"Truly great men must, I think, experience..." - Quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Truly great men must, I think, experience great sorrow on the earth.
More by Fyodor Dostoevsky
“There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings.”
“Learning to love is hard and we pay dearly for it. It takes hard work and a long apprenticeship, for it is not just for a moment that we must learn to love, but forever.”
“Man is tormented by no greater anxiety than to find someone quickly to whom he can hand over that great gift of freedom with which the ill-fated creature is born.”
More on Greatness
“And it is through strife and the readiness for strife that a man or a nation must win greatness. So, let the world know that we are here and willing to pour out our blood, our treasure, our tears. And that America is ready and if need be desirous of battle”
“Imitation is the homage mediocrity pays to greatness.”
“You may as well know, also, that every great leader, from the dawn of civilization down to the present, was a dreamer.”
More on Suffering
“What do you know of my heart? What do you know of anything but your own suffering. For weeks, Marianne, I've had this pressing on me without being at liberty to speak of it to a single creature. It was forced on me by the very person whose prior claims ruined all my hope. I have endured her exultations again and again whilst knowing myself to be divided from Edward forever. Believe me, Marianne, had I not been bound to silence I could have provided proof enough of a broken heart, even for you.”
“For my best poems were all written when I felt the worst. When I was happy, I didn't write anything.”
“I can approve of those only who seek in tears for happiness.”