Quotes by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol

"

The poet can be national by painting. Even a completely foreign world, provided only that he looks at this world with the eyes of his national element, with the eyes of his entire people, and feels and speaks so that his countrymen believe that they are and speak themselves.

"

Misfortune softens a man; his nature becomes more sensitive and receptive to the understanding of subjects beyond human knowledge in ordinary everyday situations.

"

There is no word that is so vast, so lively, so gushing from the very heart, bubbling and churning, as the precisely spoken Russian word.

"

First of all, take care of yourself, and then of others: first, become purer in your soul, and only then strive to make others also purer.

"

Poets do not appear from across seas and countries, but from among their own people. These are lights born of the people, the messengers of the progress of its powers.

"

What was said with precision, like what was written, can no longer be cut with an axe.

"

The mind is an incomparably great faculty, but it is acquired only by victory over the passions.

"

The source of poetry is beauty.

"

The power of moral influence is above all powers.

"

Folk songs are a history of a people, full of life, colors, truth, bright, which brings out its whole life.

"

You must be honest with your words.

"

The higher the great truths are, the more careful we must be with them: otherwise they will suddenly become commonplaces, and people no longer believe in commonplaces.

"

The theater is such a rostrum, from which a lot of good things can be said to the world.

"

Through suffering and pain we are given a grain of wisdom, which is not found in books.

"

See first whether you love others, and not whether others love you.

"

Even if you happen to get angry at someone, get angry at yourself at the same time, at least because you got angry at someone else.

"

To be in the world and not mark one's own existence with anything - that's what seems terrible to me.

"

In every word is an abyss, every word is boundless...

"

In the literary world there is no death, and the dead meddle in our affairs and act with us, just as the living do.

"

There is hardly any greater pleasure than the pleasure of creating.

"

Architecture is also a chronicle of the world: it speaks even when songs and legends are already silent.

"

Art inevitably tends to the good, in a positive or negative way: either it shows us the beauty of all the best qualities of a man, or it laughs at the ugliness and all the evils of a man. If you show all the rubbish that exists in man, and show it in such a way that every spectator will be utterly disgusted by it, I ask: is not this to the praise of the beautiful? I ask: is this not to the praise of the good?

"

However stupid the words of a fool may be, they can sometimes be enough to trouble the intelligent man.

"

What pain does not go away with time? Which passion will survive the unequal battle with time?

"

He who is really like a fist, that one will not break in the palm.

"

Youth is happy because it has a future.

"Life is given to us not only for pleasures."

"Do listen to disputes, but be not so involved in disputes yourself."

"

The millionaire is lucky enough to see the profits up close.

"

Two gerles will show my cooled ashes, And they will turbe for you My sad death.

"

Just try to describe the brilliance of their eyes: that melting, velvety, sweet light. God knows what else could be said about their gaze: it is cruel, it is also soft, sometimes even bitter or, as some say, lustful, or maybe not, but if it is, it makes the heart fall, makes the soul vibrate like a violin string. One simply can't find words for it - half of the human race: women - a ceded population, nothing else.

"

There are cases when a woman, no matter how fragile and weak compared to a man, becomes stronger not only than a man, but more than everything in the world.

"

No matter how senseless the talk of fools is, it is sometimes enough to confuse smart people.

"

We all have the small weakness of being a bit lenient towards ourselves, and preferring to blame some of our neighbors, on whom we then take our revenge, for example, our servant, who happens to be in front of our eyes at the right time, or our subordinate clerk, our wife, or if there is nothing else, even a chair, which is then smashed against the door in such a way that its arms, legs and back are broken - let him know what anger is.

"

If someone is nine-tenths full of good qualities and only one-tenth stupid, that is enough to call him an ass.

"

Don't be generous and don't entertain anyone, rather arrange for others to entertain you, and what's most important: keep the kopeck and squat, the kopeck is the most reliable friend in the world. Your companion or friend will cheat and betray you when you are in trouble, but the kopecka will never tell you, whatever trouble you are in.

