Fyodor Dostoevsky,
Poor Folk — August 1
“ A man of honour and self-respect such as I am finds it painful and grievous to have to consort with men who would deprive him of both.Today I sat before my colleagues like a bear's cub or a plucked sparrow, so that I fairly burned with shame. Yes, it hurt me terribly, Barbara. Naturally one blushes when one can see one's naked toes projecting through one's boots, and one's buttons hanging by a single thread! ”
Fyodor Dostoevsky,
Poor Folk — August 1
“ It is matter of common knowledge, my Barbara, that the poor man ranks lower than a rag, and will never earn the respect of any one. Yes, write about him as you like--let scribblers say what they choose about him-- he will ever remain as he was. ”
Fyodor Dostoevsky,
Poor Folk — August 1
“ He knows because any day he may see a gentleman enter a restaurant and ask himself, "What shall I have to eat today? I will have such and such a dish," while all the time the poor man will have nothing to eat that day but gruel. There are men, too--wretched busybodies--who walk about merely to see if they can find some wretched tchinovnik or broken-down official who has got toes projecting from his boots or his hair uncut! ”
