“Every man has some reminiscences which he would not tell to everyone, but only to his friends.”

— Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground (1864), Part 1, Ch. 11 (translation by Ralph E. Matlaw)

About Fyodor Dostoevsky

1821 – 1881

Russian novelist, author of 'Crime and Punishment' and 'The Brothers Karamazov'.

“A dream! What is a dream? And is not our life a dream?”

“Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.”

“If you want to be respected by others the great thing is to respect yourself.”

“Thou canst not joke an Enemy into a Friend; but thou may'st a Friend into an Enemy.”

“While both are dear, piety requires us to honor truth above our friends.”

“But thus do I counsel you, my friends: distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful!”

“If you would keep your Secret from an enemy, tell it not to a friend.”

“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”

“I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”