Quotes by Anton Chekhov

“I think human beings must have faith or must look for faith, otherwise our life is empty, empty. To live and not to know why the cranes fly, why children are born, why there are stars in the sky. You must know why you are alive, or else everything is nonsense, just blowing in the wind.”

“A hungry dog believes in nothing but meat.”

“Do silly things. Foolishness is a great deal more vital and healthy than our straining and striving after a meaningful life.”

“Love, friendship and respect do not unite people as much as common hatred for something.”

“Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.”

“Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.”

“People should be beautiful in every way - in their faces, in the way they dress, in their thoughts, and in their innermost selves.”

“What a fine weather today! Can't choose whether to drink tea or to hang myself.”

“Only during hard times do people come to understand how difficult it is to be master of their feelings and thoughts.”

“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

“The task of a writer is not to solve the problem but to state the problem correctly.”

“Everything on earth is beautiful, everything -- except what we ourselves think and do when we forget the higher purposes of life and our own human dignity.”