Maimonides Quotes

Truth does not become more true by virtue of the fact that the entire world agrees with it, nor less so even if the whole world disagrees with it.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

I will destroy my enemies by converting them to friends.

There are eight levels of charity.... The highest is when you strengthen a man's hand until he need no longer be dependent upon others.

The physician should not treat the disease but the patient who is suffering from it

Teach thy tongue to say 'I do not know,' and thou shalt progress.

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

Let nothing which can be treated by diet be treated by other means.

Do not consider it proof just because it is written in books, for a liar who will deceive with his tongue will not hesitate to do the same with his pen.

God who preceded all existence is a refuge.

Man's obsession to add to his wealth and honor is the chief source of his misery.

No disease that can be treated by diet should be treated with any other means.

The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.

To the totality of purposes of the perfect Law there belong the abandonment, depreciation, and restraint of desires in so far as possible.

What is lofty can be said in any language. What is mean should be said in none.

God cannot be compared to anything. Note this.

A truth does not become greater by repetition.

It is man's duty to love and to fear God, even without hope of reward or fear of punishment.

Anticipate charity by preventing poverty.

In finances, be strict with yourself, generous with others.

You must accept the truth from whatever source it comes.

Silence is the maturation of wisdom.

A small amount of wine such as three or four glasses is of benefit for the preservation of the health of human beings and an excellent remedy for most illnesses.

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.

The goal of good health is to enable a person to acquire wisdom.

Everyone entrusted with a mission is an angel.

Lose with truth and right rather than gain with falsehood and wrong.

Nobody is ever impoverished through the giving of charity.

It is hard for a woman with whom an uncircumcised man has had sexual intercourse to separate from him. In my opinion this is the strongest of the reasons for circumcision.

That which is produced with intention has passed over from non-existence to existence.

Astrology is not an art, it is a disease.

He who does not understand that a dead lion is more alive than a living dog will remain a dog.

We are obligated to be more scrupulous in fulfilling the commandment of charity than any other positive commandment because charity is the sign of a righteous man.

In the beginning we must simplify the subject, thus unavoidably falsifying it, and later we must sophisticate away the falsely simple beginning.

Contrast the experience with something worse and you cannot help feeling happy and grateful because... The change from trouble to comfort gives us more pleasure than uninterrupted comfort does.

The soul is subject to health and disease, just as is the body. The health and disease of both . . . undoubtedly depend upon beliefs and customs, which are peculiar to mankind.

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.

In the realm of Nature there is nothing purposeless, trivial, or unnecessary

It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death.

Your purpose...should always be to know...the whole that was intended to be known.

He, however, who begins with Metaphysics, will not only become confused in matters of religion, but will fall into complete infidelity.

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

Work before eating, rest after eating. Eat not ravenously, filling the mouth gulp after gulp without breathing space.

Giving is most blessed and most acceptable when the donor remains completely anonymous.

The more necessary a thing is for living beings, the more easily it is found and the cheaper it is; the less necessary it is, the rarer and dearer it is.

Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.

In so far as the soul is a force residing in the body; it has therefore been said that the properties of the soul depend of the condition of the body.

Medical practice is not knitting and weaving and the labor of the hands, but it must be inspired with soul and be filled with understanding and equipped with the gift of keen observation . . .

Actions are divided as regards their object into four classes; they are either purposeless , unimportant , or vain , or good .

Those who believe that... detailed rules originate in a certain cause, are as far from the truth as those who assume that the whole law is useless.