Quotes

“Winning people is an end, self-defense is just a means.”

“No matter how large, how crowded, and how abundant an empire is, there is always a shortage of men.”

“Crying is not a prescription. It’s not a feat. It’s just a simple act. No one should be forced to shed tears. The only thing that matters is not to belittle the misfortune of others.”

“If you do not know how to love, what good is the rising and setting of the sun?”

“Time has two sides. Its length is determined by the sun’s course, and its depth is determined by passions.”

“Do you think people can tell who they are just by their names? You can recognize them from their looks, their gait, their looks, their tone of voice.”

“Life is like a fire. Flames forgotten by the night on the road, ashes scattered in front of the wind; here, a human life has come and gone.”

“What scholars came, what did they find! Like candles they shed light on the world. Which one broke through this darkness? They told a tale and fell asleep.”

“An honorable man does not throw a stone into the well where he quenches his thirst!”

“Do not be surprised by anything, truth and people have two sides.”

“The future is a forbidden dream.”

“For the weak it is a crime to be right.”

“And justice lies in appearance, at least in this world, at least in the eyes of the multitude.”

“Wherever you are , some will want to ask questions about your skin or your prayers. Beware of gratifying their instincts, my son, beware of bending before the multitude! Muslim, Jew or Christian, they must take you as you are, or lose you. When men's minds seem narrow to you, tell yourself that the land of God is broad; broad His hands and broad His heart. Never hesitate to go far away, beyond all seas, all frontiers, all countries, all beliefs.'

“Virtue becomes unhealthy if it is not softened by some misdemeanors, and faith quickly becomes cruel if is not subdued by certain doubts.”

“When a man is rich, whether in gold or in knowledge, he must treat the poverty of others with consideration.”

“A community begins to fall apart the moment it agrees to abandon the weakest of its members.”

“Don't be so timid! When you were a child, didn't you speak out the truth that the oldest ones kept secret? Well, you were right then. You must find the time of innocence in yourself again, because that was also the time of courage.”

“But I come from no country, from no city, no tribe. I am the son of the road, my country is the caravan, my life the most unexpected of voyages.”

“let us thank God for having made us this gift of death, so that life is to have meaning; of night, that day is to have meaning; silence, that speech is to have meaning; illness, that health is to have meaning; war, that peace is to have meaning. Let us give thanks to Him for having given us weariness and pain, so that rest and joy are to have meaning. Let us give thanks to him, whose wisdom is infinite.”