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Vasily Grossman Quotes

Another fact that allowed Fascism to gain power over men was their blindness. A man cannot believe that he is about to be destroyed. The optimism of people standing on the edge of the grave is astounding Picture Quote #1

Our Soviet writer must be guided in his world only by the need of the people, useful for the society Picture Quote #1

No, we have not destroyed it. Let it sit. We cannot change it's fate Picture Quote #1

There is a deep and undeniable sadness in all this: whenever we see the dawn of an eternal good that will never be overcome by evil – an evil that is itself eternal but will never succeed in overcoming good – whenever we see this dawn, the blood of old people and children is always shed Picture Quote #1

Why should we add your book to the atomic weapons arrayed against us by our enemies. Publication of your book would help our enemies Picture Quote #1

We would only multiply the number of victims. Our duty is to strengthen the state and defend the people, why, then, should we publish your book Picture Quote #1

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You know what enormous harm we have been dealt by the publication of Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. Everybody who has read your book, everybody who has seen the reviews are convinced that the potential harm from your Life and Fate would be far more dangerous than that of Doctor Zhivago Picture Quote #1

In the cruel and terrible time in which our generation has been condemned to live on this earth, we must never make peace with evil. We must never become indifferent to others or undemanding of ourselves Picture Quote #1

The history of humanity is the history of human freedom... Freedom is not, as Engels thought,

This absolute lack of objectivity might be said to resemble nothing so much as the lack of objectivity these same people had shown during Stalin's life, when they had been so supremely worshipful of his mind and strength of will, of his foresight and genius. Their hysterical worship of Stalin and their total and unconditional rejection of him sprang from the same soil Picture Quote #1

What constitutes the character of a nation is the character of many individual human beings; every national character is in essence, simply human nature. All the worlds nations, therefore, have a great deal in common with one another. The foundation of any national character is human nature. The foundation of national character is simply a particular colouring taken on by human nature, a particular crystallisation of it Picture Quote #1

The true champions of a nation's freedom are those who reject the limitations of stereotypes and affirm the rich diversity of human nature to be found Picture Quote #1

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The nationalism of a small nation can, with treacherous ease, become detached from its roots in what is noble and human. It then become pitiful, making the nation appear smaller rather than greater. It is the same with nations as with individuals; while trying to draw attention to the inadequacies of others, people all too often reveal their own Picture Quote #1

He sensed death with a depth and clarity of which only small children or great philosophers are capable, philosophers who are themselves almost childlike in the power and simplicity of their thinking Picture Quote #1

Does human nature undergo a true change in the cauldron of totalitarian violence? Does man lose his innate yearning for freedom? The fate of both man and the totalitarian State depends on the answer to this question. If human nature does change, then the eternal and world-wide triumph of the dictatorial State is assured; if his yearning for freedom remains constant, then the totalitarian State is doomed Picture Quote #1

The more they talked and argued, the less they understood each other. In the end they fell silent, full of mutual contempt and hatred. And in this silence of the dumb and these speeches of the blind, in this medley of people bound together by the same grief, terror and hope, in this hatred and lack of understanding between men who spoke the same tongue, you could see much of the tragedy of the twentieth century Picture Quote #1

They soon lost interest in Sofya. She was just one more prisoner -with no more idea of her destination than anyone else. No one asked her name and patronymic; no one remembered her surname. She realized with surprise that although the process of evolution had taken millions of years, these people had needed only a few days to revert to the state of cattle, dirty and unhappy, captive and nameless Picture Quote #1

'Thousands of people are being buried and no one attends the funerals,' said one of the soldiers. 'in peacetime it's the other way round: one coffin and a hundred people carrying flowers.' Picture Quote #1

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The hide was being flayed off the still living body of the revolution so that a new age could slip in to it; as for the red bloody meat, the steaming innards - they were being thrown onto the scrapheap. The new age needed only the hide of the revolution - and this was being flayed off people who were still alive. Those who slipped into it spoke the language of the revolution and mimicked it's gestures, but their brains, lungs, livers and eyes were utterly different Picture Quote #1

The longer a nation's history, the more wars, invasions, wanderings, and periods of captivity it has seen-the greater the diversity of its faces Picture Quote #1

At the same time there was the good of the poor and the good of the rich. And the good of the whites, the blacks and the yellow races... More and more goods came into being, corresponding to each sect, race and class... People began to realise how much blood had been spilt in the name of a petty, doubtful good, in the name of the struggle of this petty good against what is belied to be evil. Sometimes the very concept of good became a scourge, a greater evil than evil itself Picture Quote #1

