Prosperity makes friends and adversity tries them. A true friend is one soul in two bodies

Now the soul of man is divided into two parts, one of which has a rational principle in itself, and the other, not having a rational principle in itself, is able to obey such a principle. And we call a man in any way good because he has the virtues of these two parts.

. .we would have to say that hereditary succession is harmful. You may say the king, having sovereign power, will not in that case hand over to his children. But it is hard to believe that: it is a difficult achievement, which expects too much virtue of human nature.

It has been well said that 'he who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.' The two are not the same, but the good citizen ought to be capable of both; he should know how to govern like a freeman, and how to obey like a freeman - these are the virtues of a citizen.

Everybody loves a thing more if it has cost him trouble: for instance those who have made money love money more than those who have inherited it.

Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own.

Anything whose presence or absence makes no discernible difference is no essential part of the whole.