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If royalty did not exist, the storm of strife would never subside, nor selfish ambition disappear. Mankind (is) under the burden of lawlessness and lust…

— Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak

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Ambition

More quotes by Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak

The king, in his wisdom, understood the spirit of the age, and shaped his plans accordingly.

For a long time past scarce any trace of them (Buddhists) has existed in Hindustan.

The compassionate heart of his majesty finds no pleasure in cruelties or in causing sorrow to others; he is ever sparing of the lives of his subjects, wishing to bestow happiness upon all.

A man should marry four wives: A Persian to have someone to talk to; a Khurasani woman for his housework; a Hindu for nursing his children; a woman from Mawaraun nahr, or Transoxiana, to have someone to whip as a warning to the other three.

The number of Hindu painters was large. Their artistic skill made Abul Fazl exclaim that “their pictures surpass our conception of things.”

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To rank the effort above the prize may be called love.

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The poor, by thinking unceasingly of money, reach the point of losing the spiritual advantages of non-possession, thereby sinking as low as the rich.

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A wise man is cured of ambition by ambition itself; his aim is so exalted that riches, office, fortune, and favor cannot satisfy him.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.