“For that which is without a beginning, a final cause need not be sought.”

Inspire me with love for my art and for thy creatures. In the sufferer let me see only the human being.

A wise man is a greater asset to a nation than a king.

Those who grieve find comfort in weeping and in arousing their sorrow until the body is too tired to bear the inner emotions.

It should not be believed that all beings exist for the sake of the existence of man. On the contrary, all the other beings too have been intended for their own sakes and not for the sake of anything else.

For it is said, You shall strengthen the stranger and the dweller in your midst and live with him, that is to say, strengthen him until he needs no longer fall upon the mercy of the community or be in need.

Astrology is a disease, not a science. It is a tree under the shadow of which all sorts of superstitions thrive. Only fools and charlatans lend value to it.

Every man should view himself as equally balanced: half good and half evil. Likewise, he should see the entire world as half good and half evil. With a single good deed he will tip the scales for himself, and for the entire world, to the side of good.

A truth does not become greater by repetition.

Hold firmly to your word.

The knowledge of God, the formation of ideas, the mastery of desire and passion, the distinction between that which is to be chosen and that which is to be rejected, all these man owes to his form.

Man’s shortcomings and sins are all due to the substance of the body and not to its form; while all his merits are exclusively due to his form.

Nobody is ever impoverished through the giving of charity.

It is well known among physicians that the best of the nourishing foods is the one that the Moslem religion forbids, i.e., Wine. It contains much good and light nourishment. It is rapidly digested and helps to digest other foods.

Consequently he who wishes to attain to human perfection, must therefore first study Logic, next the various branches of Mathematics in their proper order, then Physics, and lastly Metaphysics.

There are eight rungs in charity. The highest is when you help a man to help himself.

Astrology is a sickness, not a science. It is a tree under the shade of which all sorts of superstitions thrive.

In the beginning, before the arrival of the white men, I had considered myself neutral. I had wanted neither side to win, neither the army nor the rebels. As it turned out, both sides lost.

So valuable to heaven is the dignity of the human soul that every member of the human race has a guardian angel from the moment the person begins to be.

In dreams begin responsibilitiy.

Perhaps the story you finish is never the one you begin.

An autobiography is only ‘a sort of life’ – it may contain less errors of fact than a biography, but it is of necessity even more selective: it begins later and it ends prematurely.

In Germany, a new sect shall be born which shall renew ancient pagan times.

I always write the end of everything first. I always write the last chapters of my books before I write the beginning. Then I go back to the beginning. I mean, it’s always nice to know where you’re going is my theory.

It is simply wrong to begin with a theme, symbol or other abstract unifying agent, and then try to force characters and events to conform to it.