Arts and sciences in one and the same century have arrived at great perfection; and no wonder, since every age has a kind of universal genius, which inclines those that live in it to some particular studies; the work then, being pushed on by many hands, must go forward.

Thou strong seducer, Opportunity!

My love's a noble madness.

You see through love, and that deludes your sight, As what is straight seems crooked through the water.

No government has ever been, or can ever be, wherein time-servers and blockheads will not be uppermost.

But wild Ambition loves to slide, not stand, And Fortune's ice prefers to Virtue's land.

We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what they help distribute to the public; by which means a falsehood once received from a famed writer becomes traditional to posterity.