As a first approach - yeah, but as usual with classical quotations there is much more behind if one knows the source.It was not by Chekhov directly but by his fictitious hero.
BTW Most well-known collection of moralizing in Russian classic literature often can be found on humor sites. Warning: no way of adequate translation.
That fictitious hero found that it sounds better. More aphoristic. Тля-ржа-лжа is a kind of rhyme.