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Of the five most famous Russian writers of the nineteenth century, Tolstoy was the most powerful writer of them all. He was also the most spiritual and most influential. But in himself he was an ill-balanced man. Dostoevski, who is usually praised as being the most spiritual, was the most religious; but he was an emotional psychopath in love with the idea of suffering. He needed straightening out. Turgenev was competent and talented but quite worldly. Maxim Gorki, although but a materialist, was fairly sensible and an excellent writer. It would not be fair to compare Chekhov with the others, because, although his work was always good, he wrote plays, which the others did not.

-- Notebooks Category 14: The Arts in Culture > Chapter 4 : Reflections On Specific Arts > # 94