Examine the life of the best and most productive men and nations, and ask yourselves whether a tree which is to grow proudly skywards can dispense with bad weather and storms. Whether misfortune and opposition, or every kind of hatred, jealousy, stubbornness, distrust, severity, greed, and violence do not belong to the favourable conditions without which a great growth even of virtue is hardly possible?

A heart full of courage and cheerfulness needs a little danger from time to time, or the world gets unbearable.

One should never know too precisely whom one has married

Heraclitus was an opponent of all democratic parties.

A book full of brilliance imparts some of it even to its opponents.

We have art in order not to die of the truth.

One must repay good and ill; but why just to the person who did us good or ill?