--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ..., and if one has only one good memory…" description: "\"“..., and if one has only one good memory left in one's heart, even that may sometimes be the means of saving us.”\" — Fyodor Dostoyevsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_good-memory_and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left_2791514.jpg" --- # ..., and if one has only one good memory left in one's… ![“..., and if one has only one good memory left in one's heart, even that may sometimes be the means of saving us.” quote by Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_good-memory_and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left_2791514.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_good-memory_and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left_2791514.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_good-memory_and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left_2791514.jpg) > ““..., and if one has only one good memory left in one's heart, even that may sometimes be the means of saving us.”” [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A single cherished memory can become a vital source of salvation during hardship. **In simple terms:** One good memory can save us. Key Takeaway Hold onto precious memories for strength. Themes memory salvation hope psychology resilience Mood nostalgic hopeful reflective Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - grief counseling - personal crisis - creative writing - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy literature neuroscience Questions to Reflect On - Which memory sustains you? - How can you preserve it? A Different Perspective Memories may fade or become painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-memory/) [Means Saving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-saving-3383208/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Memory Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-left-708283/) [Saving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saving/) ## Related quotes > [You are told a lot about your education, but some beautiful, sacred memory, preserved since childhood, is perhaps the best education of all. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-told-a-lot-about-your-education-but-some-beautiful-sacred-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You must know that there is nothing higher and stronger and more wholesome and good for life in the future than some good memory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/you-must-know-that-there-is-nothing-higher-and-stronger-and-more-3/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“And even if only one good memory remains with us in our hearts, that alone may serve some day for our salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-even-if-only-one-good-memory-remains-with-us-in-our-hearts-that/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“You must know that there is nothing higher, or stronger, or sounder, or more useful afterwards in life, than some good memory, especially a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/you-must-know-that-there-is-nothing-higher-or-stronger-or-sounder-or/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“See, as much as you want to hold on to the bitter sore memory that someone has left this world, you are still in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/see-as-much-as-you-want-to-hold-on-to-the-bitter-sore-memory-that/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [But soon we shall die and all memory of those five will have left the earth, and we ourselves shall be loved for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/but-soon-we-shall-die-and-all-memory-of-those-five-will-have-left-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [See, as much as you want to hold on to the bitter sore memory that someone has left this world, you are still in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/see-as-much-as-you-want-to-hold-on-to-the-bitter-sore-memory-that-2/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Saying goodbye is just another way of trying to forget, when the memory is all you have left of what was once so beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-wagner/saying-goodbye-is-just-another-way-of-trying-to-forget-when-the/) [Brandon Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-wagner/) > [What peaceful hours I once enjoy'd! How sweet their memory still! But they have left an aching void The world can never fill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/what-peaceful-hours-i-once-enjoy-d-how-sweet-their-memory-still-but/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-de-bono/a-memory-is-what-is-left-when-something-happens-and-does-not/) [Edward de Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-de-bono/) > [“No sooner does an approaching hour become the present for us than it sheds all its charms, only to regain them, it is true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/no-sooner-does-an-approaching-hour-become-the-present-for-us-than-it/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Yet let us not pass from memory those left absent from our arms. Those who sacrificed their lives so that all may live free!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spartacus/yet-let-us-not-pass-from-memory-those-left-absent-from-our-arms-those/) [Spartacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spartacus/) > [“She is dancing. Away. From you now. She was just a wish. She was just. A. Wish. And her memory is all that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fleetwood-mac/she-is-dancing-away-from-you-now-she-was-just-a-wish-she-was-just-a/) [Fleetwood Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fleetwood-mac/) > [“I believe my strength has something to do with memory, with that concept of fluid time. For while I recall with clarity the terror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/i-believe-my-strength-has-something-to-do-with-memory-with-that/) [Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/) > [Broken up friendship dose not involve feelings because the good memory we be left behind like footprint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juniorjk/broken-up-friendship-dose-not-involve-feelings-because-the-good/) [Juniorjk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juniorjk/) ## More by Fyodor Dostoyevsky > [“Beauty is not only a terrible thing, it is also a mysterious thing. There God and the Devil strive for mastery, and the battleground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/beauty-is-not-only-a-terrible-thing-it-is-also-a-mysterious-thing/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Listen! I know it's not right to talk. Better to set an example, better to just start - I have already started - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/listen-i-know-it-s-not-right-to-talk-better-to-set-an-example-better/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“When all are undressed, one is somehow not ashamed, but when one's the only one undressed and everybody is looking, it's degrading,' he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/when-all-are-undressed-one-is-somehow-not-ashamed-but-when-one-s-the/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“And what if there are only spiders there, or something of that sort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-what-if-there-are-only-spiders-there-or-something-of-that-sort/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“The morning was so damp and misty”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-morning-was-so-damp-and-misty/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“I repeat, I repeat with emphasis: all "direct" persons and men of action are active just because they are stupid and limited. How explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-repeat-i-repeat-with-emphasis-all-direct-persons-and-men-of-action/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“He is a man of intelligence, but to act sensibly, intelligence