Evgenij Vodolazkin Quotes & Sayings

And so I, my love, am going to the very center of the earth. I am going to the point that is closest of all to Heaven. If my words are destined to fly all the way to Heaven, then it will happen there. And all my words will be about you. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

Angels do not tire, said the Angel, because they do not scrimp on their strength. If you are not thinking about the finiteness of your strength, you will not tire, either. Know, O Areseny, that only he who does not fear drowning is capable of walking on water. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

What is a soul?" Arseny asked.
It is what the Lord breathes into the body, what distinguishes us from rocks and plants. The soul makes us living beings, O Arseny. I compare the soul to a flame that originates in an earthly candle but has not earthly nature as it strives skyward, toward its kindred elements — Evgenij Vodolazkin

When Diogenes was asked how to live with the truth, he answered: Do as with fyre: do not go so exceadyngely close that it will burn, but do not go so farre away or the clode will reache you. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

People encounter one another (thought Ambrogio), bumping into one another like atoms. They do not have their own trajectories and so their actions are random. But when taken together, those random events (so thought Ambrogio) were their own form of consistency, which could be predictable in certain parts. Only He Who created everything knows this in full. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

Arsenius the Great: I have often regretted the things I have said, but I have never regretted my silence. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

So you say faith is not enough for you and you want knowledge, too. But knowledge does not involve spiritual effort; knowledge is obvious. Faith assumes effort. Knowledge is repose and faith is motion. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

The Lord remembers with love and does not let any small detail slip his memory. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

Your trouble is that reaching final conclusions just isn't your thing. You're afraid the decision you make will deprive you of further choice, so that paralyzes your will. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

Cristofer did not write because he feared forgetting something. He never forgot anything, even when he reached old age. For Cristofer, the written word seemed to regulate the world. Stop its fluctuations. Prevent notions from eroding. This is why Cristofer's sphere of interest was so broad. According to the writer's thinking, that sphere should correspond to the world's breadth.

Cristofer usually left his writings in the places where he had made them: on the bench, on the stove, on the woodpile. He did not pick them up when the fell to the floor: he vaguely anticipated their discovery, much later, in a cultural stratum. Cristofer understood that the written word would always remain that way. No matter what happened later, once it had been written, the word had already occurred. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

A miracle can be the result of effort multiplied by faith. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

The three men walked on and were met by ever more new saints. The saints were not exactly moving or even speaking, but the silence and immobility of the dead were not absolute. There was, under the ground, a motion that was not completely usual, and a particular sort of voices rang out without disturbing the sternness and repose. The saints spoke using words from psalms and lines from the lives of saints that Arseny remembered well from childhood. When they drew the candles closer, shadows shifted along dried faces and brown, half-bent hands. The saints seemed to raise their heads, smile, and beckon, barely perceptibly, with their hands. A city of saints, whispered Ambrogio, following the play of the shadow. They present us the illusion of life. No, objected Arseny, also in a whisper. They disprove the illusion of death. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

You know, O friend, any meeting is surely more than parting. There is emptiness before meeting someone, just nothing, but there is no longer emptiness after parting. After having met someone once, it is impossible to part completely. A person remains in the memory, as a part of the memory. The person created that part and that part lives, sometimes coming into contact with its creator. Otherwise, how would we sense those dear to us from a distance? — Evgenij Vodolazkin

Be her and be yourself, simultaneously. Be outrageous. Being pious is easy and pleasant, go ahead and make yourself hated. — Evgenij Vodolazkin

They embraced in parting. There were tears in the merchant's eyes:
"I do not like parting."
"Life consists of partings," said Arseny. "But you can rejoice more fully in companionship when you remember that."
"But I would (the merchant Vladislav blew his nose) gather up all the good people I've met and never let them go."
"I think then they would quickly become mean," smiled Ambrogio. (p. 238) — Evgenij Vodolazkin