180 Quotes by Naguib Mahfouz

Art is a criticism of society and life, and I believe that if life became perfect, art would be meaningless and cease to exist.

The real malady is fear of life, not of death

Happy is he who can give himself up.

When you spend time with your friends, what do you talk about? Those things which made an impression on you that day, that week ... I write stories the same way. Events at home, in school, at work, in the street, these are the bases for a story. Some experiences leave such a deep impression that instead of talking about them at the club I work them into a novel.

Nothing records the effects of a sad life so graphically as the human body.

"Death by love is fairer by far than death by illness", said Amenhotep III.

Visit me once each year, for it's wrong to abandon people forever.

You know what I'm afraid of? That God is sick of us.

I believe in life and in people. I feel obliged to advocate their highest ideals as long as I believe them to be true. I also see myself compelled to revolt against ideals I believe to be false, since recoiling from rebellion would be a form of treason