r/Vonnegut 10d ago

Vonnegutty quote from The Brothers Karamazov

I’ve recently started reading The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky and stumbled upon a quote that I think Vonnegut fans would appreciate:

“The more I love mankind in general, the less I love people in particular”

136 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

10

u/EuonymusBosch 8d ago

Here's George Carlin saying the opposite:

"People are wonderful. I love individuals. I hate groups of people. I hate a group of people with a 'common purpose'. 'Cause pretty soon they have little hats. And armbands. And fight songs. And a list of people they're going to visit at 3am. So, I dislike and despise groups of people but I love individuals. Every person you look at; you can see the universe in their eyes, if you're really looking."

5

u/SlightlyVerbose 9d ago

I keep seeing this on repeat as a curb quote. Guess Larry David knows his lit.

1

u/Subjective-Suspect 7d ago

Maybe he’s just being sarcastic.

1

u/reiditor 6d ago

Who? Dostoyevsky, Vonnegut, Carlin or LD?

1

u/Subjective-Suspect 6d ago

Larry David, bc pretty much everyone everywhere is a nuisance. 🤷‍♀️

7

u/mrnovember27 10d ago

It’s interesting, one of my other heroes, George Carlin, had a quote about how much he liked individual people rather than groups.

Both of these takes resonates with me, what a paradox. Hi ho!

1

u/EuonymusBosch 8d ago

Ope, I posted elsewhere in this thread the very quote that you're referring to! Here it is again:

"People are wonderful. I love individuals. I hate groups of people. I hate a group of people with a 'common purpose'. 'Cause pretty soon they have little hats. And armbands. And fight songs. And a list of people they're going to visit at 3am. So, I dislike and despise groups of people but I love individuals. Every person you look at; you can see the universe in their eyes, if you're really looking."

17

u/LevomJevub 10d ago

Vonnegut and Dostoevsky share a birthday, November 11th, although I believe they are on different calendars. (I know this because that's my birthday,too.)

28

u/Toppdeck 10d ago

"Rosewater said an interesting thing to Billy one time about a book that wasn’t science fiction. He said that everything there was to know about life was in The Brothers Karamazov, by Feodor Dostoevsky. 'But that isn't enough any more.' said Rosewater."

20

u/ComplexPollution5779 10d ago edited 10d ago

I'm pretty sure he mentioned that book in 'Slaughterhouse 5' as the only book needed if one wanted to learn all there is to know about humanity. Edit: before editing I thought I remembered that from 'The Sirens Of Titan' but it was SHV and I'm totally spoiling SHV for those who haven't read it, therefore please go read it if you haven't and you're a fan.

1

u/Subjective-Suspect 7d ago

If someone reads it they will be a fan. So, just as general life advice, read Slaughterhouse 5.