Ameen Rihani
Ameen Rihani
Ameen Rihani, was a Lebanese Arab-American writer, intellectual and political activist. He was also a major figure in the mahjar literary movement developed by Arab emigrants in North America, and an early theorist of Arab nationalism. He became an American citizen in 1901...
NationalityLebanese
ProfessionWriter
Date of Birth24 November 1876
CountryLebanon
new-york heart paris
At this moment, my soul is in Lebanon, my heart in Paris, and my body in New York.
spirit cornerstones
Freedom of the Spirit is the cornerstone of all freedom.
lakes light mankind
In the Lakes of Light, Love and Will, I would baptize all mankind.
philosophy airplane east
I am the East. I have philosophies, I have religions, who would exchange them for airplanes?
thinking europe ideas
... And if Europe gives Arabia a railway, Arabia gives Europe an idea - which I think balances the account.
Truth breeds power, and truth never perishes.
men soul psychology
Breathless and unharmed, we emerge from the mazes of metaphysics and psychology where man and the soul are playing hide-and-seek.
christian religious goal
Whether you were Moslem, Christian, Druze, or Israeli, remember, God protect thee, that religious fanaticism for political goals or political fanaticism for religious purposes is the worst kind of fanaticism.
rights individual form
The duties I ask of myself are obligatory for absolutely every individual, everywhere. Moreover, just as I recognize these rights and duties of others, I would like the others to recognize them form me as well.
ambition mean heart
The West for me means ambition, the East contentment. My heart is ever in one, my soul in the other.
eye shoes walking-shoes
My American walking shoes are new, and my Oriental eyes are old.
heart simple mind
My first wish is to be simple in my actions, truthful in my speech, honest in my opinions, and natural in my behavior. In other words, I want to be clean in mind, heart, and body.
allow enter less mystic refuge wire
To be sure, we would not allow the world, if we can help it, to peep into our soul, much less to enter it. Our No-Man's-Land is hedged about with a wire entanglement of insincerities. And often we take refuge in a temperament, a pose, or a mystic mood.
above ahead below heritage however idealist message primitive races time
An idealist is ahead of his time only in the sense that he is articulate. The same is true of a nation. For even primitive people, even effete races have a message for those above or below them. The heritage of the Ideal, however small can not be exhausted.