«An autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. A man who gives a good account of himself is probably lying, since any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats.»

«Censorship always defeats it own purpose, for it creates in the end the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion.»

«Life is also a mixture of unsolved problems, ambiguous victories and vague defeats-with very few moments of clear peace.»

«I, the sultan of sultans, and the strongest ruler, the loftiest king who defeats the kingdoms around the world, and the shadow of Allah in the Earth, am the son of Sultan Selim who is the son of Sultan Beyazid, Sultan Suleiman, Caesar of Rome, the sultan of Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, and Thrace, and Anatolia, and Karaman and the City of Dulkadir and Diyarbakir and Kurdistan, and Iran and Damascus and Aleppo and Egypt and Mecca and Medinah and Jerusalem and the whole Arab land and Yemen and many more lands that our lofty ancestors conquered with their crushing powers and I conquered with my fire-scattering sword --- You, the king of province France, Francis.......»

«But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you're fighting for.»

«If you take no risks, you will suffer no defeats. But if you take no risks, you win no victories.»

«A word too much always defeats its purpose»

«Art is only a means to life, to the life more abundant. It is not in itself the life more abundant. It merely points the way, something which is overlooked not only by the public, but very often by the artist himself. In becoming an end it defeats itself.»

«I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battles or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit»

«In spite of the declarations, you will notice in the career of the same Krishna that He underwent defeat in His efforts or endeavors, on a few occasions you must have also noted that those defeats too, were part of the drama, which He had planned, and He Himself directed.»