--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dostoevsky does not believe his own…" description: "\"“Dostoevsky does not believe his own words, and he is trying to replace a lack of faith with \"feeling\" and eloquence.”\" — Lev Shestov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/401/lev-shestov-12374_dostoevsky_dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-word_1771898.jpg" --- # Dostoevsky does not believe his own words, and he is… ![“Dostoevsky does not believe his own words, and he is trying to replace a lack of faith with "feeling" and eloquence.” quote by Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/401/lev-shestov-12374_dostoevsky_dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-word_1771898.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/401/lev-shestov-12374_dostoevsky_dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-word_1771898.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/401/lev-shestov-12374_dostoevsky_dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-word_1771898.jpg) > ““Dostoevsky does not believe his own words, and he is trying to replace a lack of faith with "feeling" and eloquence.”” [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dostoevsky doubts his own statements, trying to replace missing faith with feeling and eloquence. **In simple terms:** He doubts his words, seeking feeling over faith. Key Takeaway Question the basis of belief. Themes faith doubt philosophy expression Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - literary analysis - personal introspection - spiritual debate Key Concepts existentialism authenticity self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - What replaces faith for you? - Can eloquence substitute conviction? A Different Perspective Overreliance on emotion may ignore reason. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Lack of faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-of-faith/) ## Related quotes > [“But Dostoevsky does allow himself to ask just this very question: whether our reason has any right to judge between the possible and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/but-dostoevsky-does-allow-himself-to-ask-just-this-very-question/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“Dostoevsky does not exist for me. Virginia Woolf does not exist for me. Her essays are quite good, but her novels are not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-mar-as/dostoevsky-does-not-exist-for-me-virginia-woolf-does-not-exist-for-me/) [Javier Marias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-mar-as/) > [“In response to a letter regarding the writer's lack of religious belief: The lack of faith is not doubt. It is certainty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-van-buren/in-response-to-a-letter-regarding-the-writer-s-lack-of-religious/) [Abigail van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-van-buren/) > [“Grief never ends … But it changes. It’s a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-vanliere/grief-never-ends-but-it-changes-it-s-a-passage-not-a-place-to-stay/) [Donna VanLiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-vanliere/) > [“ Poor Nico di Angelo. The god's voice was tinged with disappointment. Do you know what you want, much less what I want? My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/poor-nico-di-angelo-the-god-s-voice-was-tinged-with-disappointment-do/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [But the lack of faith could just as well be a crutch for non-believers, allowing them to live their lives without any concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-coren/but-the-lack-of-faith-could-just-as-well-be-a-crutch-for-non/) [Michael Coren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-coren/) > [“Worry has everything to do with lack of faith, and lack of faith has a lot to do with not believing in yourself as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-hochberg/worry-has-everything-to-do-with-lack-of-faith-and-lack-of-faith-has-a/) [Art Hochberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-hochberg/) > [Is it not lack of faith that leads men to fear the scrutiny of reason? If the destination is doubtful, then the path must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-woolfolk-cross/is-it-not-lack-of-faith-that-leads-men-to-fear-the-scrutiny-of-reason/) [Donna Woolfolk Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-woolfolk-cross/) > [It's the lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself. He who is not courageous enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/it-s-the-lack-of-faith-that-makes-people-afraid-of-meeting-challenges-2/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [Excuses are your lack of faith in your own power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anthony/excuses-are-your-lack-of-faith-in-your-own-power/) [Robert Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anthony/) > [According to the teaching of our Lord, what is wrong with the world is precisely that it does not believe in God. Yet it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baillie/according-to-the-teaching-of-our-lord-what-is-wrong-with-the-world-is/) [John Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baillie/) > [“Preachers who pride themselves on never giving a public invitation to be saved, never calling for a response of any kind, reveal not greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macdonald/preachers-who-pride-themselves-on-never-giving-a-public-invitation-to/) [James MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macdonald/) > [Don't ever let family, friends or co-workers enforce their limited reality & lack of faith on you...Guard your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-ever-let-family-friends-or-co-workers-enforce-their-limited/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The stress that some of us feel - it's a lack of faith, it really is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/the-stress-that-some-of-us-feel-it-s-a-lack-of-faith-it-really-is/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [It's the lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-joslan/it-s-the-lack-of-faith-that-makes-people-afraid-of-meeting-challenges/) Azgraybebly Joslan ## More by Lev Shestov > [“Art, science, love, inspiration, ideals—choose out all the words with which humanity is wont, or has been in the past, to be consoled or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/art-science-love-inspiration-ideals-choose-out-all-the-words-with/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“After a tragedy, a farce. Philosophy enters into her power, and the earth returns under one's feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/after-a-tragedy-a-farce-philosophy-enters-into-her-power-and-the/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“He did not want to be original; he made superhuman efforts to be like everybody else: but there is no escaping one's destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/he-did-not-want-to-be-original-he-made-superhuman-efforts-to-be-like/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“So long as the child was fed on its mother's milk, everything seemed to it smooth and easy. But when it had to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/so-long-as-the-child-was-fed-on-its-mother-s-milk-everything-seemed/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“Yet, with all his acuteness, it did not occur to him that Europe was not in the least to blame for his disillusionment. Europe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/yet-with-all-his-acuteness-it-did-not-occur-to-him-that-europe-was/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“Aproape de fiecare data cand se refera la moarte, Socrate repeta, in opera lui Platon, cuvintele lui Euripide. Nimeni nu stie daca viata nu…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/aproape-de-fiecare-data-cand-se-refera-la-moarte-socrate-repeta-in/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“Furthermore, as long as the world shall last, there will always be people who, either for the sake of peace or from an unquiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/furthermore-as-long-as-the-world-shall-last-there-will-always-be/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“Although we had had no precise exponents of realism, yet after Pushkin it was impossible for a Russian writer to depart too far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/although-we-had-had-no-precise-exponents-of-realism-yet-after-pushkin/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“They certified that I was sane; but I know that I am mad." This confession gives us the key to what is most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/they-certified-that-i-was-sane-but-i-know-that-i-am-mad-this/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“More striking still, a broken man is generally deprived of everything except the ability to acknowledge and feel his position.