Alexander Griboyedov

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

1. Glad to serve. Sick of servility.

   Chatsky draws the line between serving a cause and fawning on a boss. The first is honorable work; the second is selling yourself. Give your best effort to the job, never your dignity to a person.

   Woe from Wit (1825), Act II, our translation from the Russian

2. The happy don't watch the clock.

   When you are absorbed in something you love, time stops being measured. Checking the clock is a sign you would rather be elsewhere. Look for the work and the people that make you forget the hour.

   Woe from Wit (1825), Act I, our translation from the Russian

3. Where is it better? Where we are not.

   The grass always seems greener somewhere we are not standing. Moving does not fix a restless mind, because we take it with us. Make the place you are in good before you dream of the next one.

   Woe from Wit (1825), Act I, our translation from the Russian

4. Spare us the master's anger, and the master's love.

   The maid knows that a powerful person's favor is as dangerous as their fury. Both make you dependent on their mood. Build a life that does not hang on anyone's whims, good or bad.

   Woe from Wit (1825), Act I, our translation from the Russian