To desire and expect nothing for oneself and to have profound sympathy for others is genuine holiness.
Ivan Turgenev

There are some moments in life, some feelings; one can only point to them and pass by.
Ivan Turgenev

I agree with no one's opinion. I have some of my own.
Ivan Turgenev

In the end, nature is inexorable: it has no reason to hurry and, sooner or later, it takes what belongs to it. Unconsciously and inflexibly obedient to its own laws, it doesn't know art, just as it doesn't know freedom, just as it doesn't know goodness.
Ivan Turgenev

Circumstances define us; they force us onto one road or another, and then they punish us for it.
Ivan Turgenev

Time sometimes flies like a bird, sometimes crawls like a snail; but a man is happiest when he does not even notice whether it passes swiftly or slowly.
Ivan Turgenev

Time, as is well known, sometimes flies like a bird and sometimes crawls like a worm, but human beings are generally particularly happy when they don't notice whether it's passing quickly or slowly.
Ivan Turgenev

Whatever a person may pray for, that person prays for a miracle. Every prayer comes down to this - Almighty God, grant that two times two not equal four.
Ivan Turgenev