A fiance is neither this nor that: he's left one shore, but not yet reached the other.
Anton Chekhov

A good upbringing means not that you won't spill sauce on the tablecloth, but that you won't notice it when someone else does.
Anton Chekhov

A writer is not a confectioner, a cosmetic dealer, or an entertainer.
Anton Chekhov

Advertising is the very essence of democracy.
Anton Chekhov

All of life and human relations have become so incomprehensibly complex that, when you think about it, it becomes terrifying and your heart stands still.
Anton Chekhov

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
Anton Chekhov

Doctors are just the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob you and kill you too.
Anton Chekhov

Doctors are the same as lawyers; the only difference is that lawyers merely rob you, whereas doctors rob you and kill you too.
Anton Chekhov

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.
Anton Chekhov

Faith is an aptitude of the spirit. It is, in fact, a talent: you must be born with it.
Anton Chekhov


How unbearable at times are people who are happy, people for whom everything works out.
Anton Chekhov

I promise to be an excellent husband, but give me a wife who, like the moon, will not appear every day in my sky.
Anton Chekhov

If you are afraid of loneliness, do not marry.
Anton Chekhov

If you cry 'forward', you must without fail make plain in what direction to go.
Anton Chekhov

It's easier to write about Socrates than about a young woman or a cook.
Anton Chekhov

Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.
Anton Chekhov

Let us learn to appreciate there will be times when the trees will be bare, and look forward to the time when we may pick the fruit.
Anton Chekhov

Life does not agree with philosophy: There is no happiness that is not idleness, and only what is useless is pleasurable.
Anton Chekhov

Love, friendship and respect do not unite people as much as a common hatred for something.
Anton Chekhov

Man is what he believes.
Anton Chekhov