“ Once a man has lost his self-respect, and has decided to abjure his better qualities and human dignity, he falls headlong, and cannot choose but do so. ”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Poor Folk (1846). copy citation
| Author | Fyodor Dostoyevsky |
|---|---|
| Source | Poor Folk |
| Topic | dignity quality |
| Date | 1846 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by C. J. Hogarth |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2302/2302-h/2302-h.htm |
Context
“That is to say, persuaded that I should never do any good with my life, and that I was inferior even to the sole of my own boot, I took it into my head that it was absurd for me to aspire at all—rather, that I ought to account myself a disgrace and an abomination. Once a man has lost his self-respect, and has decided to abjure his better qualities and human dignity, he falls headlong, and cannot choose but do so. It is decreed of fate, and therefore I am not guilty in this respect.
That evening I went out merely to get a breath of fresh air, but one thing followed another—the weather was cold, all nature was looking mournful, and I had fallen in with Emelia.”
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