“He who lives upon the fruit of his own labor, escapes the contempt of haughty benefactors.”

Joy and sorrow, beauty and deformity, equally pass away.

An enemy to whom you show kindness becomes your friend.

Reveal not every secret you have to a friend, for how can you tell but that friend may hereafter become and enemy. And bring not all mischief you are able to upon an enemy, for he may one day become your friend.

O wise man, wash your hands of that friend who associates with your enemies.

Be generous, and pleasant-tempered, and forgiving; even as God scatter favors over thee, do thou scatter over the people.

I have never seen a man lost who was on a straight path.

Better is the sinner who hath thoughts about God, than the saint who hath only the show of sanctity.

Two orders of mankind are the enemies of church and state; the king without clemency, and the holy man without learning.

Virtue is in the mind, not in the appearance.

The bad fortune of the good turns their faces up to heaven; the good fortune of the bad bows their heads down to the earth.

The true disciple should aim to live for the gospel, rather than to die for it.

However much you study, you cannot know without action. A donkey laden with books is neither an intellectual nor a wise man. Empty of essence, what learning has he whether upon him is firewood or book?

Do to me, O Allah, what is worthy of Thee; And not what is worthy of me.

The hand of liberality is stronger than the arm of power.

There is a difference between him who claspeth his mistress in his arms, and him whose eyes are fixed on the door expecting her.

A little beauty is preferable to much wealth.

If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.

No one can hurry me down to Hades before my time, but if a man’s hour is come, be he brave or be he coward, there is no escape for him when he has once been born.

Look beneath the surface; let not the several quality of a thing nor its worth escape thee.

Look beneath the surface; let not the several quality of a thing nor its worth escape thee.

Books are a friend, books are an escape, books are a means to empowerment and books are a means to understanding yourself better and in a world around you. They are everything.

The constant struggle in mature life, I think, is to accept the necessity of tragedy and conflict, and not to try to escape to some falsely simple solution which does not include these more somber complexities.

Man cannot change or escape his time. The eye sees the present and the future.

Expect no reward when you serve the wicked, and be thankful if you escape injury for your pain