There is desire in those who love to hear about their loved ones' pains.

Life is short; this being so, who would pursue great things and not bear with what is at hand? These are the ways of madmen and men of evil counsel, at least in my judgment.

Do not mistake the rule of force for true power. Men are not shaped by force.

Since we are mortal, friendships are best kept to a moderate level, rather than sharing the very depths of our souls.

The way of God is complex, he is hard for us to predict. He moves the pieces and they come somehow into a kind of order.

Young man, two are the forces most precious to mankind. The first is Demeter, the Goddess. She is the Earth -- or any name you wish to call her -- and she sustains humanity with solid food. Next came Dionysus, the son of the virgin, bringing the counterpart to bread: wine and the blessings of life's flowing juices. His blood, the blood of the grape, lightens the burden of our mortal misery. Though himself a God, it is his blood we pour out to offer thanks to the Gods. And through him, we are blessed.

Lucky that man whose children make his happiness in life and not his grief, the anguished disappointment of his hopes.