Man is the child of customs, not the child of his ancestors.

The past resembles the future more than one drop of water resembles another.

Government is an institution which prevents injustice other than such as it commits itself.

Man is essentially ignorant, and becomes learned through acquiring knowledge.

Sedentary culture is the goal of civilization. It means the end of its lifespan and brings about its corruption.

Businesses owned by responsible and organized merchants shall eventually surpass those owned by wealthy rulers.

Habits are qualities of the soul.

Islam is under obligation to gain power over all nations.

At the beginning of a dynasty, taxation yields a large revenue from small assessments. At the end of the dynasty, taxation yields a small revenue from large assessments.

People are largely ignorant of the interests of the human species.

All the sciences came to exist in Arabic. The systematic works on them were written in Arabic writing.

How much do we remember of what hurts us most? I've been thinking about pain, how each of us constructs our past to justify what we feel now. How each successive pain distorts the preceding.

How very little can be done under the spirit of fear.

He that is rich is wise, And all men learned poverty despise.

Decoration can be a state of mind, an unusual perception, a ritual whisper.

Gone are the birds that were our summer guests.

I foresee that man will resign himself each day to new abominations, and soon that only bandits and soldiers will be left...

Creativity is the life force that Dylan Thomas called 'the force that through the green fuse drives the flower.

If I stay in action, I won't live in fear.

I'm a big fan of teatowels and am always on the lookout for a good one.

I raised five children. They all have different personalities. All of them have different issues, different levels of success. That was a learning experience for me.