Of all our possessions, wisdom alone is immortal.

Be gracious to all men, but choose the best to be your friends.

Guard yourself against accusations, even if they are false; for the multitude are ignorant of the truth and look only to reputation.

Oratory is good only if it has the qualities of fitness for the occasion, propriety of style, and originality of treatment, while in the case of letters there is no such need whatsoever.

Spend your leisure time in cultivating an ear attentive to discourse, for in this way you will find that you learn with ease what others have found out with difficulty.

But I marvel when I observe these men setting themselves up as instructors of youth who cannot see that they are applying the analogy of an art with hard and fast rules to a creative process

Whetstones are not themselves able to cut, but make iron sharp and capable of cutting.