Maimonides Quotes

“Hesse wrote an essay on what he saw as the world's publishing crisis and the fate of the book. Hesse concluded his talk with these words: 'Only a few sacred books that humankind treasures hold the regenerating power and survive throughout the millennia and the world crises. It is reassuring to see that the situation does not depend on the distribution of these works. It is not necessary for millions, even hundreds of thousands of readers to have appropriated for themselves this or that sacred book. It is enough that a few people should have been touched by them.”
― Alberto Manguel, Maimonides: Faith in Reason

“No man should believe anything.' Maimonides strenuously affirmed, 'Unless attested by one of three principles. First, rational proof as in mathematical sciences; secondly, the perception by one of the five senses ... and thirdly, tradition as derived from the prophets and the righteous.' In statements like this, Maimonides stands as the emblematic believer in rationality as the single most powerful instrument for approaching the truth. Coleridge, once more, echoed this Maimonidean belief in 1818: 'This again is the mystery and the dignity of our human nature, that we cannot give up our reason, without giving up at the same time our individual personality ... He who asserts that truth is of no importance except in the sense of sincerity, confounds sense with madness, and the word of God with a dream.”
― Alberto Manguel, Maimonides: Faith in Reason

“Rather than a proper guide to an intellectual maze, the Guide can seem at first glance like an intellectual maze itself.”
― Alberto Manguel, Maimonides: Faith in Reason

“They are conceived as handbooks to help better understand the Law. Maimonides' intention in choosing a terse, clear style for the commentary on the Mishad and the Mishneh Torah can be explained in the same way Stendhal was to explain his daily reading of the strict Napoleonic Code: 'to sound always natural' and 'not to charm by false means the reader's soul.' Clarity above all was imperative.”
― Alberto Manguel, Maimonides: Faith in Reason

“Maimonides translated Aristotle's fundamental concept into Jewish ethical terms: 'Good deeds are such as are equibalanced, maintaining the mean between two equally bad extremes ... Virtues are psychic conditions and dispositions which are midway between two reprehensible extremes.”
― Alberto Manguel, Maimonides: Faith in Reason

“A Gentile met a rabbi and said to him, 'You have taught me many things but there is one thing in particular I want to learn very much but you do not wish to teach to me. I want you to teach me the Talmud.' The rabbi replied, 'You are a non-Jew and you have the brain of a non-Jew. There is no chance that you will succeed in understanding the Talmud.' But the Gentile continued in his attempt to persuade the rabbi to teach him the Talmud. Finally, the rabbi then said to the Gentile, 'I agree to teach you the Talmud on condition that you answer one question.' The Gentile agreed and asked the rabbi, 'What is the question?' The rabbi then said to the Gentile, 'Two men fall down through the chimney. One comes out dirty and the other comes out clean. Who of those goes to wash up?' 'Very simple,' replied the Gentile. 'The one who is dirty goes to wash up but the one who is clean does not go to wash up.' The rabbi then said to the Gentile, 'I told you that you would not succeed in understanding the Talmud. The exact opposite happened. The clean one looks at the dirty and thinks that he is also dirty and goes to wash up. The dirty one, on the other hand, looks at the clean one and thinks that he is also clean and therefore does not go to wash up.' The Gentile said to the rabbi, 'This I did not think of. Ask me, please, another question.' The rabbi then said to the Gentile, 'Two men fall down through the chimney. One comes out dirty and the other comes out clean. Who of these goes to wash up?' The Gentile replied to the rabbi, 'Very simple. The clean one looks at the dirty one and thinks he is also dirty and goes to wash up. The dirty one, on the other hand, looks at the clean one and thinks that he is also clean and therefore does not go to wash up.' The rabbi said to the Gentile, 'You are wrong again. I told you that you would not understand, The clean one looks into the mirror, sees that he is clean, and therefore does not go to wash up. The dirty one looks into the mirror, sees that he is dirty, and goes to wash up.' The Gentile complained to the rabbi, 'But you did not tell me that there was a mirror there.' The rabbi said to the Gentile, 'I said that you were a non-Jew, and that with your brain you would not succeed in understanding the Talmud. According to the Talmud, you have to think of all the possibilities.' 'All right,' groaned the Gentile to the rabbi. 'Let us try once more. Ask me one more question.' For the last time, the rabbi said to the Gentile, 'Two men fall through the chimney. One came out dirty and the other came out clean, Who of these went to wash up?' 'That is very simple!' replied the Gentile. 'If there is no mirror there the clean one will look at the dirty one and will think that he is also dirty and will therefore go to wash up. The dirty one will look at the clean one and will think that he is also clean and will therefore not go to wash up. If there is a mirror there, the clean one will look into the mirror and will see that he is clean and will therefore not go to wash up. The dirty one will look into the mirror and will see that he is dirty and will therefore go to wash up.' The rabbi said to the Gentile, 'I told you that you would not succeed in understanding. You are a non-Jew, you have a non-Jewish brain. Tell me, how is it possible for two men to fall through the a chimney and for one to come out dirty and for the other to come out clean?”
― Alberto Manguel, Maimonides: Faith in Reason

“In the city of Bactria near the frontier with India, Clearchus left an inscription, copied from the sanctuary of Delphi, outlining his recommended code of behavior:
As children, learn good manners.
As young men, learn to control the passions.
In middle age, be just.
In old age, give good advice.
Then die, without regret.”
― Alberto Manguel, Maimonides: Faith in Reason

“Everything that can be put into words lies within the scope of reason. But then again, not everything can be put into words.
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Out of the experience bequeathed in the words of others the recipient refashions and subsumes whatever his or her intellect deems important or inspiring. There is no dogmatic obligation in matters of intellectual education, and no arranged marriage of minds produces healthy offspring. Only sufficient intelligence is required; poor judgment will lead to making the wrong choice.”
― Alberto Manguel, Maimonides: Faith in Reason

“To counter a depression such as this, Maimonides recommended tending to the five senses 'for the purpose of quickening the soul.' Hearing was to be nourished 'by listening to stringed and reed-pipe music,' seeing 'by gazing at beautiful pictures,' smelling 'by strolling through beautiful gardens,' feeling 'by wearing fine raiment,' and tasting 'by eating highly seasoned delicacies.' Such things, Maimonides judged, 'are not to be considered immoral nor unnecessary,' These recommendations give us a rare glimpse into the private man and allow the question of whether, under the stern guise of his role as adviser and legislator, Maimonides could enjoy good food and the smell of jasmine in a garden for their own sake. Cairo was not Córdoba, but it would do. Intellectual pursuits, both religious and scientific, he tells us, were of help to lift a little the dark clouds.”
― Alberto Manguel, Maimonides: Faith in Reason