Spare me four things– and say after that what thou pleasest– do not lie to me for liars have no judgment, and do not answer me regarding what I don not ask thee for it is a distraction from what I do ask thee, and do not be extravagant in my praise for I know myself better then thou, and do not incite me against my subjects for verily clemency unto them is more needful for me.
Abd al-Malik ibn MarwanRelated topics
answer ask distraction four judgment lie praise spare thee thou thingsRelated quotes
A soul that is nurtured by hatred toward man can not be at peace with God, Who has said: If you forgive not men their sins, neither shall your Father forgive your sins (Matt. 6:15). If a man does not want to be reconciled, you must at least guard yourself from hating, praying with a pure heart for him, and speaking no evil of him.
Maximus the Confessor
When you lie, you lie to God; when you steal, you steal from God; when you have hatred for someone, you have hatred for God; when you don't honor your parents, you don't honor God; when you are jealous, you are jealous of God; when you begrudge alms to the poor, you begrudge recompense to God; when you plot evil, you plot it against God; when you work evil, you work evil against God.
Nikolaj Velimirovic
You wish, or rather, have decided, to remove a splinter from someone? Very well, but do not go after it with a stick instead of a lancet for you will only drive it deeper. Rough speech and harsh gestures are the stick, while even-tempered instruction and patient reprimand are the lancet. 'Reprove, rebuke, exhort,' says the Apostle (II Tim. 4:2), not 'batter'.
John Climacus
They do not ill, being lords of ours, to slay
Me; nay, they could not spare: but thee to slay,
To spill thy strong young life for truth to me,
In all men's eyes would mark them monstrous: thou
Must live, and serve my slayers, and serving them
Sustain my memory by the proof - if God
Shall give thee grace to prove it - that thy name,
Thy father's name and mine, in true men's ears
Rings truth, and means not treason.
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Indeed, I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong. It constituted a critical lapse in judgment and a personal failure on my part for which I am solely and completely responsible. But I told the grand jury today and I say to you now that at no time did I ask anyone to lie, to hide or destroy evidence or to take any other unlawful action.
Bill Clinton