Be satisfied, and pleased with what thou art, Act cheerfully and well thou allotted part; Enjoy the present hour, be thankful for the past, And neither fear, nor wish, the approaches of the last.

If pale beans bubble for you in a red earthenware pot, you can often decline the dinners of sumptuous hosts.

However great the dish that holds the turbot, the turbot is still greater than the dish.

Generosity during life is a very different thing from generosity in the hour of death; one proceeds from genuine liberality, and benevolence; the other from pride or fear, or from the fact that you cannot take your money with you to the other world.

The bee is enclosed, and shines preserved in amber, so that it seems enshrined in its own nectar.

Be satisfied, and pleased with what thou art, Act cheerfully and well thou allotted part; Enjoy the present hour, be thankful for the past, And neither fear, nor wish, the approaches of the last.

Whoever makes great presents, expects great presents in return.