It is of no use to possess a lively wit if it is not of the right proportion: the perfection of a clock is not to go fast, but to be accurate.
Neither the gifts nor the blows of fortune equal those of nature.
To achieve great things we must live as though we were never going to die.
We are dismayed when we find that even disaster cannot cure us of our faults.
Glory fills the world with virtue, and, like a beneficent sun, covers the whole earth with flowers and with fruits.
Wit does not take the place of knowledge.