Famous Quotes by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

“The meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering but in the development of the soul.”

It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes... we make mistakes because the easiest and most comfortable course for us is to seek insight where it accords with our emotions - especially selfish ones.

In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousandfold in the future.

The meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul.

There is no point asserting and believing that your faith will be strong enough, it must be sustained by actions.

Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the 20th century.

If we live in a state of constant fear, we can never be brave.

You only have power over people as long as you don’t take everything away from them. But when you’ve robbed a man of everything, he’s no longer in your power—he’s free again.

A man has to live with himself, and he should see to it that he always has good company.

It is the artist’s responsibility to be a witness to his time in history.

The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.

If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.

When you have robbed a man of everything, he is no longer in your power. He is free again.

The salvation of mankind lies only in making everything the concern of all.

Violence can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by violence.

The battleline between good and evil runs through the heart of every man.

Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.

A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy and nothing can stop him.

The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. One word of truth outweighs the world.

The belly is an ungrateful wretch, it never remembers past favors, it always wants more tomorrow.

Justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity.

If we live in a state of constant fear, we can never be brave.

Justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity.

You only have power over people as long as you don’t take everything away from them. But when you’ve robbed a man of everything, he’s no longer in your power—he’s free again.

Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.

It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes... we make mistakes because the easiest and most comfortable course for us is to seek insight where it accords with our emotions - especially selfish ones.

When you have robbed a man of everything, he is no longer in your power. He is free again.

The belly is an ungrateful wretch, it never remembers past favors, it always wants more tomorrow.

In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousandfold in the future.

The meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul.

There is no point asserting and believing that your faith will be strong enough, it must be sustained by actions.

A man has to live with himself, and he should see to it that he always has good company.

It is the artist’s responsibility to be a witness to his time in history.

The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.

The battleline between good and evil runs through the heart of every man.

A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy and nothing can stop him.

The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. One word of truth outweighs the world.

If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.

The salvation of mankind lies only in making everything the concern of all.

Violence can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by violence.

Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the 20th century.

Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.

The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. One word of truth outweighs the world.

Our capacity to sit back and let others do the thinking leads to a decline in our culture.

If you want to change the world, who do you begin with? Yourself or others?

When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie.

It’s an universal law—intolerance is the first sign of an inadequate education. An ill-educated person behaves with arrogant impatience, whereas truly profound education breeds humility.

I have spent all my life under a Communist regime, and I will tell you that a society without any objective legal scale is a terrible one indeed.

We always pay dearly for chasing after what is cheap.

Violence can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by violence.