“ It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise! ”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot (1874). copy citation
| Author | Fyodor Dostoyevsky |
|---|---|
| Source | The Idiot |
| Topic | foolishness happiness |
| Date | 1874 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Eva Martin |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2638/2638-h/2638-h.htm |
Context
“it's your nature—you can't help it!»
«My word! what a thing to be melancholy about! Why, do you think I should be any happier if I were to feel disturbed about the excavations you tell me of?»
«It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise! I suppose you don't believe that you have a rival in that quarter?»
«Your insinuations as to rivalry are rather cynical, Hippolyte. I'm sorry to say I have no right to answer you! As for Gania, I put it to you, can any man have a happy mind after passing through what he has had to suffer?” source
«My word! what a thing to be melancholy about! Why, do you think I should be any happier if I were to feel disturbed about the excavations you tell me of?»
«It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise! I suppose you don't believe that you have a rival in that quarter?»
«Your insinuations as to rivalry are rather cynical, Hippolyte. I'm sorry to say I have no right to answer you! As for Gania, I put it to you, can any man have a happy mind after passing through what he has had to suffer?” source
Meaning and analysis
