Anton Chekhov

"I've noticed that people rarely recognize the limits of their knowledge."

"Suffering is a great school, yet none wish to attend."

"The absence of love is the greatest of all poverties."

"Let everyone sweep in front of his own door and the world will be clean."

"There is no such thing as a bad man; there are only limited men."

"Simplicity, goodness, and naiveté—these are the qualities that suit heroes."

"If nothing else, we have our pride."

"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life."

"And you know, I still believe that beauty salons are born from a woman's heart."

"Before we can change anything, we must understand what we are."

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it."

"If ever truth and falsehood come into contact, they will not unite and continue to stand as before."

"In every human being there is a great cry which appeals to the heart."

"True civilization does not lie in gas or steam, but in the love of beauty."

"The illiteracy of the educated world is much more appalling than the illiteracy of the savage."

"A writer must master the creation of fictional individuals."

"It is not intellectuals who rule the world. It is those with power and their henchmen."

"The secret of good writing is to tell the truth."

"What do doctors know? Nothing."

"God is the same everywhere."

"Time is a merciless master."

"A man's wings are his conscience; his very fine wings which will not allow him to live in peace."

"If you wish to depict the life of a human being, or of a nation, you must not start from the philosophy of that life and then arrange the facts to suit that philosophy."

"Human beings will always be anxious about the future."

"The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul."

"Talent is a great thing, yet we must never forget that knowledge is power."

"Life is a great mystery, not a problem to be solved."

"One should never put on one's best trousers when one goes out to fight for freedom and truth."

"The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor."