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It was only the vulgarly mediocre that repelled her.

Ivan Turgenev

We Russians have assigned ourselves no other task in life but the cultivation of our own personalities, and when we’re barely past childhood, we set to work to cultivate them, those unfortunate personalities.
IVAN TURGENEV

Childhood Cultivation Life Ourselves Past Personality Task
Even nightingales can’t be fed on fairy tales.
IVAN TURGENEV

Bird Fairy Tale Feed
We sit in the mud and reach for the stars.
IVAN TURGENEV

Reach Stars
Nature is not a temple, but a workshop, and man’s the workman in it.
IVAN TURGENEV

Man Nature Temple Workshop
Great God, grant that twice two be not four.
IVAN TURGENEV

God Greatness Mathematics
Death is like a fisherman, who, having caught a fish in his net, leaves it in the water for a time; the fish continues to swim about, but all the while the net is round it, and the fisherman will snatch it out in his own good time.
IVAN TURGENEV

Death Goodness Leaving Time Water
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

Equality Miracle Person Prayer
I walked in the meadows of green grieving for my life.
IVAN TURGENEV

Grieve Life Meadow Myself Walk
There are some moments in life, some feelings; one can only point to them and pass by.
IVAN TURGENEV

Feeling Life Moments Pass Point
Sternly, remorselessly, fate guides each of us; only at the beginning, when we’re absorbed in details, in all sorts of nonsense, in ourselves, are we unaware of its harsh hand.
IVAN TURGENEV

Beginning Detail Fate Guide Hands Harsh Ourselves
In my case there was no first love. I began with the second.
IVAN TURGENEV

Beginning Love Myself
The past was a dream wasn’t it? And who ever remembers dreams?
IVAN TURGENEV

Dreams Past Remember
What’s terrible is that there’s nothing terrible, that the very essence of life is petty, uninteresting, and degradingly trite.
IVAN TURGENEV

Degrade Essence Life Terrible
I never started from ideas but always from character.
IVAN TURGENEV

Character Ideas Myself Start
We’re young, we’re not monsters, no fools: we’ll conquer happiness for ourselves.
IVAN TURGENEV

Fools Happiness Monster Ourselves Young
It was only the vulgarly mediocre that repelled her.
IVAN TURGENEV

Average Herself Mediocre Vulgar

It was only the vulgarly mediocre that repelled her.

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It was only the vulgarly mediocre that repelled her.

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