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Fyodor Dostoevsky Letter To Mme. N. D. Fonvisin (1854), as published in Letters of Fyodor Michailovitch Dostoevsky to his Family and Friends (1914), translated by Ethel Golburn Mayne, Letter XXI, p. 71 http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoevsky
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I want to say to you, about myself, that I am a child of this age, a child of unfaith and scepticism, and probably (indeed I know it) shall remain so to the end of my life. How dreadfully has it tormented me (and torments me even now) this longing for faith, which is all the stronger for the proofs I have against it. And yet God gives me sometimes moments of perfect peace; in such moments I love and believe that I am loved; in such moments I have formulated my creed, wherein all is clear and holy to me. This creed is extremely simple; here it is: I believe that there is nothing lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, more rational, more manly, and more perfect than the Saviour; I say to myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like Him, but that there could be no one. I would even say more: If anyone could prove to me that Christ is outside the truth, and if the truth really did exclude Christ, I should prefer to stay with Christ and not with truth.

— Fyodor Dostoevsky Letter To Mme. N. D. Fonvisin

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I want to say to you, about myself, that I am a child of this age, a child of unfaith and scepticism, and probably (indeed I know it) shall remain so to the end of my life. How dreadfully has it tormented me (and torments me even now) this longing for faith, which is all the stronger for the proofs I have against it. And yet God gives me sometimes moments of perfect peace; in such moments I love and believe that I am loved; in such moments I have formulated my creed, wherein all is clear and holy to me. This creed is extremely simple; here it is: I believe that there is nothing lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, more rational, more manly, and more perfect than the Saviour; I say to myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like Him, but that there could be no one. I would even say more: If anyone could prove to me that Christ is outside the truth, and if the truth really did exclude Christ, I should prefer to stay with Christ and not with truth." in the context of "Fyodor Dostoevsky Letter To Mme. N. D. Fonvisin (1854), as published in Letters of Fyodor Michailovitch Dostoevsky to his Family and Friends (1914), translated by Ethel Golburn Mayne, Letter XXI, p. 71 http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoevsky" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Jesus" (Quotes about Jesus: Sorted by historical period and date, with sections for quotes from major religious works., The Nineteenth Century: Alphabetized by author) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 30, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Jesus

About Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth (c. 4 BC - AD 30 / 33), also known as Jesus Christ, Yeshua, Yeshu, Jesu and Isa, is the central figure of Christianity, a philosopher and teacher. He is believed to have lived around modern Israel, around 1 AD, and to be the Messiah of ultimate salvation and the Son of God by followers of Christian traditions. Manichaeans, Gnostics, Muslims, Bahá'ís, and others have found prominent places for Jesus in their religions.

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