A raven, when asked the difference between the flesh of an innocent man and a wicked one, replied: "The flesh of an innocent man supports my life, but the flesh of a wicked man is difficult for me to find."
A dog knows the world by smell, a wolf by appet.i.te, a bird by hearing, a worm by tasting, and a man by seeing.
Are you afraid to touch the unclean man? The sun which is purer than you is not afraid.
Except his soul, there is nothing in man which can be saved from corruption.
A little dog said to a wolf: "Don"t eat me now; when my teeth have grown, I will be sweeter for you."
A calf said to the cow, its mother, who wore a heavy yoke: "You are old enough not to be so stupid as to wear a yoke." "Wait a little," replied the cow, "and by degrees you will take my burden, if you should not be roast meat sooner."
What is it to be a gentleman? To be the first to thank, and the last to complain.
The words "Thank you" show that life is founded on injustice.
Death is the cleverest thief. He can steal a living man who is surrounded by the most formidable guard.
The water shines because the sun shines. Gold shines because the sun shines. Snow shines because the sun shines. The sun shines because G.o.d shines, and He shines because He is G.o.d.
Every tear is not a sign of distress; every smile is not a sign of joy.
Wine and beauty can both intoxicate, but without pa.s.sion neither can cause real intoxication.
Death and pa.s.sion are only different temperatures of man. We can change the temperature of pa.s.sion, but G.o.d only can change the temperature of death.
Copper is fine, but gold is finer. Gold is fine, but the air is finer.
The air is fine, but the spirit is finer. The spirit is fine, but G.o.d is finer. One can live without copper, but not without gold. One can live without gold, but not without air. One can live without air, but not without spirit. One can live without spirit, but not without G.o.d.
Many people sing, but few are singers.
Many people write, but few are writers.
Many people speak, but few are orators.
Many people think, but few are thinkers.
Many people pray, but few are religious.
Many people smile, but few are happy.
Many people hope, but few are not disappointed.
Many people die, but few will survive.
Sweetness and bitterness are enemies, but both are necessary in this world.
Light and darkness are enemies, but both are necessary.
Poison may do no harm if used properly; nor is darkness harmful if it comes and goes at due times.
It is better that your good deed should be forgotten than that your evil deed should make you famous.
You will begin to be a good man when you prefer anonymity to false fame.
If you offend a mother, remember that her son will be angry with you, and you will understand him because you are a son too.
If you offend a girl, remember that her brother will be angry with you, and you will understand because you are a brother too.
If you hate a man, remember that there is a woman who does better than that, for he had a mother who loves him. Can you not equal a woman?
G.o.d and a mother asked each other the same question: "How long will you continue to forgive your children?"
A man is like a drop of water, but mankind is like the ocean. A drop of water cannot endure a look of the sun, but the ocean bears iron and lead.
A man is like one blade of gra.s.s. Mankind is like a meadow. A traveller going along does not see the blade, but the meadow rejoices his sight.
A man"s life is not one man"s life, but is the life of mankind so closely interwoven that it resembles the carpet covering the floor of a room.
Things happen to-day, the cause of which began yesterday; but things also happen to-day, the cause of which date from the beginning of the world.
Man grows old, but not the world. Man dies, but the world cannot.
The world cannot die, because it is in touch with G.o.d, and therefore is immortal.
Not everything is in touch with G.o.d, nor yet with the sun.
Everything is affected by the sun directly or indirectly, and the same is true of G.o.d.
The best things are a bridge between G.o.d and the world, but G.o.d only knows what the best things are.
Cold makes darkness deeper, just as darkness makes cold more intense.
The progress of the heart is slower than the progress of the brain.
A serpent lives in the water, but the water is not poisonous; if your tongue is poisonous, keep the mouth closed so as not to poison the air.
Giving is pleasanter than receiving.
A king boasted that he would rule all the earth, but the sun looking down upon him could not distinguish him from the clay on which he stood.
That man is my friend who lives laboriously like the bee and dies quietly like the gra.s.s.
When wolves and sheep are brothers, what will the wolves eat?
Lift up your hearts to heaven. The foulest water is purified when it is lifted to the clouds of heaven.
The greatest pain should not be the subject of speech.