Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“The more I love humanity in general, the less I love man in particular.”
- Source
- The Brothers Karamazov
- Date
- 1880
- Local voice
- Reported speaker · A doctor recounted by Father Zossima
- English wording
- Constance Garnett — Translator · from Russian
Meaning of “The more I love humanity in general, the…”
Abstract concern for humanity can coexist with impatience toward real people, exposing the gap between idealized benevolence and daily practice.
Where does it come from?
The Brothers Karamazov, Book II, Chapter 4, “A Lady of Little Faith,” Constance Garnett translation, verified against Project Gutenberg #28054 and Wikisource. Father Zossima recounts an older doctor’s bitterly comic confession that the more he loves humanity in general, the less he loves individual people; the retained quotation is embedded reported speech by the doctor, not Zossima speaking autobiographically.
Why the local voice matters
Father Zossima recounts a doctor’s confession; the doctor is the local speaker of the wording.
