“ Words and actions, truth and falsehood, are all jumbled up together in me, and yet I am perfectly sincere. I feel the deepest repentance, believe it or not, as you choose; but words and lies come out in the infernal craving to get the better of other people. ”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot (1874). copy citation
| Author | Fyodor Dostoyevsky |
|---|---|
| Source | The Idiot |
| Topic | repentance action |
| Date | 1874 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Eva Martin |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2638/2638-h/2638-h.htm |
Context
“It is the same exactly as mine yesterday, when I said, ‘I am base, I am base,’—words, and nothing more! ” “ Then they were only words on your part? I thought, on the contrary... ” “ Well, I don’t mind telling you the truth—you only! Because you see through a man somehow. Words and actions, truth and falsehood, are all jumbled up together in me, and yet I am perfectly sincere. I feel the deepest repentance, believe it or not, as you choose; but words and lies come out in the infernal craving to get the better of other people. It is always there—the notion of cheating people, and of using my repentant tears to my own advantage! I assure you this is the truth, prince! I would not tell any other man for the world! He would laugh and jeer at me—but you, you judge a man humanely. ””
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