Above all, don't lie to yourself.
Fyodor Dostoevsky The Brothers Karamazov, Book II, Chapter II (1880) Translated by Constance Garnett
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When and why it was written
- When
- From The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky's last novel, 1880.
- Why
- The elder Zossima is advising the boastful, self-deceiving Fyodor Karamazov.
What it means
Zossima goes on to explain that the person who lies to himself loses the ability to see the truth anywhere, and then the ability to love.
Honesty with yourself comes first because everything else depends on it.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
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The Brothers Karamazov, 1880
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