Ivan Turgenev

“ Lavretsky began to assure Lisa that the idea of doing so had never entered his head, that he had the deepest reverence for every conviction; then he went off into a discourse upon religion, its significance in the history of mankind, the significance of Christianity.
"One must be a Christian," observed Lisa, not without some effort, "not so as to know the divine . . . and the . . . earthly, because every man has to die."
Lavretsky raised his eyes in involuntary astonishment upon Lisa and met her gaze. ”

“ Lisa's brows did not exactly frown, they contracted slightly; it always happened with her when she heard something disagreeable to her.
"I was very sorry for him to-day," Lavretsky added, "with his unsuccessful song. To be young and to fail is bearable; but to be old and not be successful is hard to bear. And how mortifying it is to feel that one's forces are deserting one! It is hard for an old man to bear such blows! ”

“ What right have I to judge others severely, do you suppose, when I must ask for indulgency myself? Or have you forgotten that I am a laughing stock to everyone, who is not too indifferent even to scoff? ”