23 May 2026
Brother, I have not grown downhearted or low-spirited. Life is everywhere, life is in ourselves and not in the external. There will be people near me, and to be a human being among human beings, and remain one forever, not to be downcast nor to falter: this is what life is, herein lies its task.
Letter to Mikhail Dostoevsky, December 22, 1849