Ivan Karamazov

"If man has no God, he must create meaning for himself."

"I love humanity, but I am amazed at myself: the more I love humanity in general, the less I love man in particular."

"The suffering of children is unjustifiable by any worldly harmony."

"God exists, but I cannot accept His world."

"The struggle for truth is the noblest of all pursuits."

"Pain and suffering give meaning to human existence."

"One must choose between comfort and truth."

"The pursuit of knowledge without wisdom leads to destruction."

"If there is no God, then everything is permitted."

"The more I love humanity in general, the less I love man in particular."

"I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for."

"I could never understand how one can love one's neighbors. It is precisely one's neighbors that one cannot love."

"I think the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him."

"To be acutely conscious is a disease."

"I am unhappy precisely because I cannot be content with anything metaphysical."

"The more I study the world, the less faith I have in it; and the less faith I have in it, the more faith I have in something else."

"I am a realist, but not a scientific realist."

"I believe in Russia with all the passion of my thwarted love."

"I have said already that I accept God, but I do not accept His creation."

"One can love one's neighbor in the abstract, or even at a distance, but at close quarters it is almost impossible."

"All I care about is that somewhere there should be people happy."

"I cannot understand how the strong can help being despots."

"I could never understand how one can love one's neighbors. It's one's enemies I find absolutely impossible to love."

"The more I love humanity in general, the less I love man in particular."

"If there is no God, then everything is permitted."

"Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness."

"I am tormented by my love of humanity."

"Do not torment me by asking me to justify myself."

"The absolute is unattainable, but we must strive for it."

"I dream of understanding at last some phenomenon of life."