Pay no heed to those who tell you that they have relinquished place and power of their own accord, and from their love of quiet. For almost always they have been brought to this retirement by their insufficiency and against their will.

He who imitates what is evil always goes beyond the example that is set; on the contrary, he who imitates what is good always falls short.

Keep your eye fixed not so much on what they [people] ought in reason to do, as on what they are likely to do based on their disposition and habits.

To give vent now and then to his feelings, whether of pleasure or discontent, is a great ease to a man's heart.

The return we reap from generous actions is not always evident.

There is nothing so fleeting as the memory of benefits received.

Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them.