Alexander Herzen Quotes
Alexander Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian writer, philosopher, and revolutionary, often called the father of Russian socialism. The illegitimate son of a wealthy nobleman, he was exiled within Russia for his early radical politics before settling permanently in Western Europe in 1847. The quotes below are attributed to Alexander Herzen, organized by topic.
Browse Alexander Herzen by topic
Alexander Herzen on Freedom
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Attributed to Alexander Herzen:
“Liberty is the right that consists in the absence of arbitrary power.”
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“Personal freedom is a magnificent thing; by it and by it alone can a nation achieve its true freedom. Man must respect and honor his freedom in himself no less than in his neighbor or in the people at large.”
Letter from Paris to His Friend in Moscow (March 1st, 1849), Imperial Russia, A Sourcebook 1700-1917
Alexander Herzen on Knowledge
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“Appeal to Nobles", (June 1853), Imperial Russia, A Source Book 1700-1917”
It is both painful and shameful to be a slave. But it is even more distressing and painful to acknowledge that our slavery is necessary and normal and that it is a natural phenomenon. A great sin rests on our souls. We have inherited it but are not responsible for it. We are keeping our inheritance unjustly. Like a heavy rock it pushes us to the bottom, and with it around our necks we cannot swim. -
“Appeal to Nobles", (June 1853), Imperial Russia, A Source Book 1700-1917”
The peasants will be emancipated if there is a future for Rus and for the Slavic world. -
“Appeal to Nobles", (June 1853), Imperial Russia, A Source Book 1700-1917”
An empire that cannot distance itself from such a gruesome sin that so deeply affects its internal structure does not have the right to education, to future development and participation in history. -
“Без равенства нет брака. Жена, исключённая из всех интересов, занимающих её мужа, чуждая им, не делящая их, — наложница, экономка, нянька, но не жена в полном, в благородном значении слова.”
Without equality there can be no real marriage. The wife who is excluded from all the interests that occupy her husband, who is alien to them and does not share them, may be a concubine, a housekeeper, a nurse, but not a wife in the full, honourable sense of the word. | Translated by Constance Garnett, revised by Humphrey Higgins, My Past and Thoughts: The Memoirs of Alexander Herzen , vol. 2 (New -
“Without equality there can be no real marriage. The wife who is excluded from all the interests that occupy her husband, who is alien to them and does not share them, may be a concubine, a housekeeper, a nurse, but not a wife in the full, honourable sense of the word.”
Без равенства нет брака. Жена, исключённая из всех интересов, занимающих её мужа, чуждая им, не делящая их, — наложница, экономка, нянька, но не жена в полном, в благородном значении слова.
Alexander Herzen on Life
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Attributed to Alexander Herzen:
“The end of life is life itself, not a goal beyond it.”
Alexander Herzen on Love
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“Letter from Paris to His Friend in Moscow (March 1st, 1849), Imperial Russia, A Sourcebook 1700-1917”
Personal freedom is a magnificent thing; by it and by it alone can a nation achieve its true freedom. Man must respect and honor his freedom in himself no less than in his neighbor or in the people at large.
Alexander Herzen on Nature
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“The peasants will be emancipated if there is a future for Rus and for the Slavic world.”
Appeal to Nobles", (June 1853), Imperial Russia, A Source Book 1700-1917
Alexander Herzen on Politics
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Attributed to Alexander Herzen:
“We do not change Russia by joining the West; we change Russia by being honest with ourselves.”
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Attributed to Alexander Herzen:
“The Russian commune may yet save Russia from the dead end of European capitalism.”
Alexander Herzen on Time
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Attributed to Alexander Herzen:
“History has no libretto.”
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“An empire that cannot distance itself from such a gruesome sin that so deeply affects its internal structure does not have the right to education, to future development and participation in history.”
Appeal to Nobles", (June 1853), Imperial Russia, A Source Book 1700-1917