"We each decide whether to make ourselves learned or ignorant, compassionate or cruel, generous or miserly. No one forces us. No one decides for us, no one drags us along one path or the other. We are responsible for what we are."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"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."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"Every man should view himself as equally balanced: half good and half evil. Likewise, he should see the entire world as half good and half evil.... With a single good deed he will tip the scales for himself, and for the entire world, to the side of good."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"Teach thy tongue to say 'I do not know,' and thou shalt progress."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"I will destroy my enemies by converting them to friends."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"Let nothing which can be treated by diet be treated by other means."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"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."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"Silence is the maturation of wisdom."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"There is no difference between the pain of humans and the pain of other living beings, since the love and tenderness of the mother for the young are not produced by reasoning, but by feeling, and this faculty exists not only in humans but in most living beings."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"The physician should not treat the disease but the patient who is suffering from it."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"You must accept the truth from whatever source it comes."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"Man's obsession to add to his wealth and honor is the chief source of his misery."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"It should not be believed that all beings exist for the sake of the existence of man. On the contrary, all the other beings too have been intended for their own sakes and not for the sake of anything else."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"It is well known among physicians that the best of the nourishing foods is the one that the Moslem religion forbids, i.e., Wine. It contains much good and light nourishment. It is rapidly digested and helps to digest other foods."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"A truth does not become greater by repetition."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"The goal of good health is to enable a person to acquire wisdom."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"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."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"Nobody is ever impoverished through the giving of charity."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"He who immerses himself in sexual intercourse will be assailed by premature aging, his strength will wane, his eyes will weaken, and a bad odour will emit from his mouth and his armpits, his teeth will fall out and many other maladies will afflict him."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"Do not imagine that these most difficult problems can be thoroughly understood by any one of us."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"If a person studies too much and exhausts his reflective powers, he will be confused, and will not be able to apprehend even that which had been within the power of his apprehension. For the powers of the body are all alike in this respect."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"Actions are divided as regards their object into four classes; they are either purposeless , unimportant , or vain , or good."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)
"In the realm of Nature there is nothing purposeless, trivial, or unnecessary."
— Maimonides (1135-1204)