"If you will not reprove yourself,’ Saadi says, ‘you will not welcome reproof from another."

"Presence and AbsenceA certain person may have, as you say, a wonderful presence: I do not know. What I do know is that he has a perfectly delightful absence."

"Very often, people believe they are doing “significant” things when they merely want an interchange of attention."

"Definitions from Mulla Do-PiazaFlattery:One of the most promising of businesses: always brisk."

"For every Pharoah there is a Moses."

"A donkey eats a melon, it remains a donkey"

"You yourself are your own barrier – rise from within it."

"Saying of the ProphetThe JudgeA man appointed to be a judge has been killed without a knife."

"Most people, whatever their opinions and protestations, do not want to learn."

"Whoever is to be wise despises himself. Only the ignorant trust their own judgement."