Quotes from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“But all this world is like a tale we hear -
Men's evil, and their glory, disappear.”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“I turn to right and left, in all the earth
I see no signs of justice, sense or worth:
A man does evil deeds, and all his days
Are filled with luck and universal praise;
Another's good in all he does - he dies
A wretched, broken man whom all despise.”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“I am deathless, I am the eternal Lord
For I have spread the seed of the Word.”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“Our lives pass from us like the wind, and why
Should wise men grieve to know that they must die?
The Judas blossom fades, the lovely face
Of light is dimmed, and darkness takes its place.”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“And while one is brought up with luxury and caresses, and is thrown bewildered and despairing into a dark pit, another is lifted from the pit and raised to a throne where a jeweled crown is placed on his head. The world has no shame in doing this; it is prompt to hand out both pleasure and pain and has no need of us an our doings.”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“Such is the passing that you must leave,
All men must die, and it is vain to grieve.”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“بیا تا جهان را به بد نسپریم
به کوشش همه دست نیکی بریم
نباشد همی نیک و بد پایدار
همان به که نیکی بود یادگار”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“From moment then to moment their desire
Gained strength, and wisdom fled before love's fire;
Passion engulfed them, and these lovers lay
Entwined together till the break of day.”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“Listen: this story's one you ought to know,
You'll reap the consequence of what you sow.
This fleeting world is not the world where we
Are destined to abide eternally:
And for the sake of an unworthy throne
You let the devil claim you for his own.
I've few days left here, I've no heart for war,
I cannot strive and struggle any more,
But hear an old man's words: the heart that's freed
From gnawing passion and ambitious greed
Looks on kings' treasures and the dust as one;
The man who sells his brother, as you've done,
For this same worthless dust, will never be
Regarded as a child of purity.
The world has seen so many men like you,
And laid them low: there's nothing you can do
But turn to God; take thought then for the way
You travel, since it leads to Judgment Day”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“اگر مرگ داد است، بیداد چیست؟
ز داد این همه بانگ و فریاد چیست؟”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“جهانا سراسر فسوسی و باد
بتو نیست مرد خردمند شاد”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“فریدون فرخ فرشته نبود
ز مشک و ز عنبر سرشته نبود
به داد و دهش یافت این نیکویی
تو داد و دهش کن، فریدون تویی”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“I've reached the end of this great history
And all the land will fill with talk of me
I shall not die, these seeds I've sown will save
My name and reputation from the grave,
And men of sense and wisdom will proclaim,
When I have gone, my praises and my fame.”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“جهانا مپرور چو خواهی درود
چو می بدروی، پروریدن چه سود؟
برآری یکی را به چرخ بلند
سپاریش ناگه به خاک نژند”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“Zahhak reigned for a thousand years, and from end to end the world was his to command. The wise concealed themselves and their deeds, and devils achieved their heart’s desire. Virtue was despised and magic applauded, justice hid itself away while evil flourished; demons rejoiced in their wickedness, while goodness was spoken of only in secret.”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

“A man who has been killed is like one who has died; he”
― Abolqasem Ferdowsi, quote from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings

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Popular quotes

“His voice was soft as his pet name for me rolled off his gorgeous lips. And the way he looked at me… I could ask for the Hope diamond on a silver platter and I had little doubt he would figure out a way to bring it to me.”
― Meredith Wild, quote from Hard Limit

“On this particular day her father, the vicar of a parish on the sea-swept outskirts of Lower Wessex, and a widower, was suffering from an attack of gout. After finishing her household supervision Elfride became restless, and several times left the room, ascended the staircase, and knocked at her father's chamber-door.
'Come in!' was always answered in a heart out-of-door voice from the inside.
'Papa,' she said on one occasion to the fine, red-faced, handsome man of forty, who, puffing and fizzing like a bursting bottle, lay on the bed wrapped in a dressing-gown, and every now and then enunciating, in spite of himself, about one letter of some word or words that were almost oaths; 'papa, will you not come downstairs this evening?' She spoke distinctly: he was rather deaf.
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'Must he have dinner?'
'Too heavy for a tired man at the end of a tedious journey.'
'Tea, then?'
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― Thomas Hardy, quote from A Pair of Blue Eyes

“I shall always remember the next day for one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had. As we marched forward we caught sight, after a while, of the gleaming golden towers of a monastery in the far distance. Above them, shining superbly in the morning sun, were tremendous walls of ice, and we gradually realised that we were looking at the giant trio Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Manaslu.”
― Heinrich Harrer, quote from Seven Years in Tibet (Paladin Books)

“Evocaba el sol, la luz blanca que bañaba todo el año las calles de la ciudad y las conservaba tibias, acogedoras, la excitación de los domingos, los paseos a Eten, la arena amarilla que abrasaba, el purísimo cielo azul. Levantaba la vista: nubes grises por todos partes, ni un punto claro. Regresaba a su casa, caminando despacio, arrastrando los pies como viejo.”
― Mario Vargas Llosa, quote from The Time of the Hero

“There is no small irony here: An administration which flaunted its intellectual superiority and its superior academic credentials made the most critical of decisions with virtually no input from anyone who had any expertise on the recent history of that part of the world, and it in no way factored in the entire experience of the French Indochina War. Part of the reason for this were the upheavals of the McCarthy period, but in part it was also the arrogance of men of the Atlantic; it was as if these men did not need to know about such a distant and somewhat less worthy part of the world. Lesser parts of the world attracted lesser men; years later I came upon a story which illustrated this theory perfectly. Jack Langguth, a writer and college classmate of mine, mentioned to a member of that Administration that he was thinking of going on to study Latin American history. The man had turned to him, his contempt barely concealed, and said, “Second-rate parts of the world for second-rate minds.”
― David Halberstam, quote from The Best and the Brightest

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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

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