Anton Pavlovich Chekhov Quotes on Language (1 Quote)

In my opinion it is not the writer's job to solve such problems as God, pessimism, etc his job is merely to record who, under what conditions, said or thought what about God or pessimism. The artist is not meant to be a judge of his characters and what they say his only job is to be an impartial witness. I heard two Russians in a muddled conversation about pessimism, a conversation that solved nothing all I am bound to do is reproduce that conversation exactly as I heard it. Drawing conclusions is up to the jury, that is, the readers. My only job is to be talented, that is, to know how to distinguish important testimony from unimportant, to place my characters in the proper light and speak their language.