Quote
By Fyodor Dostoevsky
Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others.
- Source
- The Brothers Karamazov (translated by Constance Garnett), Book Two, Chapter 2, p. 38 (printed page number in the Heinemann scan, seen)
- Read at
- Translated by Constance Garnett; Project Gutenberg text, eBook #28054
Share this quote
About this quote
From The Brothers Karamazov (Book Two, Chapter 2, 'The Old Buffoon'), in Constance Garnett's English translation. Spoken by the elder Father Zossima to Fyodor Pavlovitch Karamazov, a character in the novel. It is a character's words, not Dostoevsky speaking in his own voice. Dostoevsky wrote in Russian, so this is the translator's wording.