A mountain had died, its skeleton had been scattered over the ground. Time had aged the mountain; time had killed the mountain-and here lay the mountain's bones Picture Quote #1

And the greatest tragedy of our age is we don't listen to our consciences. We don't say what we think. We feel one thing and do another Picture Quote #1

Jenny lacked any sense of property - she was constantly apologising to Yevgenia and asking for her permission to open the small upper window in order to let in her elderly tabby cat. Her main interests and worries centered around this cat and how to protect it from her neighbors... She fed her own rations to the cat, whom she called 'my dear, silver child' The cat adored her; he was a rough sullen beast, but would become suddenly animated and affectionate when he saw her Picture Quote #1

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Man and fascism cannot co-exist. If fascism conquers, man will cease to exist and there will remain only man-like creatures that have undergone an internal transformation. But if man, man who is endowed with reason and kindness, should conquer, then Fascism must perish, and those who have submitted to it will once again become people Picture Quote #1

Both his voice and eyes had the burning cold of alcohol. His strength no longer lay in his military experience or his knowledge of the map, but in his harsh, impetuous soul Picture Quote #1

I don't want you to be young and beautiful. I only want one thing. I want you to be kind-hearted - and not just towards cats and dogs Picture Quote #1

Everything that lives is unique. It is unimaginable that two people, or two briar-roses, should be identical... If you attempt to erase the peculiarities and individuality of life by violence, then life itself must suffocate Picture Quote #1

Among a million Russian huts you will never find even two that are exactly the same. Everything that lives is unique. It is unimaginable that two people, or two briar-roses, should be identical... If you attempt to erase the peculiarities and individuality of life by violence, then life itself must suffocate Picture Quote #1

It is impossible to publish your book, and it will not be published in the next 200 years Picture Quote #1

