727 Quotes by Anton Chekhov

  • Author Anton Chekhov
  • Quote

    In descriptions of nature one must seize on small details, grouping them so that when the reader closes his eyes he gets a picture.

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  • Author Anton Chekhov
  • Quote

    I still lack a political, religious and philosophical world view – I change it every month – and so I’ll have to limit myself to descriptions of how my heroes love, marry, give birth, die, and how they speak.

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  • Author Anton Chekhov
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    If I were asked to chose between execution and life in prison I would, of course, chose the latter. It’s better to live somehow than not at all.

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  • Author Anton Chekhov
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    People should be beautiful in every way – in their faces, in the way they dress, in their thoughts, and in their innermost selves.

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  • Author Anton Chekhov
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    In displaying the psychology of your characters, minute particulars are essential. God save us from vague generalizations!

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  • Author Anton Chekhov
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    In short stories it is better to say not enough than to say too much, because, because – I don’t know why.

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  • Author Anton Chekhov
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    If you look at anything long enough, say just that wall in front of you – it will come out of that wall.

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  • Author Anton Chekhov
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    One can only call that youth healthful which refuses to be reconciled to old ways and which, foolishly or shrewdly, combats the old. This is nature’s charge and all progress hinges upon it.

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  • Author Anton Chekhov
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    If there’s any illness for which people offer many remedies, you may be sure that particular illness is incurable, I think.

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