Anton Chekhov

"It seems to me that true religion is not about reptiles and dogmas, but about how to behave."

"You write with enthusiasm, and that's commendable, but remember always to know when to stop."

"A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams."

"The feelings of respect can easily be killed; they're tender, fragile plants."

"All the holy things of this world are weak and seem to dream."

"Brevity is the sister of talent."

"There is something in human nature which prevents us from being satisfied."

"The beauty of a living thing is not the atoms that go into it, but the way those atoms are put together."

"I'm against big displays and against my feelings being acted out on the stage."

"Not by constraint or severity that goodness is achieved, but by practice."

"Writers should not be judges of their readers, only their servants."

"Don't search for phenomena, but observe what is in front of you."

"The very worst thing one can do is not to try, not to test themselves."

"When you are pouring out your heart to someone, they should listen with the same intensity."

"Incompetence and immodesty go hand in hand."

"If I am not better than my father, then I am a poor thing."

"The body is sacred; we should feed it, treat it well, and work with and through it."

"One must never be ashamed of a good deed."

"It is a fact that the old can be bored no less than the young."

"In life one must sometimes make a decision between two evils."

"Do not consider painful what is good for you."

"I want to understand the human being in all their manifestations."

"The more one reasons the less he understands."

"Not all that is painful teaches us something—sometimes pain simply teaches us that we are in pain."

"Observation and reflection will help us understand the world."

"Cheerfulness is not found in money, nor in great achievements."

"The thief thinks everyone is a thief."

"If I had a large sum of money, I would give it away in small portions to many people."

"People cry not because they are weak but because they have been strong for too long."

"I've experienced such joy as only a few experience."