Nikolai Gogol

Every line we carry

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

1. There is still powder in the flasks.

   Taras asks his men in the thick of battle whether they have anything left, and they say yes. The phrase became the Russian way to say you are not done yet. When you are tired and asked if you can go on, find the powder.

   Taras Bulba (1842), Ch. IX, our translation from the Russian

2. No bond is holier than comradeship.

   Taras tells his Cossacks that blood relation is common, but the brotherhood chosen and tested side by side is sacred. People you have been through hard things with are a different kind of family. Keep faith with them.

   Taras Bulba (1842), Ch. IX, our translation from the Russian

3. What Russian doesn't love fast driving?

   Gogol catches the love of speed and open road that runs through a whole people. Some joy only comes when you let go of the reins a little. Find your open road and let it run.

   Dead Souls, Vol. I (1842), Ch. XI, our translation from the Russian

4. What are you laughing at? You're laughing at yourselves.

   The Mayor turns to the audience, who have been laughing at him, and shows them their own faces. Satire works only when we recognize ourselves. Next time you laugh at a fool, check whether he looks familiar.

   The Government Inspector (1836), Act V, our translation from the Russian

5. Don't blame the mirror if your face is crooked.

   Gogol put this proverb on top of his play for the officials who complained it insulted them. If the truth looks ugly, the problem is not the one holding the mirror. Fix the face, not the glass.

   The Government Inspector, epigraph (1842 edition), our translation from the Russian