Courage is as often the outcome of despair as of hope; in the one case we have nothing to lose, in the other everything to gain.
Old age appears hideous to us until we have to choose between it and death.
... see well how it often befalls that to rise to the topmost degree would make it seem that the abyss is on high.
It is only love that has already fallen sick that is killed by absence.
To have a good enemy, choose a friend; he knows where to strike.
Calumny is like counterfeit money; many people who would not coin it circulate it without qualms.