Today’s literary quote of the day is from Fyodor Dostoevsky‘s Crime and Punishment:
‘What do you think?’ shouted Razumihin, louder than ever, ‘you think I am attacking them for talking nonsense? Not a bit! I like them to talk nonsense. That’s man’s one privilige over all creation. Through error you come to the truth! I am a man because I err! You never reach any truth without making fourteen mistakes and very likely a hundred and fourteen. And a fine thing, too, in its way, but we can’t even make mistakes on our own account! Talk nonsense, but talk your own nonsense, and I’ll kiss you for it. To go wrong in one’s own way is better than to go right in someone else’s. In the first case you are a man, in the second you’re no better than a bird. Truth won’t escape you, but life can be cramped. There have been examples. And what are we doing now? In science, development, thought, invention, ideals, aims, liberalism, judgement, experience and everything, everything, everything, we are still in the preparatory class at school. We prefer to live on other people’s ideas, it’s what we are used to! Am I right, am I right?’ cried Razumihim, pressing and shaking the two ladies’ hands.
As always, drop your thoughts on these quotes in the comment section of this post.
P.S.
H/t to Paul Silver who left a comment earlier today, in a different thread:
Good judgement comes from experience, Experience comes from bad judgement
I was conflicted about two specific ‘quotes’ from Crime and Punishment: I wasn’t sure which one to use. Paul’s comment made the decision much easier.
