocracy of the spirit, nobility derives from diametrically opposite sources. The glory of the feudal aristocrat is in being a link in the longest possible chain of ancestors. The glory of the aristocrat of the spirit is in having no ancestors - or having as few as possible. If an artist is his own ancestor, if he has only descendents, he enters history as a genius; if he has few ancestors, or is related to them distantly, he enters history as a talent.”

Ifs Inspirational Art Spirit Artist Literature Talent Source Genius Glory Opposites Chains Related Links Ancestor Nobility Aristocracy

Author:Yevgeny Zamyatin

“And a question stirred within me: What if he, this yellow-eyed creature, in his disorderly, filthy mound of leaves, in his uncomputed life, is happier than we are?”

Ifs Life Is Creatures What If Yellow Filthy

Author:Yevgeny Zamyatin

“Don't forget that we lawyers, we're a higher breed of intellect, and so it's our privilege to lie. It's as clear as day. Animals can't even imagine lying: if you were to find yourself among some wild islanders, they too would only speak the truth until they learned about European culture.”

Ifs Lying Culture Speak Forget Animal Clear Imagine Higher Privilege Intellect Lawyer Finding Yourself Speak The Truth

Author:Yevgeny Zamyatin

“What is it to you if I don't want others to want for me, if I want to want myself - if I want the impossible.”

Ifs Want Impossible

Book:We

Source: We

“If we have no heretics we must invent them, for heresy is essential to health and growth.”

Ifs Literature Growth Essentials Heresy Heretic

Author:Yevgeny Zamyatin

“And why do you think that foolishness is bad? If human foolishness had been as carefully nurtured and cultivated as intelligence has been for centuries, perhaps it would have turned into something extremely precious.”

Ifs Thinking Humans Has Beens Century Foolishness

Author:Yevgeny Zamyatin

“What makes you think that nonsense is bad? If they'd nurtured and cared for human nonsense over the ages the way they did intelligence, it might have turned into something of special value.”

Ifs Thinking Way Humans Might Age Values Special Nonsense Make You Think

Book:We: New Edition

Source: We: New Edition

About the Author

Born: February 1, 1884
Died: March 10, 1937
Known for: Author
Quotes: 160

Books & Sources

WeRelated source material

We: New EditionRelated source material

The Dragon: Fifteen StoriesRelated source material

We: Introduction by Will SelfRelated source material

Islanders & The Fisher of MenRelated source material

We: With Introduction, Summary and AnalysisRelated source material

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