Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn

"A great writer is, so to speak, a second government in his country. And for that reason no regime has ever loved great writers, only minor ones. "

"A man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy and nothing can stop him. "

"If decade after decade the truth cannot be told, each person's mind begins to roam irretrievably. One's fellow countrymen become harder to understand than Martians. "

"In America the majority raises formidable barriers around the liberty of opinion within these barriers an author may write what he pleases, but woe to him if he goes beyond them. "

"It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves. "

"One should never direct people towards happiness, because happiness too is an idol of the market-place. One should direct them towards mutual affection. A beast gnawing at its prey can be happy too, but only human beings can feel affection for each other, and this is the highest achievement they can aspire to. "

"You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them. But when you've robbed a man of everything he's no longer in your power -- he's free again. "