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/more-striking-still-a-broken-man-is-generally-deprived-of-everything/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“Anton Chekhov tells the truth neither out of love or respect for the truth, nor yet because, in the Kantian manner, a high duty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/anton-chekhov-tells-the-truth-neither-out-of-love-or-respect-for-the/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“Even Pushkin, who could understand everything, did not grasp the real significance of Dead Souls. He thought that the author was grieving for Russia,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/even-pushkin-who-could-understand-everything-did-not-grasp-the-real/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“It is necessary to choose: if you wish to be an empiricist, you must abandon the hope of founding scientific knowledge on a solid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/it-is-necessary-to-choose-if-you-wish-to-be-an-empiricist-you-must/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“Practical advice.—People who read much must always keep it in mind that life is one thing, literature another. Not that authors invariably lie. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/practical-advice-people-who-read-much-must-always-keep-it-in-mind/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [“Kada bi Darvin video u životu ono što je video Dostojevski, on ne bi govorio o zakonu samoodržanja nego o zakonu samouništenja.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/kada-bi-darvin-video-u-ivotu-ono-to-je-video-dostojevski-on-ne-bi/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) [Explore all 54 Lev Shestov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) ## More Dostoevsky quotes > [ “\[Dostoyevsky\] eloquently proves that heartless ideas are often a source of immorality: they bring with them destructiveness, hatred, cynicism, and misanthropy. The novelist also… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-l-kline/dostoyevsky-eloquently-proves-that-heartless-ideas-are-often-a-source/) George L. Kline > [“He main retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevsky said once, 'There is only one thing that I dread: not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/he-main-retain-his-human-dignity-even-in-a-concentration-camp/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“So against the grain I serve to produce events and do what’s irrational because I am commanded to. For all their indisputable intelligence, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/so-against-the-grain-i-serve-to-produce-events-and-do-what-s/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“Then it happened. One night as the rain beat on the slanted kitchen roof a great spirit slipped forever into my life. I held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/then-it-happened-one-night-as-the-rain-beat-on-the-slanted-kitchen/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“A drunken but exceedingly depressed German clown from Munich entertained the public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/a-drunken-but-exceedingly-depressed-german-clown-from-munich/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“It was not surprising that after the war Dostoevsky was linked to Kierkegaard as a prophet of social resignation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jay/it-was-not-surprising-that-after-the-war-dostoevsky-was-linked-to/) Martin Jay > ['The Gambler' by Dostoevsky. It was the first time I realised that it was possible to have good and evil in one person. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-townsend/the-gambler-by-dostoevsky-it-was-the-first-time-i-realised-that-it/) [Sue Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-townsend/) > [Dostoevsky's underground man ... observes his contemporaries striving to establish false goals where there are no naturally generated ones. ... He argues they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carroll/dostoevsky-s-underground-man-observes-his-contemporaries-striving-to/) [John Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carroll/) > [Back when George W. Bush was identifying his Axis of Evil, it struck me that a longer and more instructive list could be compiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-schmemann/back-when-george-w-bush-was-identifying-his-axis-of-evil-it-struck-me/) [Serge Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-schmemann/) > [Dostoevsky preaches the morality of the pariah, the morality of the slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-brandes/dostoevsky-preaches-the-morality-of-the-pariah-the-morality-of-the/) [Georg Brandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-brandes/) > [“That distinctive singular stamp of himself is one of the main reasons readers come to love an author. The way you can just tell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/that-distinctive-singular-stamp-of-himself-is-one-of-the-main-reasons/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Enjoyment is more subjective than evaluation. Whether you prefer peaches to pears is a question of taste, which is not quite true of whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/enjoyment-is-more-subjective-than-evaluation-whether-you-prefer/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [ “Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (November 11 \[O.S. October 30\] 1821 – February 9 \[O.S. January 28\] 1881) is considered one of two greatest prose writers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/fyodor-mikhailovich-dostoevsky-november-11-o-s-october-30-1821/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“His unrivaled genius as an ideological novelist was this capacity to invent actions and situations in which ideas dominate behavior without the latter becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-frank/his-unrivaled-genius-as-an-ideological-novelist-was-this-capacity-to/) Joseph Frank > [The other side of my work is political disappointment - the realization that we are living in an unjust world. "Blood is being spilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-disappointment-the-realization/) [Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/) Browse all 98 Dostoevsky quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Dostoevsky does not believe his own words, and he is trying to replace a lack of faith with \"feeling\" and eloquence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lev Shestov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-words-and-he-is-trying-to-replace/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dostoevsky" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-words-and-he-is-trying-to-replace/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/401/lev-shestov-12374_dostoevsky_dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-word_1771898.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/401/lev-shestov-12374_dostoevsky_dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-word_1771898.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/401/lev-shestov-12374_dostoevsky_dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-word_1771898.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Dostoevsky does not believe his own words, and he is trying to replace a lack of faith with \"feeling\" and…” — Lev Shestov", "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": "Lev Shestov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Dostoevsky does not believe his own...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-words-and-he-is-trying-to-replace/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/dostoevsky-does-not-believe-his-own-words-and-he-is-trying-to-replace/#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 } } ] } ```