9 phrases from the genius Fyodor Dostoyevsky

There are many great writers throughout history, but If there is a universal classic author who has marked the history of literature, it is without a doubt Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Among the classical Russian authors considered geniuses, he is the one who has had the most influence and His works are still considered absolute masterpieces that are difficult to surpass even today. for its theme and its absolute mastery of rhythm and form when writing.

Virginia Woolf once asked herself ” if it was really worth reading another author ” and his influence was direct on contemporary authors such as Herman Hesse, Fran Kafka, Gabriel García Márquez or Yukio Mishima. He may have been one of the most influential authors in history along with Victor Hugo, William Shakespeare or Miguel de Cervantes.

The exquisiteness of his novels (Crime and Punishment, The Idiot or The Brothers Karamazov); reside in his incredible way of portraying human psychology, with all its anxieties and existential dilemmas.

A good way to approach this brilliant writer is to analyze some of his phrases, putting them in relation to the meaning they had for his life and his vision of the world:

1. “The degree of civilization of a society is measured by the treatment of its prisoners”

The writer was sentenced to death for his revolutionary ideas of youth, but his sentence was commuted at the last moment; although in exchange He had to spend 5 years doing forced labor in a Siberian labor camp.

During this time in prison, his health suffered (he suffered from epilepsy and his seizures worsened) and he suffered a psychological ordeal that was difficult even for him to describe. There he met prisoners convicted of all kinds of crimes, and He realized that every person could redeem themselves and find a better meaning for their life.

2. “The secret of human existence is not only in living, but also in knowing what one lives for”

with this phrase Dostoyeski highlights the reason for its influence on later existentialist authors. Men’s search for the meaning of life will be shaped by the circumstances they encounter and how they react to them.

3. “On our planet we can only love by suffering and through pain. “We do not know how to love in any other way nor do we know any other kind of love.”

Dostoyevsky had a brutal childhood since his father was a very renowned doctor but absolutely despotic; and his mother was pure warmth and tenderness. The loss of his brother, his mother, and the murder of his father by his employees plunged the writer into depression.

All subsequent romantic relationships were marked by this suffering inherent to the writer but also by his natural condition as a passionate man. Through the pain, he came to feel love for others, for his profession, and sometimes for himself.

4. “I submit to ethics, but I do not understand in any way why it is more glorious to bomb a besieged city than to kill someone with an axe.”

Dostoyevsky detested hypocrisy and praised honest and proportional ethics. He was surprised at how some forms of killing were praised as patriotic and others were considered abhorrent actions. A phrase that today makes more sense than ever.

5. “Even the poor in spirit become smarter after great pain.”

Possibly one of the writer’s most intimate and existentialist phrases. For him, until a man faces great pain, his vision of the world is superficial, and only after great pain do people reflect on their lives, maintain a more intimate and authentic relationship with themselves, and gain intelligence.

6. “It is better to be wrong following your own path than to be right following someone else’s path.”

A man of strong character, a gambler and dedicated to a liberal life, However, he considered that the best way to find evolution was to embrace conservative values. like the orthodox faith. He was not a typical believer, because he lived life in such a way that contradicted this conservatism.

That is why his life and work are exciting, because He gave himself to life to know it from within and then have a mystical vision of it. much more truthful and interesting.

7. “It is the uncertainty that one loves, everything becomes wonderful in the mist”

He exposes the idea of ​​uncertainty in the lives of men on numerous occasions in his works. She explains how the human being is abandoned to his fate and with a thousand paths to choose from before his eyes, but The dilemmas derived from difficult and contradictory choices are what will shape the spirit of each person. until it can find itself.

8. “Poverty and misery form the artist”

The writer’s economic problems occurred throughout his entire existence: his gambling addiction and his more bourgeois binges in Europe (on the one hand he had admiration for this continent and on the other a deep suspicion); They caused it to never have a stable economy. Perhaps that need and feeling of guilt sharpened his ingenuity when it came to writing.

9. “A moment of joy, isn’t it enough for a lifetime?”

Dostoyevsky was a hopeless pessimist, but he thought that any dull and unhappy existence could be illuminated by a happy moment and give meaning to an entire life. Life has meaning if we know how to recognize these moments and preserve them for our soul as the greatest treasure.

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