It is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed of being unable to defend himself with his limbs, but not of being unable to defend himself with speech and reason, when the use of rational speech is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs.

Men regard it as their right to return evil for evil and, if they cannot, feel they have lost their liberty.

A constitution is the arrangement of magistracies in a state.

He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled.

Happiness comes from theperfect practice of virtue.

Great and frequent reverses can crush and mar our bliss both by the pain they cause and by the hindrance they offer to many activities. Yet nevertheless even in adversity nobility shines through, when a man endures repeated and severe misfortune with patience, not owing to insensibility but from generosity and greatness of soul.

A man is the origin of his action.