My respected comrades, I think when my name Marx Gorky is mentioned here, some measuring modifiers such as "great" "noble" "tall" will be added to it. If we always overemphasize and boast a certain person, we will neglect the achievements others made and the importance of others existing. I wonder if you have ever thought of that. Please believe me. I'm not talking high language on purpose nor am I making myself up. Considering some important reasons, I have to speak so. Say, there are great difference between our ages, but we share the same mother─children of all literature of Soviet¹ Union.

Judging the value and the authors' achievements is up to the readers. And commenting on a piece of works of literature is up to the critic.

敬爱的同志们，我觉得，提到高尔基的名字时，常常会加上一些度量的形容词，如"伟大的"、"高尚的"、"高大的"等等。如果老是过分地强调和抬高一个人物，我们就会使别人的成就和重要性失去光彩，这一点，你们没有想到吧？请相信我，我并不是故意讲漂亮话，也不是装模作样。有许多重要的原因使我不能不说这些话。打个比方说，在这里，我们大家的年龄尽管相差很大，然而都是同一个很年轻的母亲──全苏联文学的孩子。

衡量一个作家的成就，是读者的事；说明一部文学作品的社会意义是批评家的事。