Alexander Solzhenitsyn

"We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, we know they know we know they are lying, but they are still lying."

"The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart."

"If we are not afraid of God, we are not afraid of anything else."

"You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me."

"Talent is a great gift, but the very greatest gift is the ability to recognize talent in others."

"There are things which, if not said, nobody will say."

"Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties—but right through every human heart."

"For a country is not just more important than an individual, it is just completely incomparable with him."

"The great French humanists of the 16th century were quite aware of this and denounced the scholastics."

"Burn down your cities and leave no trace of your history!"

"Do not pursue what is illusory—property and position: all that is gained at the expense of your nerves decade after decade and can be lost in a flash."

"As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate."

"The whole of life has become so economic, so utilitarian, that there is no room for greatness anymore."

"Lies have such a short shelf life."

"If mankind is to have a hopeful future, it will have to learn to come to terms with death."

"We have been given the opportunity to change our relationship with God, but we are not taking advantage of it."

"I have had personal experience with hardships. It's dangerous to have a hopeful outlook, but I have one."

"Tolerance of intolerance is cowardice."

"One word of truth outweighs the whole world."

"The only thing that does not change is the fact that everything changes."

"Beauty is something we must discover, something we must see for ourselves."

"In our country we have nothing, but we know nothing and we want to know nothing."

"If we are not afraid of God, we are not afraid of anything else in this world."

"Evil is not something to be debated and brokered over like some commodity."

"I have long since come to recognize that people are the foundation of any nation's power."

"A man can only curse God for so long before his curse turns round and poisons him."

"The task of the great writer is to find the people the way they are most interesting."

"In the age of democracy we are moving from a society that offers absolute truths to one that offers competing truths."

"We have been given a reprieve, we have been given a chance to start over."

"The mystery of the world is how it endures all these foolish, wicked men who lead it."