Ivan Turgenev

"The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of."

"Do you know what it means to be alone? Not just physically alone, but spiritually alone."

"I agree with no one on everything, and with everyone on something."

"Whatever a man prays for, he prays for a miracle."

"The artist must be in his work as God is in creation, invisible yet all-powerful."

"Nature is not kind. It is not hostile. It is indifferent."

"A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food."

"Time moves slowly when you're in pain."

"Freedom is the oxygen of the soul."

"The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself."

"One should as a rule respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny."

"Beauty is a tremendous force."

"A man's heart is not in the control of his will."

"It is a great thing to have found one's vocation."

"Old age is a shipwreck."

"Honest people seldom suspect others of dishonesty."

"The most important thing is the mission of education; everything else is secondary."

"There is a strange charm in the thought of a man reading in solitude."

"Talent is more common than honesty."

"We all know that life is a complex affair, and that things are seldom all black or all white."

"A man should know the language of his mother and his country."

"The sense of beauty is the sense of truth."

"To say that a man is vain means that he is unhappy."

"Young people should be adventurous; they should take risks."

"A writer must be born with a gift for writing, just as a musician must be born with an ear for music."

"In sorrow, one learns who one's real friends are."

"Patience is a great virtue in all human relations."

"The future is hidden even from those who make it."

"A man of honor would show his kindness without hesitation."

"Gratitude is the heart's memory."