It is an illusion that youth is happy, an illusion of those who have lost it; but the young know they are wretched for they are full of the truthless ideal which have been instilled into them, and each time they come in contact with the real, they are bruised and wounded. It looks as if they were victims of a conspiracy; for the books they read, ideal by the necessity of selection, and the conversation of their elders, who look back upon the past through a rosy haze of forgetfulness, prepare them for an unreal life. They must discover for themselves that all they have read and all they have been told are lies, lies, lies; and each discovery is another nail driven into the body on the cross of life. W. Somerset Maugham
About This Quote

The passage above is an inspiring passage which was written by Anton Chekhov, depicting the truth of life. The idea of this story is to tell how the people in the story are victims of a conspiracy. It looks like people would be victims but they are actually victims of their own ignorance and misunderstanding. They must discover for themselves that all they have read and all they have been told are lies, lies, lies; and each discovery is another nail driven into the body on the cross of life.

This quote tells readers to live a truthful life if they want to live a full life. Life is short so it is important to know what’s real and what’s not.

Source: Of Human Bondage

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