--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...There,in his foul, stinking cellar…" description: "\"“...There,in his foul, stinking cellar, our offended, down-trodden and ridiculed mouse immerses himself in cold, venomous and, cheifly, everlasting spi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ee/dostoyevsky-fyodor-50935_revenge_there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-of_1315296.jpg" --- # ...There,in his foul, stinking cellar, our offended… ![“...There,in his foul, stinking cellar, our offended, down-trodden and ridiculed mouse immerses himself in cold, venomous and, cheifly, everlasting spite. For forty years on end he will remember the offence, down to the smallest and most shameful detail, constantly adding more shameful details of…” quote by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ee/dostoyevsky-fyodor-50935_revenge_there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-of_1315296.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ee/dostoyevsky-fyodor-50935_revenge_there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-of_1315296.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ee/dostoyevsky-fyodor-50935_revenge_there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-of_1315296.jpg) > ““...There,in his foul, stinking cellar, our offended, down-trodden and ridiculed mouse immerses himself in cold, venomous and, cheifly, everlasting spite. For forty years on end he will remember the offence, down to the smallest and most shameful detail, constantly adding more shameful details of his own, maliciously teasing and irritating himself with his own fantasies. He himself will be ashamed of his fantasies, but nevertheless he will remember all of them, weighing them up and inventing all sorts of things that never happend to him, on the pretext that they too could have happend and he'll forgive nothing. Probably he'll start taking his revenge, but somehow in fits and starts, pettily, anonymously, from behind the stove, believing neither in his right to take revenge, nor in the success of his revenge and knowing beforehand that he will suffer one hundred times more from every single one of his attempts at revenge than the object of his revenge, who, most likely, wont't give a damn.”” [Dostoyevsky, Fyodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoyevsky-fyodor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person consumed by grudges and imagined offenses lives in perpetual self‑torment, plotting petty, futile revenge that only deepens his own suffering. **In simple terms:** Holding grudges creates endless suffering and pointless revenge. Key Takeaway Release resentment to avoid self‑destruction. Themes resentent revenge self‑torment psychology humor Mood brooding ironic reflective Type aphorical philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal relationships - legal disputes - workplace conflicts - political activism - online debates Key Concepts existentialism psychological conflict self‑sabotage Questions to Reflect On - What grudges are you holding? - How can you transform resentment into constructive action? A Different Perspective Even imagined offenses can dominate thoughts, leading to harmful cycles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Revenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) ## Related quotes > [“There in its nasty, stinking, underground home our insulted, crushed and ridiculed mouse promptly becomes absorbed in cold, malignant and, above all, everlasting spite.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/there-in-its-nasty-stinking-underground-home-our-insulted-crushed-and/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [I am not vindictive, but very forgiving. 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There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-best-revenge-is-to-be-unlike-him-who-performed-the-injury/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [If someone steals my man, there's no better revenge than letting her keep him. 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Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler ## More by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor > [“A novel requires a hero, and here there's a deliberate collection of all the traits for an anti-hero”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoyevsky-fyodor/a-novel-requires-a-hero-and-here-there-s-a-deliberate-collection-of/) [Dostoyevsky, Fyodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoyevsky-fyodor/) > [“I know that, like many other writers, I have many faults, for I am the first to be dissatisfied with myself . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoyevsky-fyodor/i-know-that-like-many-other-writers-i-have-many-faults-for-i-am-the/) [Dostoyevsky, Fyodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoyevsky-fyodor/) > [“A strange idea was pecking at his brain like a chicken in the egg, and very, very much absorbed him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoyevsky-fyodor/a-strange-idea-was-pecking-at-his-brain-like-a-chicken-in-the-egg-and/) [Dostoyevsky, Fyodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoyevsky-fyodor/) > [“Oh, gentlemen, perhaps I really regard myself as an intelligent man only because throughout my entire life I’ve never been able to start or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoyevsky-fyodor/oh-gentlemen-perhaps-i-really-regard-myself-as-an-intelligent-man-2/) [Dostoyevsky, Fyodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoyevsky-fyodor/) > [“After all, man may be fond not only of well-being. 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Jagadeesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-s-jagadeesh-kumar/) > [Revenge is a dish better severed cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushan/revenge-is-a-dish-better-severed-cold/) [Sushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushan/) > [The best revenge in the world is success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suge-knight/the-best-revenge-in-the-world-is-success/) [Suge Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suge-knight/) > [And, re-assembling our afflicted powers, consult how we may henceforth most offend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-re-assembling-our-afflicted-powers-consult-how-we-may-henceforth/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. 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A real man can't be stolen unless he wants to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/if-someone-steals-my-man-there-s-no-better-revenge-than-letting-her/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/the-best-revenge-is-to-be-unlike-him-who-performed-the-injury/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [But I believed in starting over. 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Despite being wronged, I never took revenge on anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rituparna-sengupta/i-am-not-vindictive-but-very-forgiving-despite-being-wronged-i-never/) [Rituparna Sengupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rituparna-sengupta/) > [“the human is offered a choice: they can get revenge on me, or they can accept their pain and continue their journey”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wade/the-human-is-offered-a-choice-they-can-get-revenge-on-me-or-they-can/) [Tobias Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wade/) [Browse all 2,625 Revenge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revenge/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...There,in his foul, stinking cellar, our offended, down-trodden and ridiculed mouse immerses himself in cold, venomous and, cheifly, everlasting spite. 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Probably he'll start taking his revenge, but somehow in fits and starts, pettily, anonymously, from behind the stove, believing neither in his right to take revenge, nor in the success of his revenge and knowing beforehand that he will suffer one hundred times more from every single one of his attempts at revenge than the object of his revenge, who, most likely, wont't give a damn.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dostoyevsky, Fyodor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoyevsky-fyodor/there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-offended-down-trodden-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Revenge" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoyevsky-fyodor/there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-offended-down-trodden-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ee/dostoyevsky-fyodor-50935_revenge_there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-of_1315296.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ee/dostoyevsky-fyodor-50935_revenge_there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-of_1315296.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ee/dostoyevsky-fyodor-50935_revenge_there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-of_1315296.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...There,in his foul, stinking cellar, our offended, down-trodden and ridiculed mouse immerses himself in…” — Dostoyevsky, Fyodor", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dostoyevsky, Fyodor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoyevsky-fyodor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...There,in his foul, stinking cellar, our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoyevsky-fyodor/there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-offended-down-trodden-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoyevsky-fyodor/there-in-his-foul-stinking-cellar-our-offended-down-trodden-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```