quote · Legacy record
The important thing is not to lie to yourself. He who lies to himself and listens to his own lies reaches a state in which he no longer recognizes truth either in himself or in others, and so he ceases to respect both himself and others. Having ceased to respect everyone, he stops loving, and then, in the absence of love, in order to occupy and divert himself, he abandons himself to passions and the gratification of coarse pleasures until his vices bring him down to the level of bestiality, and all on account of his being constantly false both to himself and to others.
The important thing is not to lie to yourself. He who lies to himself and listens to his own lies reaches a state in which he no longer recognizes truth either in himself or in others, and so he ceases to respect both himself and others. Having ceased to respect everyone, he stops loving, and then, in the absence of love, in order to occupy and divert himself, he abandons himself to passions and the gratification of coarse pleasures until his vices bring him down to the level of bestiality, and all on account of his being constantly false both to himself and to others.
Approximate author period: c. 1851 AD · industrial
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- Author or tradition
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1851 AD · industrial
author lifetime midpoint (1821–1881)
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- Contributor-provided quotation collection
Supplied reference C; CSV row 252058; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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