John Refaat > John's Quotes

“صَفُّونا .. صفّاً .. صفّاً
الأجهرُ صوتاً والأطول وضعوه فى الصَّفِّ الأول
ذو الصوت الخافت والمتوانى وضعوه فى الصف الثانى
أعطوا كُلاً منا ديناراً من ذهب قانى برَّاقا لم تلمسه كفٌ من قبل
قالوا : صيحوا .. زنديقٌ كافر
صحنا : زنديقٌ .. كافر
قالوا : صيحوا ، فليُقتل أنَّا نحمل دمه فى رقبتنا
فليُقتل أنا نحمل دمه فى رقبتنا
قالوا : امضو فمضينا
الأجهرُ صوتاً والأطول يمضى فى الصَّفِّ الأول
ذو الصوت الخافت والمتوانى
يمضى فى الصَّفِّ الثانى”
― صلاح عبد الصبور, مأساة الحلاج

“إذا وليتم لا تنسوا أن تضعوا خمر السلطه فى أكواب العدل”
― صلاح عبد الصبور, مأساة الحلاج

“إننا ندرك أنه ما من أحد يمسك بزمام السلطة وهو ينتوي التخلي عنها.
إن السلطة ليست وسيلة بل غاية، فالمرء لا يقيم حكما استبداديا لحماية الثورة، وإنما يشعل الثورة لإقامة حكم استبدادي.
إن الهدف من الاضطهاد هو الاضطهاد، والهدف من التعذيب هو التعذيب وغاية السلطة هي السلطة، هل بدأت تفهم ما أقول الآن ؟”
― جورج أورويل, 1984

“أنا اللي بالأمر المحال اغتوى
شفت القمر نطيت لفوق في الهوا
طلته مطلتوش - إيه أنا يهمني ؟
وليه ما دام بالنشوى قلبي ارتوى

عجبي !!”
― صلاح جاهين

“عندما تشم الحريق ولا تنذر من حولك.. فأنت بشكل ما ساهمت فى إشعال الحريق”
― أحمد خالد توفيق, يوتوبيا

“If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what he has been told about them is lies. The sealed world in which he lives would be broken, and the fear, hatred, and self-righteousness on which his morale depends might evaporate. It is therefore realized on all sides that however ofter Persia, or Egypt, or Java, or Ceylon may change hands, the main frontiers must never be crossed by anything except bombs.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“I enjoy talking to you. Your mind appeals to me. It resembles my own mind except that you happen to be insane.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“To call woman the weaker sex is a libel; it is man's injustice to woman. If by strength is meant brute strength, then, indeed, is woman less brute than man. If by strength is meant moral power, then woman is immeasurably man's superior. Has she not greater intuition, is she not more self-sacrificing, has she not greater powers of endurance, has she not greater courage? Without her, man could not be. If nonviolence is the law of our being, the future is with woman. Who can make a more effective appeal to the heart than woman?"

[To the Women of India (Young India, Oct. 4, 1930)]”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee?”
― Albert Camus

“لماذا كان اباطرة روما و عامة الشعب يحبون مشاهدة العبيد يمزقون بعضهم ؟ ..لماذا لم يكسب الفقر الفقراء رحمة ؟”
― أحمد خالد توفيق, يوتوبيا

“هناك أعوام تمر فى حياتك مثلما قال العميد القطان، دون أن يحدث فيها شىء سوى أن تمر. ليس هذا أمرا
طبيعيا، لكنه معتاد. وحين أنظر الآن إلى هذه الأعوام أشعر بالندم لأنى تركتها تمر هكذا، تضيع. الحقيقة أنى
كلما فكرت فى حياتى السابقة أفاجأ بأنى لا أندم على شىء فعلته بقدر ما أندم دوما على أشياء لم أفعلها، فتذكر
ذلك يا يحيى ))
رواية باب الخروج ,,,”
― عز الدين شكرى فشير

“Longed for him. Got him. Shit.”
― Margaret Atwood

“The object of terrorism is terrorism. The object of oppression is oppression. The object of torture is torture. The object of murder is murder. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?”
― George Orwell, 1984

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“Now I will tell you the answer to my question. It is this. The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from the oligarchies of the past in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just around the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now you begin to understand me.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness and for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better.”
― George Orwell, 1984

“I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.”
― Bertrand Russell

“الفتنة الطائفية لا يقضى عليها سوى قبول الإلحاد كدين ثالث للبلاد.”
― مؤمن المحمدي, قانون جديد

“I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong. If we will only allow that, as we progress, we remain unsure, we will leave opportunities for alternatives. We will not become enthusiastic for the fact, the knowledge, the absolute truth of the day, but remain always uncertain … In order to make progress, one must leave the door to the unknown ajar.”
― Richard P. Feynman