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Friendship Quotes

Motivational Quotes

Inspirational Quotes

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Text Quotes

Another fact that allowed Fascism to gain power over men was their blindness. A man cannot believe that he is about to be destroyed. The optimism of people standing on the edge of the grave is astounding (Vasily Grossman Quotes) Our Soviet writer must be guided in his world only by the need of the people, useful for the society (Vasily Grossman Quotes) No, we have not destroyed it. Let it sit. We cannot change it's fate (Vasily Grossman Quotes) There is a deep and undeniable sadness in all this: whenever we see the dawn of an eternal good that will never be overcome by evil – an evil that is itself eternal but will never succeed in overcoming good – whenever we see this dawn, the blood of old people and children is always shed (Vasily Grossman Quotes) Why should we add your book to the atomic weapons arrayed against us by our enemies. Publication of your book would help our enemies (Vasily Grossman Quotes) We would only multiply the number of victims. Our duty is to strengthen the state and defend the people, why, then, should we publish your book (Vasily Grossman Quotes) You know what enormous harm we have been dealt by the publication of Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago. Everybody who has read your book, everybody who has seen the reviews are convinced that the potential harm from your Life and Fate would be far more dangerous than that of Doctor Zhivago (Vasily Grossman Quotes) In the cruel and terrible time in which our generation has been condemned to live on this earth, we must never make peace with evil. We must never become indifferent to others or undemanding of ourselves (Vasily Grossman Quotes) The history of humanity is the history of human freedom... Freedom is not, as Engels thought, "the recognition of necessity." Freedom is the opposite of necessity. Freedom is necessity overcome. Progress is, in essence, the progressof human freedom. Yes, and after all, life itself is freedom. The evolution of life is the evolution of freedom (Vasily Grossman Quotes) This absolute lack of objectivity might be said to resemble nothing so much as the lack of objectivity these same people had shown during Stalin's life, when they had been so supremely worshipful of his mind and strength of will, of his foresight and genius. Their hysterical worship of Stalin and their total and unconditional rejection of him sprang from the same soil (Vasily Grossman Quotes) What constitutes the character of a nation is the character of many individual human beings; every national character is in essence, simply human nature. All the worlds nations, therefore, have a great deal in common with one another. The foundation of any national character is human nature. The foundation of national character is simply a particular colouring taken on by human nature, a particular crystallisation of it (Vasily Grossman Quotes) The true champions of a nation's freedom are those who reject the limitations of stereotypes and affirm the rich diversity of human nature to be found (Vasily Grossman Quotes) The nationalism of a small nation can, with treacherous ease, become detached from its roots in what is noble and human. It then become pitiful, making the nation appear smaller rather than greater. It is the same with nations as with individuals; while trying to draw attention to the inadequacies of others, people all too often reveal their own (Vasily Grossman Quotes) He sensed death with a depth and clarity of which only small children or great philosophers are capable, philosophers who are themselves almost childlike in the power and simplicity of their thinking (Vasily Grossman Quotes) Does human nature undergo a true change in the cauldron of totalitarian violence? Does man lose his innate yearning for freedom? The fate of both man and the totalitarian State depends on the answer to this question. If human nature does change, then the eternal and world-wide triumph of the dictatorial State is assured; if his yearning for freedom remains constant, then the totalitarian State is doomed (Vasily Grossman Quotes) The more they talked and argued, the less they understood each other. In the end they fell silent, full of mutual contempt and hatred. And in this silence of the dumb and these speeches of the blind, in this medley of people bound together by the same grief, terror and hope, in this hatred and lack of understanding between men who spoke the same tongue, you could see much of the tragedy of the twentieth century (Vasily Grossman Quotes) They soon lost interest in Sofya. She was just one more prisoner -with no more idea of her destination than anyone else. No one asked her name and patronymic; no one remembered her surname. She realized with surprise that although the process of evolution had taken millions of years, these people had needed only a few days to revert to the state of cattle, dirty and unhappy, captive and nameless (Vasily Grossman Quotes) 'Thousands of people are being buried and no one attends the funerals,' said one of the soldiers. 'in peacetime it's the other way round: one coffin and a hundred people carrying flowers.' (Vasily Grossman Quotes) The hide was being flayed off the still living body of the revolution so that a new age could slip in to it; as for the red bloody meat, the steaming innards - they were being thrown onto the scrapheap. The new age needed only the hide of the revolution - and this was being flayed off people who were still alive. Those who slipped into it spoke the language of the revolution and mimicked it's gestures, but their brains, lungs, livers and eyes were utterly different (Vasily Grossman Quotes) The longer a nation's history, the more wars, invasions, wanderings, and periods of captivity it has seen-the greater the diversity of its faces (Vasily Grossman Quotes) At the same time there was the good of the poor and the good of the rich. And the good of the whites, the blacks and the yellow races... More and more goods came into being, corresponding to each sect, race and class... People began to realise how much blood had been spilt in the name of a petty, doubtful good, in the name of the struggle of this petty good against what is belied to be evil. Sometimes the very concept of good became a scourge, a greater evil than evil itself (Vasily Grossman Quotes) A mountain had died, its skeleton had been scattered over the ground. Time had aged the mountain; time had killed the mountain-and here lay the mountain's bones (Vasily Grossman Quotes) And the greatest tragedy of our age is we don't listen to our consciences. We don't say what we think. We feel one thing and do another (Vasily Grossman Quotes) Jenny lacked any sense of property - she was constantly apologising to Yevgenia and asking for her permission to open the small upper window in order to let in her elderly tabby cat. Her main interests and worries centered around this cat and how to protect it from her neighbors... She fed her own rations to the cat, whom she called 'my dear, silver child' The cat adored her; he was a rough sullen beast, but would become suddenly animated and affectionate when he saw her (Vasily Grossman Quotes) Man and fascism cannot co-exist. If fascism conquers, man will cease to exist and there will remain only man-like creatures that have undergone an internal transformation. But if man, man who is endowed with reason and kindness, should conquer, then Fascism must perish, and those who have submitted to it will once again become people (Vasily Grossman Quotes) Both his voice and eyes had the burning cold of alcohol. His strength no longer lay in his military experience or his knowledge of the map, but in his harsh, impetuous soul (Vasily Grossman Quotes) I don't want you to be young and beautiful. I only want one thing. I want you to be kind-hearted - and not just towards cats and dogs (Vasily Grossman Quotes) Everything that lives is unique. It is unimaginable that two people, or two briar-roses, should be identical... If you attempt to erase the peculiarities and individuality of life by violence, then life itself must suffocate (Vasily Grossman Quotes) Among a million Russian huts you will never find even two that are exactly the same. Everything that lives is unique. It is unimaginable that two people, or two briar-roses, should be identical... If you attempt to erase the peculiarities and individuality of life by violence, then life itself must suffocate (Vasily Grossman Quotes) It is impossible to publish your book, and it will not be published in the next 200 years (Vasily Grossman Quotes)

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