It is not enough for poems to be fine; they must charm, and draw the mind of the listener at will.

The covetous are always in want.

The common people are but ill judges of a man's merits; they are slaves to fame, and their eyes are dazzled with the pomp of titles and large retinue. No wonder, then, that they bestow their honors on those who least deserve them.

In the same [hospitable] manner that a Calabrian would press you to eat his pears.

Though your threshing floor grind a hundred thousand bushels of corn, not for that reason will your stomach hold more than mine.

In adversity be spirited and firm, and with equal prudence lessen your sail when filled with a too fortunate gale of prosperity.

Summer treads on heels of spring.