"

Human passions are as innumerably diverse as the grains of sand in the sea, not one is similar to another, and the lowly as well as the lofty - at first they obey man, only later they become his terrifying tyrant.

"

He who strives to become a sensible man has no time left for mischief; this tendency goes away on its own.

"

Everyone longs for love (...). What can we do? Even a foolish animal likes to be petted. He sticks his face out of the kennel: well, I'm here, pet me!

"

A person cannot reach a goal if he does not create for himself a solid foundation on which to stand; nothing can be achieved with youthful daydreaming.

"

The flamingly enthusiastic young man of today would recoil in disgust if he were shown his future face in old age. So take everything with you on the road on which you are moving from the years of tender youth to the bleak, harsh manhood, take with you all the good human qualities, don't leave anything behind on the way, because you can never pick it up again! The old age that awaits us is terrifying and cruel, it gives nothing back. The grave is more merciful, above the grave it reads: "A man rests here!" But you cannot read anything from the cold, callous features of inhuman old age.

"

Every nation in which there is a pledge of power, full of peculiar, brilliant, creative abilities of the soul and other divine endowments - differs peculiarly in its speech from the rest; whatever he expresses, a particle of his own character is also reflected in the expression.

"

Only a profoundly good soul can laugh with good-natured, cheerful laughter.

"

How could I protect people when I know that half of their crimes are committed out of ignorance, inexperience and stupidity?

"

Everything in man changes quickly; by the time he realizes, some terrifying worm has already grown large in his insides, tyrannically sucking all the life juices.

"

There is no bond more sacred than comradely loyalty. (...) Only humans are capable of forming a relationship of soul and not blood.

"

Don't blame your mirror if your image is crooked!

"

Glory cannot give pleasure to the one who stole, not served.

"

That's just the way the Russian man is: he really goes out of his way to get to know someone who ranks even one degree higher than him, and a superficial acquaintance with a count or a prince is valued more than the closest friendship with someone else.

"

There are wonderful things in the world: cheerfulness, if we examine it for a long time, easily turns into sadness, and then God knows what comes to mind.

"

There are people who enjoy dirtying their neighbors - usually for no reason at all.

"

Putting it on a card means that one submits to chance.

"

Every person - whether they belong to the poor, rude and unkempt poor, languishing in misery, or to the higher circles of the monotonously cool, boringly well-groomed nobles - at least once in their life directly encounters a phenomenon they have not experienced before, and this - if only once - creates a feeling in them, which is completely different from all previous and subsequent feelings of his life. In the midst of the sorrows and troubles that make up our lives, at least once in a while some blissful joy shines through.

"

When I have to experience that they are cheating in front of everyone, and the world does not even condemn the guilty, I don't even know where to be... then I myself become angry, even evil...

"

Neither man nor bird can live in the world without a mate.

"

Physicists talk all kinds of nonsense back and forth, that women are like this and women are like that. The woman is only in love with the devil!

"

Happy is the comedy writer who was born in a country where society has not yet melted into one motionless mass, where it has not yet been enveloped by the uniform crust of that antiquated prejudice which confines everyone's thoughts to one and the same form, brings everyone's thoughts under one standard, where as many people , so many different opinions, where everyone develops their own character.

"

There are those who know that they are lying, but they consider lying to be necessary for conversation: the field is beautiful when it is covered with rye, and the speech is so beautiful when it is full of lies.

"

A woman has more true generosity than a man. The woman cannot and is not capable of committing the vile and wicked things that you commit. She can't pretend where you pretend, and she can't condone the vile things you condone. The woman has enough nobility to say all this - without looking left and right: whether someone likes it or not - because it has to be said. What's cool is cool, no matter how it's disguised, no matter how it's displayed. It's a mess, a mess, a mess!

"

I have a good heart, there is a lot of love in my soul, but if you only knew what internal efforts and upheavals it took me to not fall into many, many sins that everyone falls into involuntarily when living among people!

