The only good histories are those written by those who had command in the events they describe.

In plain truth, lying is an accursed vice. We are not men, nor have any other tie upon another, but by our word.

Report followeth not all goodness, except difficulty and rarity be joined thereto.

To how many blockheads of my time has a cold and taciturn demeanor procured the credit of prudence and capacity!

I would like to suggest that our minds are swamped by too much study and by too much matter just as plants are swamped by too much water or lamps by too much oil; that our minds, held fast and encumbered by so many diverse preoccupations, may well lose the means of struggling free, remaining bowed and bent under the load; except that it is quite otherwise: the more our souls are filled, the more they expand; examples drawn from far-off times show, on the contrary, that great soldiers ad statesmen were also great scholars.

A man should think less of what he eats and more with whom he eats because no food is so satisfying as good company.

Things seem greater by imagination than they are in effect.