Boris Pasternak Quotes

A collection of quotes by Boris Pasternak.

Boris Pasternak was a prominent Russian poet, novelist, and translator, born on February 10, 1890, in Moscow, Russia. He grew up in an artistic and intellectual family, with his father being a prominent painter. Following in his father's footsteps, Pasternak initially pursued a career in music, studying composition in Moscow and Berlin.

However, he soon found his true passion in writing, and in the early 1910s, he embarked on a successful literary career. Pasternak's poetry often explored themes of love, nature, faith, and existentialism, gaining him recognition as one of the leading voices of Russian symbolism and acmeism movements.

In addition to his poetry, Pasternak is best known for his novel "Doctor Zhivago," published in 1957. Set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath, the novel explores the life and emotions of its protagonist, Yuri Zhivago. Despite facing controversy and condemnation in his homeland, Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958.

However, due to political pressure, he declined the honor. Nevertheless, "Doctor Zhivago" gained worldwide acclaim and was eventually adapted into a highly celebrated film. His works and their portrayal of the human experience, often intertwined with political and social turmoil, have made a lasting impact on Russian literature.

Boris Pasternak passed away on May 30, 1960, in Peredelkino, Russia, leaving behind a profound literary legacy. Today, he is remembered as an influential and courageous voice in Russian literature.

What for centuries raised man above the beast is not the cud

What for centuries raised man above the beast is not the cudgel but the irresistible power of unarmed truth.

Boris Pasternak

Truth Power Man

They don't ask much of you. They only want you to hate the t

They don't ask much of you. They only want you to hate the things you love and to love the things you despise.

Boris Pasternak

Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching

Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation's tears in shoulder blades.

Boris Pasternak

Work is the order of the day, just as it was at one time, wi

Work is the order of the day, just as it was at one time, with our first starts and our best efforts. Do you remember? Therein lies its delight. It brings back the forgotten; one's stores of energy, seemingly exhausted, come back to life.

Boris Pasternak

Life Time Work Order Effort Thetimes

No one makes history, no one sees it happen, no one sees the

No one makes history, no one sees it happen, no one sees the grass grow.

Boris Pasternak

Am I a gangster or a murderer? Of what crime do I stand Cond

Am I a gangster or a murderer? Of what crime do I stand Condemned? I made the whole world weep At the beauty of my land.

Boris Pasternak

As for the men in power, they are so anxious to establish th

As for the men in power, they are so anxious to establish the myth of infallibility that they do their utmost to ignore truth.

Boris Pasternak

Men Truth Power

Everything established, settled, everything to do with home

Everything established, settled, everything to do with home and order and the common ground, has crumbled into dust and has been swept away in the general upheaval and reorganization of the whole of society. The whole human way of life has been destroyed and ruined. All that's left is the bare, shivering human soul, stripped to the last shred, the naked force of the human psyche for which nothing has changed because it was always cold and shivering and reaching out to its nearest neighbor, as cold and lonely as itself.

Boris Pasternak

Ecco che cos'era la vita, che cos'era l'esperienza, che cosa

Ecco che cos'era la vita, che cos'era l'esperienza, che cosa inseguivano coloro che andavano in cerca di avventure, ecco a che cosa mirava l'arte: ritornare a casa propria, ai propri affetti, riprendere la vita

Boris Pasternak

Life Home Casa Vita

Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.

Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.

Boris Pasternak

Life Gift Which

I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass.

I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass. It will also be necessary to bend down to hear it. It will always be too simple to be discussed in assemblies.

Boris Pasternak

Literature is the art of discovering something extraordinary

Literature is the art of discovering something extraordinary about ordinary people, and saying with ordinary words something extraordinary.

Boris Pasternak

At the moment of childbirth, every woman has the same aura o

At the moment of childbirth, every woman has the same aura of isolation, as though she were abandoned, alone.

Boris Pasternak

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have been worth the Nobel Prize.

Richard Feynman

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have been worth the Nobel Prize.

Richard Feynman

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have been worth the Nobel Prize.

Richard Feynman

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have been worth the Nobel Prize.

Richard Feynman

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have been worth the Nobel Prize.

Richard Feynman

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have

If I could explain it to the average person, I wouldn't have been worth the Nobel Prize.

Richard Feynman

Art has two constant, two unending concerns: It always medit

Art has two constant, two unending concerns: It always meditates on death and thus always creates life. All great, genuine art resembles and continues the Revelation of St John.

Boris Pasternak