The quotations of

Anton Chekhov

Russian dramatist and author

1860–1904

32 quotes, most often on Writing, Beauty and Life & Death.

Lying is the same as alcoholism. Liars prevaricate even on their deathbeds.
Letter to A.N. Pleshcheev (October 9, 1888)
- Truth & Lies
A man who doesn’t drink is not, in my opinion, fully a man.
Letter to N.A. Leikin (May 8, 1895)
- Men
When an actor has money, he doesn’t send letters but telegrams.
Note-Book of Anton Chekhov (1921)
- Acting
- Money
When a person expends the least amount of motion on one action, that is grace.
Letter to Maxim Gorky (January 3, 1899)
- Beauty
There should be more sincerity and heart in human relations, more silence and simplicity in our interactions. Be rude when you’re angry, laugh when something is funny, and answer when you’re asked.
Letter to his brother, A.P. Chekhov (October 13, 1888)
- Advice
Love, friendship, respect, do not unite people as much as a common hatred for something.
Note-Book of Anton Chekhov (1921)
- Friendship
- Love
The person who wants nothing, hopes for nothing, and fears nothing can never be an artist.
Letter to A.S. Suvorin (November 25, 1892)
- Art
It’s not a matter of old or new forms; a person writes without thinking about any forms, he writes because it flows freely from his soul.
The Seagull (1896), Act IV
- Writing
Each of us is full of too many wheels, screws and valves to permit us to judge one another on a first impression or by two or three external signs.
Ivanov, Act III, sc. vi (1887)
- Character
People should be beautiful in every way⁠—in their faces, in the way they dress, in their thoughts and in their innermost selves.
Uncle Vanya (1897), Act II
- Beauty
If there’s any illness for which people offer many remedies, you may be sure that particular illness is incurable
The Cherry Orchard (1904), Act One, spoken by GaevIn context
- Health
We shall rest. We shall hear the angels. We shall see heaven shining like a jewel. We shall see all evil and all our pain sink away in the great compassion that shall enfold the world. Our life will be as peaceful and tender and sweet as a caress. I have faith; I have faith.
Uncle Vanya (1897), Act IV, spoken by SoniaIn context
A human being should be entirely beautiful: the face, the clothes, the mind, the thoughts.
Uncle Vanya (1897), Act II, spoken by AstroffIn context
- Beauty
- Character
Man is endowed with reason and the power to create, so that he may increase that which has been given him, but until now he has not created, but demolished. The forests are disappearing, the rivers are running dry, the game is exterminated, the climate is spoiled, and the earth becomes poorer and uglier every day.
Uncle Vanya (1897), Act I, spoken by AstroffIn context
- Nature
When a woman is ugly they always say she has beautiful hair or eyes.
Uncle Vanya (1897), Act III, spoken by SoniaIn context
- Beauty
- Women

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