Nicolas Gogol citations (39 citations)

Nicolas Gogol: 39 citations0 J'aime

Nicolas Gogol: Citations en anglais

“It is no use to blame the looking glass if your face is awry.”

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Nikolai Gogol livre The Government Inspector

Epigraph
The Inspector General (1836)

“Of course, Alexander the Great was a hero, but why smash the chairs?”

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Nikolai Gogol livre The Government Inspector

Epigraph; said of a history teacher who smashed a chair in his excitement when discussing the conqueror
The Inspector General (1836)

“The sergeant's widow told you a lie when she said I flogged her. I never flogged her. She flogged herself.”

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Nikolai Gogol livre The Government Inspector

Act IV, sc. xv
The Inspector General (1836)

“[Women's] boarding schools, as we know, hold the three principal subjects which constitute the basis of human virtue to be the French language (a thing indispensable to the happiness of married life), piano-playing (a thing wherewith to beguile a husband’s leisure moments), and that particular department of housewifery which is comprised in the knitting of purses and other “surprises.” Nevertheless changes and improvements have begun to take place, since things now are governed more by the personal inclinations and idiosyncracies of the keepers of such establishments. For instance, in some seminaries the regimen places piano-playing first, and the French language second, and then the above department of housewifery; while in other seminaries the knitting of “surprises” heads the list, and then the French language, and then the playing of pianos—so diverse are the systems in force!”

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Nikolai Gogol livre Dead Souls

Vol. 1, ch. 2
Dead Souls (1842)

“Oh troika, winged troika, tell me who invented you? Surely, nowhere but among a nimble nation could you have been born in a country which has taken itself in earnest and has evenly spread far and wide over half of the globe, so that once you start counting the milestones you may count on till a speckled haze dances before your eyes… Rus, are you not similar in your headlong motion to one of those nimble troikas that none can overtake? The flying road turns into smoke under you, bridges thunder and pass, all fall back and is left behind!… And what does this awesome motion mean? What is the passing strange steeds! Has the whirlwind a home in your manes?… Rus, whither are you speeding to? Answer me. No answer. The middle bell trills out in a dream its liquid soliloquy; the roaring air is torn to pieces and becomes wind; all things on earth fly by and other nations and states gaze askance as they step aside and give her the right of way.”

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Nikolai Gogol livre Dead Souls

Vol. I, ch. 11
Dead Souls (1842)

“As it is so strangely ordained in this world, what is amusing will turn into being gloomy, if you stand too long before it, and then God knows what ideas may not stray into the mind”

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Nikolai Gogol livre Dead Souls

Vol. I, ch. 3
Dead Souls (1842)
Contexte: As it is so strangely ordained in this world, what is amusing will turn into being gloomy, if you stand too long before it, and then God knows what ideas may not stray into the mind... Why is it that even in moments of unthinking, careless gaiety a different and strange mood comes upon one?

“Rus! Rus! I see you, from my lovely enchanted remoteness I see you”

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Nikolai Gogol livre Dead Souls

Vol. II, ch. 2
Dead Souls (1842)
Contexte: Rus! Rus! I see you, from my lovely enchanted remoteness I see you: a country of dinginess, and bleakness and dispersal; no arrogant wonders of nature crowned by the arrogant wonders of art appear within you to delight or terrify the eyes... So what is the incomprehensible secret force driving me towards you? Why do I constantly hear the echo of your mournful song as it is carried from the sea through your entire expanse?... And since you are without end yourself, is it not within you that a boundless thought will be born?

“Why do I constantly hear the echo of your mournful song as it is carried from the sea through your entire expanse?… And since you are without end yourself, is it not within you that a boundless thought will be born?”

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Nikolai Gogol livre Dead Souls

“I tell everyone very plainly that I take bribes, but what kind of bribes? Why, greyhound puppies. That's a totally different matter.”

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Nikolai Gogol livre The Government Inspector

Act I, sc. i
The Inspector General (1836)

“Dogs are clever fellows; they know all about politics […]”

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Nikolai Gogol livre Diary of a Madman

Diary of a Madman (1835)

“The more destruction there is everywhere, the more it shows the activity of town authorities.”