is not enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/he-is-a-man-of-intelligence-but-to-act-sensibly-intelligence-is-not/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [ “if \[God\] doesn't exist, man is the chief of the earth, of the universe. Magnificent! Only how is he going to be good without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/if-god-doesn-t-exist-man-is-the-chief-of-the-earth-of-the-universe/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“From an encounter in 1862... “Dickens told me,” Dostoyevsky recalled in a letter written years later, “that all the good, simple people in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/from-an-encounter-in-1862-dickens-told-me-dostoyevsky-recalled-in-a/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“It must be the top drawer," he reflected. "So she carries the keys in a pocket on the right. All in one bunch on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/it-must-be-the-top-drawer-he-reflected-so-she-carries-the-keys-in-a/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“- You take evil for good. It's a passing crisis. It's the result of your illness, perhaps. - You do despise me! It's simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/you-take-evil-for-good-it-s-a-passing-crisis-it-s-the-result-of-your/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Clouds overlaid the sky as with a shroud of mist, and everything looked sad, rainy, and threatening under a fine drizzle which was beating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/clouds-overlaid-the-sky-as-with-a-shroud-of-mist-and-everything/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“People who can speak well, speak briefly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/people-who-can-speak-well-speak-briefly/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“I think I could stand anything, any suffering, only to be able to say and to repeat to myself every moment, 'I exist.' In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-think-i-could-stand-anything-any-suffering-only-to-be-able-to-say/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“There is no more ceaseless or tormenting care for man, as long as he remains free, than to find someone to bow down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/there-is-no-more-ceaseless-or-tormenting-care-for-man-as-long-as-he/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) [Explore all 1,078 Fyodor Dostoyevsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) ## More Good memory quotes > [A good memory is one trained to forget the trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-the-trivial/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [I've actually got quite a good memory. I've good recall. It's often things which other people might not notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-frame/i-ve-actually-got-quite-a-good-memory-i-ve-good-recall-it-s-often/) [Ronald Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-frame/) > [“But in such cases as these a good memory is unpardonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/but-in-such-cases-as-these-a-good-memory-is-unpardonable/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-charles/learning-to-read-music-in-braille-and-play-by-ear-helped-me-develop-a/) [Ray Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-charles/) > [I do have a really good memory. I mean, like, I can remember all the phone numbers of everybody on the street I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-do-have-a-really-good-memory-i-mean-like-i-can-remember-all-the/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [So - it's impossible? Good! If memory serves, we've done the impossible before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nightwing/so-it-s-impossible-good-if-memory-serves-we-ve-done-the-impossible/) [Nightwing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nightwing/) > [Unless a man feels he has a good enough memory, he should never venture to lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/unless-a-man-feels-he-has-a-good-enough-memory-he-should-never/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“(...) always regretted that good memory often prevents us from thinking for ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-harris/always-regretted-that-good-memory-often-prevents-us-from-thinking-for/) [Frank Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-harris/) > [You never realize what a good memory you have until you try to forget something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-p-jones/you-never-realize-what-a-good-memory-you-have-until-you-try-to-forget/) [Franklin P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-p-jones/) > [“I'm not a liar. I just have a good memory for things that never happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-bock/i-m-not-a-liar-i-just-have-a-good-memory-for-things-that-never/) [J.T. Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-bock/) > [Elephants can live to an age of up to 70 or 80 years and they have a good memory. It could be they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-leakey/elephants-can-live-to-an-age-of-up-to-70-or-80-years-and-they-have-a/) [Richard Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-leakey/) > [I didn't want it to be one good memory that led to a lot of bad ones. I wanted it to stay what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-scott/i-didn-t-want-it-to-be-one-good-memory-that-led-to-a-lot-of-bad-ones/) [Elizabeth Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-scott/) > [I've always been able to recount things, and I have a really good memory about dialog and what people have said before and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-ve-always-been-able-to-recount-things-and-i-have-a-really-good/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [“A good love is just like a good memory if you know its the but its just out of you reach it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenord-church-rvb/a-good-love-is-just-like-a-good-memory-if-you-know-its-the-but-its/) [lenord church RvB](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenord-church-rvb/) > [“Memory requires active engagement with the complexities of the past. It is not an unthinking or passive process, like breathing or (for most people)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-raskin/memory-requires-active-engagement-with-the-complexities-of-the-past/) [Jamie Raskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-raskin/) [Browse all 105 Good memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“..., and if one has only one good memory left in one's heart, even that may sometimes be the means of saving us.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fyodor Dostoyevsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left-in-one-s-heart-even-that-may/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good memory" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left-in-one-s-heart-even-that-may/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_good-memory_and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left_2791514.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_good-memory_and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left_2791514.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/321/fyodor-dostoyevsky-94_good-memory_and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left_2791514.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“..., and if one has only one good memory left in one's heart, even that may sometimes be the means of saving…” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky", "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": "Fyodor Dostoyevsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“..., and if one has only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left-in-one-s-heart-even-that-may/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-if-one-has-only-one-good-memory-left-in-one-s-heart-even-that-may/#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 } } ] } ```