Anton Chekhov

Advertising is the very essence of democracy.

When you're thirsty and it seems that you could drink the entire ocean, that's faith; when you start to drink and finish only a glass or two, that's science.

Man is what he believes.

One must be a god to be able to tell successes from failures without making a mistake.

Life does not agree with philosophy: There is no happiness that is not idleness, and only what is useless is pleasurable.

When a woman isn't beautiful, people always say, 'You have lovely eyes, you have lovely hair.'

If you are afraid of loneliness, do not marry.

When an actor has money he doesn't send letters, he sends telegrams.

The thirst for powerful sensations takes the upper hand both over fear and over compassion for the grief of others.

Faith is an aptitude of the spirit. It is, in fact, a talent: you must be born with it.

A writer is not a confectioner, a cosmetic dealer, or an entertainer.

The more refined one is, the more unhappy.

No psychologist should pretend to understand what he does not understand... Only fools and charlatans know everything and understand nothing.

If you cry 'forward', you must without fail make plain in what direction to go.

When a lot of remedies are suggested for a disease, that means it can't be cured.

The University brings out all abilities, including incapability.

A fiance is neither this nor that: he's left one shore, but not yet reached the other.

The wealthy are always surrounded by hangers-on; science and art are as well.

No matter how corrupt and unjust a convict may be, he loves fairness more than anything else. If the people placed over him are unfair, from year to year he lapses into an embittered state characterized by an extreme lack of faith.

All of life and human relations have become so incomprehensibly complex that, when you think about it, it becomes terrifying and your heart stands still.

We learn about life not from plusses alone, but from minuses as well.

It's easier to write about Socrates than about a young woman or a cook.

Passion must be concealed in a society where cold reserve and indifference are the signs of good breeding.

To judge between good or bad, between successful and unsuccessful would take the eye of a God.

Reason and justice tell me there's more love for humanity in electricity and steam than in chastity and vegetarianism.