We arethe prisoners of ideas.

I said to the almond tree, ‘'Friend, speak to me of God,’' and the almond treeblossomed.

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be won, through understanding. Our longingfor understandingis Eternal.

Luck iswhat happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Theloftier the building the deeper the foundation must be.

A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor is a man perfected without trials.

Boredom is a vital problem for the moralist, since atleast half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it.

Thesearch for someone to blame is always successful.

It is long and hard and painful to create life; it is short and easy to steal the life others have made.

To pushadvantages too far is neither generous nor just.

Thereward for always listening when you'd rather be talking is wisdom.

The exercise of power is determined by thousands ofinteractions between the world of the powerful and that of the powerless, allthe more so because these worlds are never divided by a sharp line: everyonehas a small part of himself in both.