Random extracts from Al-Akhlaq wa-l Siyar

"I have noticed that people are more generous with their opinions than with their pennies. In my long study of this matter, this has never been disproved in spite of countless observations. Since I cannot understand the cause of this, I suppose it must be innate in human nature."

"There is no worse calamity for knowledge and for scholars than when outsiders intrude. They are ignorant and think that they are knowledgeable; they ruin everything and believe that they are helping."

"Patience in the face of others' insolence is of 3 kinds: patience with someone who has power over you when you have none over him; patience with someone you have power over when he has none over you; finally patience with someone when neither of you has power over the other. The first kind is humiliating and degrading; it is not a virtue. The advice for someone who is afraid of such an intolerable situation would be to abandon everything and run away. The second kind is a virtue, it is charitable, it is the true meekness which characterises virtuous souls. The third sort consists of two kinds. The insolence may arise form a misunderstanding or from fear, and the one at fault may realise the ugliness of his act and regret it. To be patient with him would be a virtue and an obligation; this is true magnanimity. But with a person who overestimates his own value and is proud and arrogant and feels no regret for his action, to tolerate this is humiliating, it encourages the wrongdoer in his wrongdoing, because he will act more violently and it would be stupid to respond in the same way. The wisest course of action is to let him know that you are refraining from doing so because he is beneath contempt and unworthy of your attention. No more is necessary. As for the insolent behaviour of the lower classes, the only remedy is to punish it."

"If you are proud of your intelligence, remember all the bad thoughts that come into your mind, the deceitful hopes which assail you, then you will realise how feeble your intelligence is."

"There is no worse blame than that of a man who praises a quality in you that you do not have, thereby drawing attention to its absence."

"There is no better praise than that of a man who reproaches you for a fault that you do not have, thereby drawing attention to your merit, and he gives you your revenge on him by exposing himself to rebuttal and the reproach of having slandered you."

"Anyone who criticises you cares about your friendship. Anyone who makes light of your faults cares nothing about you."

"When you give advice, do not give it only on condition that it will be taken. Do not intercede only on condition that your intercession is accepted; do not make a gift only on condition that you will be recompensed. Do it only to practise virtue, and to do what you should do when giving advice, interceding or being generous."