"

Art elevates man, it can make every movement of his soul noble and wonderfully beautiful.

"

Who does not know the sad feeling when, after many years of absence, we return home and see everything so ancient and abandoned, and every object, the good acquaintances of our childhood, speaks to us plaintively; the more cheerful the memories associated with them, the deeper the sorrow grips our hearts.

"

There is nothing in the world more grumpy than all kinds of case departments, chancelleries, offices, in short, various office areas. Today, every individual believes that the whole society is being harmed in his person.

"

It is better to suffer all the bitterness of persecution than to cast even the shadow of persecution on someone.

"

In art, for man, the allusion to a divine, salvific paradise is inherently inherent, and for this alone, art stands high above everything else. And as much as festive calm is higher than all kinds of earthly turmoil, as much as creation is higher than destruction; as often as the angel, by the pure innocence of his majestic soul, stands above the immeasurable power and haughty passions of Satan; so many times the sublime work of art surpasses everything, but everything in the world.

"

The creative artist can be just as gigantic in the insignificant as in the large-scale object.

"

How strangely this world of ours is arranged (...). How special, how impregnable our fate plays with us! Will we ever get what we want from him? Will we ever achieve what we are willing to fight for with all our might? No way! Everything happens on the contrary.

"

Laughter is much more significant and deeper than you think. Not the one that is born from long-term irritability or a sickly bilious tendency or character; not even the easy laughter that serves to amuse people - but the laughter that comes from the cheerful nature of the person.

"

A tale!... Look, long centuries have passed, cities have been destroyed, peoples have disappeared from the face of the earth, everything that was has dissipated like smoke - but the tales live on, they are still told today, and wise kings, deep thinking government men, great thinkers and young people full of noble aspirations.

"

With great difficulty, a person acquires something that makes life a little more beautiful, and then a court noble, a guard officer appears and snatches it from his nose.

"

If a lady just shows us the tip of her nose from under her hat, we're going to have a fit.

"

Why is it that, even in moments of carefree gaiety, a strange change of mood suddenly follows: the laughter has barely left the face, and the face - among the same people - already has a completely different expression, its features are illuminated by a completely different light?

"

Love me as jet black, anyone could love me as snow white.

"

Bú, in the midst of trouble, man is defenseless, But his soul, like the sea, is endless.

"

A drunk man does not lie, what is in his heart is on his tongue.

"

It is strange to mention sin right away, since there is no human without frailty. God himself created us this way.

"

Man, please, is a natural being: if he wants to die, he will die anyway, if he wants to heal, he will heal anyway.

"

I look at life from a completely different perspective than others. To live the way a fool lives is not a big thing, but to live cunningly and skillfully, to trick everyone without being tricked - this is the real goal and task!

"

In the depths of cold mockery, there may be hot sparks of eternal, powerful love. And who knows, perhaps later everyone will admit that by the same law, according to which the proud and strong man turns out to be mean and weak in adversity, and the weak grows into a giant under adversity - by the same law, he who often from deep, from within she sheds tears, perhaps the best laugh in the whole world!

"

The world is like a vortex: opinions and views are forever swirling in it; but time grinds everything. Like the shell, false views fly away, and like the solid core, the eternal truths remain.

"

Beauty really works wonders. All the mental disabilities of the beautiful woman - instead of causing disgust - somehow become extremely attractive. For these, disability also breathes some charm. If this charm were to disappear, the woman would have to be twenty times smarter than the man if she wanted him to inspire at least some respect for her, because she doesn't inspire love anyway!

"

Man is such a wonderful creature that it is never possible to list all the valuable qualities of a susra, and the more you look at it, the more new and interesting features you will discover in it, it would be endless if you wanted to describe them all.

"

I wish you weren't in the world at all. I wish you weren't alive, but rather the product of some inspired artist's imagination! I wouldn't let you go from the breast to the canvas, I would look at you forever, I would kiss you forever! I would live and breathe in you, like in a beautiful dream, and then I would be happy! I don't have any other wishes or wishes anymore. I would pray to you as a guardian angel, before sleep and after waking up; I would wait for you when I had to paint something divine, something holy.

"

The example (...) is stronger than the rule to be followed.

"

After all, believe me, it is not the real wealth that can be taken from a person, but the one that no one can ever steal or take away.

"

There are secrets of the soul; no matter how far the erring sinner has deviated from the right path, no matter how lost, no matter how stubborn, insensitive, and cunning a villain he has become, no matter how deep he has sunk into the contagion of sin: if he is reproached for his good qualities, if he is reproached for trampling on his own merits into the mud - he is suddenly shaken, his conscience awakens.

"

How can he raise a child who couldn't even raise himself? After all, one can only raise children by setting an example, by the example of one's own life.

"

We are educated, we went to university, so what are we good for? What useful did I learn? By no means to live normally, I learned how to spend money, what kind of new fashionable pleasures you can splurge on, I learned about luxury items, entertainments that all cost money. I have learned to spend a lot on comfort.

"

Well, how can you get by without a job? How is it possible to live in the world without duties, professions, occupations? Just think about it! Look at any of God's creations: each of them has a purpose, a use. Even the stone is in the world to be used, so should man, the most intelligent being, spend his life aimlessly and uselessly?

"

My God! What a huge difference between these two: knowing people and making use of knowing people.

"

We weren't born to think straight. I don't even think there is a sane person among us.

"

It is also understandable: those who have only a few hundred thousand get rich slowly, but those who have millions have a greater radius of influence. What he touches doubles, triples, even if he doesn't want it to.

"

Everyone sometimes comes across a person whose speech they prefer to listen to than others, whose words reach closer to their soul, have a more encouraging effect than other words.

"

Centuries of experience prove that people engaged in farming are more moral, cleaner, nobler, and nobler in spirit.

"

I myself am unscrupulous and unfeeling, but I will do my best to awaken conscience and feelings in others; I am an ignorant and mean man, but I will try not to tempt others; I will toil in the sweat of my face, work for the village, work honestly to set a good example for others.

"

I believe that sharing our thoughts, feelings and impressions with others is one of the greatest pleasures in this world.

"

Pity is never more powerful than when we see beauty infected with the deadly air of decay. If the ugliness mixes the juice with the depravity, it's just an onion! But beauty, tender beauty... can only be compared to virginal innocence in our thoughts.

"

Once a person is in love, it doesn't matter, it will be like a sole: if we soak it in water, we can bend it as we like.

"

No one can know his future; it floats before us like the autumn fog that rises from the marsh. The birds fly in it mindlessly with their wings that draw curves up and down and do not recognize each other, the dove the buzzard, the buzzard the dove, and neither of them knows whether he is far from death or his wings are close to him.

"

The good warrior is not the one who does not lose his courage when there is danger, but the one who does not get bored even during the breaks of the fights, who endures everything and perseveres to the end, until his nails are broken.

"

Which is stronger: passion or habit? Or are all strong urges, the whole storm of our desires and effervescent passions just a consequence of intense youth and only because of this they seem so destructive and profound?

"

I never thought that a person could create such a hell for himself, where there is not a single image, not a single shadow, there is nothing that even remotely resembles hope...

"

According to the ancient order of things, insignificant causes always gave birth to great events and - conversely - great undertakings often ended with little results.

"

What passionate joy fills the heart when we hear about something that happened a long time ago, so long ago that we don't even know the year or the month.

"

This pain will be the most terrible for him: for there is no greater torment than when a person wants to take revenge and cannot take revenge.

"

And without a decent family and descendants, a person is like a grain of grain that has fallen into the ground in vain. If it doesn't germinate, no one knows about that seed.

"

Listen to the arguments, but don't get involved in them! May God protect you from impetuousness and rashness, even in small expressions!

"

Just like that, by accident, even a fool can see the state of things, but you have to see everything consciously, consciously!