“When a man is in despair, it means that he still believes in something.”

— Dmitri Shostakovich , book Testimony

Page 175
Testimony (1979)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "When a man is in despair, it means that he still believes in something." by Dmitri Shostakovich?

Dmitri Shostakovich 32

Russian composer and pianist 1906–1975

Related quotes

“Someone in despair despairs over something. So, for a moment, it seems, but only for a moment. That same instant the true despair shows itself, or despair in its true guise. In despairing over something he was really despairing over himself, and he wants now to be rid of himself.”

Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism

Source: 1840s, The Sickness unto Death (July 30, 1849), p. 49

“When a man says he does not want to speak of something he usually means he can think of nothing else.”

John Steinbeck book East of Eden

Source: East of Eden

“If a man says something in the woods and there are no women there, is he still wrong?”

Steven Wright (1955) American actor and author

“Even if you don't believe in God, you still have to believe in something that gives meaning to your life, and shapes your sense of the world. Such a belief is religious.”

Michael Crichton book State of Fear

State of Fear (2004)
Context: I think that you cannot eliminate religion from the psyche of mankind. If you suppress it in one form, it merely emerges in another form. Even if you don't believe in God, you still have to believe in something that gives meaning to your life, and shapes your sense of the world. Such a belief is religious.