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Words of Wisdom — November 10, 2014

Fyodor Dostoevsky: Judge a Society By Its Prisons

“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”

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Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский) (1821-1881) was a Russian novelist, journalist, philosopher, and major historical figure. The author of works such as Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky is widely considered one of the great literary figures of the past 200 years. As punishment for being part of secret society of literary figures, Dostoevsky was sentenced to four years’ hard labor in Siberia during the 1850s. He died after a series of haemorrhages at the age of 59. It is reported that over 40,000 people attended his funeral.

“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”

-Fyodor Dostoevsky, from The House of the Dead

(h/t Wikiquote)

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