It is admirable to die the victim of one's faith; it is sad to die the dupe of one's ambition.

Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours. I am the fellow citizen of every being that thinks; my country is Truth.

If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with Muhammad?

The death of a man's wife is like cutting down an ancient oak that has long shaded the family mansion. Henceforth the glare of the world, with its cares and vicissitudes falls upon the old widower's heart, and there is nothing to break their force, or shield him from the full weight of misfortune. It is as if his right hand were withered; as if one wing of his angel was broken, and every movement that he made brought him to the ground.

Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends.

God has placed the genius of women in their hearts, because the works of this genius are always works of love.

If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul.