If our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right.

The man who is always fortunate cannot easily have a great reverence for virtue.

It shows nobility to be willing to increase your debt to a man to whom you already owe much.

Thrift is of great revenue.

Now in regard to trades and other means of livelihood, which ones are to be considered becoming to a gentleman and which ones are vulgar, we have been taught, in general, as follows. First, those means of livelihood are rejected as undesirable which incur people's ill-will, as those of tax-gatherers and usurers. Unbecoming to a gentleman, too, and vulgar are the means of livelihood of all hired workmen whom we pay for mere manual labour, not for artistic skill; for in their case the very wage they receive is a pledge of their slavery.

Sed nescio quo modo nihil tam absurde dici potest quod non dicatur ab aliquo philosphorum. (There is nothing so absurd but some philosopher has said it.)

Let a man practice the profession which he best knows.