“All his feelings and all his being were shaken to their depths, and he came to know that terrible torment which, by way of a striking exception, sometimes occurs in nature, when a weak talent strains to show itself on too grand a scale and fails; that torment which gives birth to great things in a youth, but, in passing beyond the border of dream, turns into a fruitless yearning; that dreadful torment which makes a man capable of terrible evildoing. A terrible envy possessed him, an envy bordering on rage. The bile rose in him when he saw some work that bore the stamp of talent. He ground his teeth and devoured it with the eyes of a basilisk.”
Quote by Nikolai Gogol
Work
The Mysterious Portrait
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Author
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol was a prominent 19th-century Russian dramatist and novelist. His works are known for their sharp satire and humor, which have had a profound impact on Russian literature. more
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