"I was not born to amuse the Tsars."

"I am writing a novel, and I don't know how it will end."

"I am a great admirer of the future, and I believe it is full of hope."

"Fearing no insult, asking for no crown, receive with indifference both flattery and slander, and do not argue with a fool."

"The path to glory is not strewn with roses."