Quotes by Naguib Mahfouz

“Why don’t we keep track of the happy moments, so that afterward we will believe them? Is he the same man Was he really sincere?”

“An anxious heart is like a string that's out of tune.”

“There is no alternative to action, and that requires faith. The issue is how we are to mold for ourselves a belief system that is worthy of life.”

“Voices were blended and intermingled in a tumultuous swirl around which eddied laughter, shouts, the squeaking of doors and windows, piano and accordion music, rollicking handclaps, a policeman's b...”

“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”

“According to Islamic principles, when a man is accused of heresy, he is given the choice between repentance and punishment.”

“It was amazing that in this country where people allowed emotion to guide their politics they approached love with the precision of accountants.”

“It is something worth picking from the thrash-can the alluring experience of the working days.”

“Sire, after you, no one from your seed shall sit upon the throne of Egypt.”

“Monra recited this prayer with an unsteady voice. His eyes flowed with hot tears that trickled down his thin and drawn cheeks. They wet his hoary beard, as he raised his aged head, looking with emo...”

“My lord, our immortal philosopher Kagemni, vizier to King Huni, says that patience is man's refuge in times of despair, and his armor against misfortunes.”

“Patience allows ministers and obedient subjects to bear great tribulations-but the greatness of kings is in overcoming calamities, not enduring them. For this reason, the gods have compensated them...”

“My lord, Your Divine Majesty! Why differentiate your lofty self from the people of Egypt, as one would the head from the heart or the soul from the body? You are, my lord, the token of their honor,...”

“And of what value is the life of an individual? It equals not a single dry tear to one who looks to the far future and the grand plan. For this I would be cruel without any qualms. I would strike w...”

“She is beauty herself, Your Majesty. She is an irresistible temptation, a desire that cannot be controlled. The philosopher Hof, who is one of her closest friends, has remarked quite correctly that...”

“A look of vehemence appeared on the king's face. Is it right that Pharao should yield to the will of the people?”

“Abbas now marveled at the strength of love, its power and its strange magic. He thought it right that God had created mankind capable of love and then left the task of developing life to the fertil...”

“He [Kirsha] was a narcotics peddler and accustomed to doing his business under a veil of darkness. Normal life had eluded him and he had become a prey to perversions.”

“He was, in fact, a veritable crouching tiger, willing to cringe and fawn until he mastered his adversary, and woe to anyone he did master! Experience had taught him that this gentleman and others l...”

“Satan finds the doors of youth an easy entrance and he slips in both secretly and openly to spread his havoc. We should do all we can do to prevent the doors of youth opening to him and keep them t...”