„Člověk se narodil proto, aby žil, ne proto, aby se na život připravoval.“
Varianta: člověk se rodí proto, aby žil, a ne, aby se na život připravoval.
Boris Leonidovič Pasternak citáty
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Boris Leonidovič Pasternak
Datum narození: 10. únor 1890
Datum úmrtí: 30. květen 1960
Boris Leonidovič Pasternak byl ruský básník a spisovatel, nositel Nobelovy ceny za literaturu z roku 1958.
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Citáty Boris Leonidovič Pasternak
„Každá stádnost je útočištěm netalentovaných, bez ohledu na to, zda je to věrnost Solovjovovi, Kantovi nebo Marxovi. Pravdu hledají jen osamělí jedinci, a ti se rozcházejí se všemi, kteří ji dost nemilují.“
— Boris Leonidovič Pasternak, kniha Doktor Živago
Varianta: Každá stádovitost je útočištěm netalentovaných, bez ohledu na to, zda je to věrnost Soloviovovi, Kantovi nebo Marxovi. Pravdu hledají jen osamělí jedinci, a ti se rozcházejí se všemi, kteří ji dost nemilují.
„Na prvním místě není autor a stav jeho duše, pro který hledá vyjádření, ale jazyk, kterým jej chce vyjádřit. Jazyk, ta vlast a pokladnice krásy a smyslu, začíná sám myslet a mluvit za člověka a celý se proměňuje v hudbu, nikoliv vnějším, slyšitelným zvukem, ale dravostí a majestátností svého vnitřního pohybu.“
— Boris Leonidovič Pasternak, kniha Doktor Živago
„V umění člověk mlčí a obrazy promlouvají.“
Zdroj: [Hamburger, Michael, 1982, The truth of poetry, 193, en, 0-416-34240-X]
„You are eternity's hostage
A captive of time.“
Poem "Night" (Ночь), from When the Weather Clears (Kogda razgulyaetsya, 1957) — as quoted in One Less Hope: Essays on Twentieth-century Russian Poets (2006) by Constantin V. Ponomareff, p. 130
Kontext: Don't sleep, don't sleep, artist,
Don't give in to sleep.
You are eternity's hostage
A captive of time.
„Only individuals seek the truth.“
— Borís Pasternak, kniha Doktor Živago
Doctor Zhivago (1957)
Kontext: Gregariousness is always the refuge of mediocrities, whether they swear by Solovyov or Kant or Marx. Only individuals seek the truth.
„The idea that underlies this is that communion between mortals is immortal, and that the whole of life is symbolic because it is meaningful.“
— Borís Pasternak, kniha Doktor Živago
Book One, Ch. 2 : A Girl from a Different World, § 10, as translated by Max Hayward and Manya Harari (1958)
Variant translations:
I think that if the beast dormant in man could be stopped by the threat of, whatever, the lockup or requital beyond the grave, the highest emblem of mankind would be a lion tamer with his whip, and not the preacher who sacrifices himself. But the point is precisely this, that for centuries man has been raised above the animals and borne aloft not by the rod, but by music: the irresistibility of the unarmed truth, the attraction of its example. It has been considered up to now that the most important thing in the Gospels is the moral pronouncements and rules, but for me the main thing is that Christ speaks in parables from daily life, clarifying the truth with the light of everyday things. At the basis of this lies the thought that communion among mortals is immortal and that life is symbolic because it is meaningful.
Book One, Part 2 : A Girl from a Different World, § 10, as translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (2010)
I think that if the beast who sleeps in man could be held down by threats of any kind, whether of jail or retribution, then the highest emblem of humanity would be the lion tamer, not the prophet who sacrificed himself.... What for centuries raised man above the beast is not the cudgel but the irresistible power of unarmed truth.
Paraphrase of the 1958 translation, as quoted in The New York Times (1 January 1978)
Doctor Zhivago (1957)
Kontext: I think that if the beast who sleeps in man could be held down by threats — any kind of threat, whether of jail or of retribution after death — then the highest emblem of humanity would be the lion tamer in the circus with his whip, not the prophet who sacrificed himself. But don’t you see, this is just the point — what has for centuries raised man above the beast is not the cudgel but an inward music: the irresistible power of unarmed truth, the powerful attraction of its example. It has always been assumed that the most important things in the Gospels are the ethical maxims and commandments. But for me the most important thing is that Christ speaks in parables taken from life, that He explains the truth in terms of everyday reality. The idea that underlies this is that communion between mortals is immortal, and that the whole of life is symbolic because it is meaningful.
„I think that if the beast who sleeps in man could be held down by threats — any kind of threat, whether of jail or of retribution after death — then the highest emblem of humanity would be the lion tamer in the circus with his whip, not the prophet who sacrificed himself.“
— Borís Pasternak, kniha Doktor Živago
Book One, Ch. 2 : A Girl from a Different World, § 10, as translated by Max Hayward and Manya Harari (1958)
Variant translations:
I think that if the beast dormant in man could be stopped by the threat of, whatever, the lockup or requital beyond the grave, the highest emblem of mankind would be a lion tamer with his whip, and not the preacher who sacrifices himself. But the point is precisely this, that for centuries man has been raised above the animals and borne aloft not by the rod, but by music: the irresistibility of the unarmed truth, the attraction of its example. It has been considered up to now that the most important thing in the Gospels is the moral pronouncements and rules, but for me the main thing is that Christ speaks in parables from daily life, clarifying the truth with the light of everyday things. At the basis of this lies the thought that communion among mortals is immortal and that life is symbolic because it is meaningful.
Book One, Part 2 : A Girl from a Different World, § 10, as translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (2010)
I think that if the beast who sleeps in man could be held down by threats of any kind, whether of jail or retribution, then the highest emblem of humanity would be the lion tamer, not the prophet who sacrificed himself.... What for centuries raised man above the beast is not the cudgel but the irresistible power of unarmed truth.
Paraphrase of the 1958 translation, as quoted in The New York Times (1 January 1978)
Doctor Zhivago (1957)
Kontext: I think that if the beast who sleeps in man could be held down by threats — any kind of threat, whether of jail or of retribution after death — then the highest emblem of humanity would be the lion tamer in the circus with his whip, not the prophet who sacrificed himself. But don’t you see, this is just the point — what has for centuries raised man above the beast is not the cudgel but an inward music: the irresistible power of unarmed truth, the powerful attraction of its example. It has always been assumed that the most important things in the Gospels are the ethical maxims and commandments. But for me the most important thing is that Christ speaks in parables taken from life, that He explains the truth in terms of everyday reality. The idea that underlies this is that communion between mortals is immortal, and that the whole of life is symbolic because it is meaningful.
„Your health is bound to be affected if, day after day, you say the opposite of what you feel, if you grovel before what you dislike, and rejoice at what brings you nothing but misfortune.“
— Borís Pasternak, kniha Doktor Živago
As quoted in "Boris Pasternak" in I.F. Stone's Weekly (3 November 1958), § "Words Which Apply to Us As Well As Russia"; later in The Best of I.F. Stone (2006), p. 43
Doctor Zhivago (1957)
Kontext: The great majority of us are required to live a life of constant duplicity. Your health is bound to be affected if, day after day, you say the opposite of what you feel, if you grovel before what you dislike, and rejoice at what brings you nothing but misfortune. Our nervous system isn't just a fiction, it's part of our physical body, and our souls exists in space and is inside us, like the teeth in the mouth. It can't forever be violated with impunity.