“لأنَّ لهم دين، يظُّنون أنهم مُعفوْن من أن تكون لهم أخلاق.”
― أمين معلوف

“I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. I have approximate answers and possible beliefs and different degrees of uncertainty about different things, but I am not absolutely sure of anything and there are many things I don't know anything about, such as whether it means anything to ask why we're here. I don't have to know an answer. I don't feel frightened not knowing things, by being lost in a mysterious universe without any purpose, which is the way it really is as far as I can tell.”
― Richard P. Feynman

“I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.”
― Richard P. Feynman

“I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong.”
― Richard P. Feynman

“Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt.”
― Richard P. Feynman

“I don't know what's the matter with people: they don't learn by understanding, they learn by some other way — by rote or something. Their knowledge is so fragile!”
― Richard Feynman

“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.”
― Steven Weinberg

“بنات أبي -الزهرات الصغيرات- يسألنني
لمَ أبكي أبي
يبكين مثلي
و يخلدن للنوم حين أغلب دمعي
و أروي لهن الحكايا
عن الملك النسر
و الملك الثعلب
فإن نمن جاء أبي
ليهز الأراجيح
يلمس وجناتهن
و يعطي لهن اللعب
و يمضي و عيناه مسبلتان
و ساقاه تشتكيان التعب
أبي ظامئ يا رجال
أريقوا له الدم كي يرتوي
و صبوا له جرعةً جرعةً
في الفؤاد الذي يكتوي
عسى دمه المتسرب بين عروق النباتات
بين الرمال
يعود له قطرة قطرة
فيعود له الزمن المنطوي
خصومة قلبي مع الله...ليس سواه.”
― أمل دنقل

“You know," said Arthur, "it's at times like this, when I'm trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young."
"Why, what did she tell you?"
"I don't know, I didn't listen.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“O Deep Thought computer," he said, "the task we have designed you to perform is this. We want you to tell us...." he paused, "The Answer."
"The Answer?" said Deep Thought. "The Answer to what?"
"Life!" urged Fook.
"The Universe!" said Lunkwill.
"Everything!" they said in chorus.
Deep Thought paused for a moment's reflection.
"Tricky," he said finally.
"But can you do it?"
Again, a significant pause.
"Yes," said Deep Thought, "I can do it."
"There is an answer?" said Fook with breathless excitement.
"Yes," said Deep Thought. "Life, the Universe, and Everything. There is an answer. But, I'll have to think about it."
...
Fook glanced impatiently at his watch.
“How long?” he said.
“Seven and a half million years,” said Deep Thought.
Lunkwill and Fook blinked at each other.
“Seven and a half million years...!” they cried in chorus.
“Yes,” declaimed Deep Thought, “I said I’d have to think about it, didn’t I?"

[Seven and a half million years later.... Fook and Lunkwill are long gone, but their descendents continue what they started]

"We are the ones who will hear," said Phouchg, "the answer to the great question of Life....!"
"The Universe...!" said Loonquawl.
"And Everything...!"
"Shhh," said Loonquawl with a slight gesture. "I think Deep Thought is preparing to speak!"
There was a moment's expectant pause while panels slowly came to life on the front of the console. Lights flashed on and off experimentally and settled down into a businesslike pattern. A soft low hum came from the communication channel.

"Good Morning," said Deep Thought at last.
"Er..good morning, O Deep Thought" said Loonquawl nervously, "do you have...er, that is..."
"An Answer for you?" interrupted Deep Thought majestically. "Yes, I have."
The two men shivered with expectancy. Their waiting had not been in vain.
"There really is one?" breathed Phouchg.
"There really is one," confirmed Deep Thought.
"To Everything? To the great Question of Life, the Universe and everything?"
"Yes."
Both of the men had been trained for this moment, their lives had been a preparation for it, they had been selected at birth as those who would witness the answer, but even so they found themselves gasping and squirming like excited children.
"And you're ready to give it to us?" urged Loonsuawl.
"I am."
"Now?"
"Now," said Deep Thought.
They both licked their dry lips.
"Though I don't think," added Deep Thought. "that you're going to like it."
"Doesn't matter!" said Phouchg. "We must know it! Now!"
"Now?" inquired Deep Thought.
"Yes! Now..."
"All right," said the computer, and settled into silence again. The two men fidgeted. The tension was unbearable.
"You're really not going to like it," observed Deep Thought.
"Tell us!"
"All right," said Deep Thought. "The Answer to the Great Question..."
"Yes..!"
"Of Life, the Universe and Everything..." said Deep Thought.
"Yes...!"
"Is..." said Deep Thought, and paused.
"Yes...!"
"Is..."
"Yes...!!!...?"
"Forty-two," said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“The story so far:
In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”
― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe