There is not one of us that would not be worse than kings, if so continually corrupted as they are with a sort of vermin called flatterers.

Presumption is our natural and original malady. The most vulnerable and frail of all creatures is man, and at the same time the most arrogant.

The secret counsels of princes are a troublesome burden to such as have only to execute them.

We may so seize on virtue, that if we embrace it with an overgreedy and violent desire, it may become vicious.

Our truth of nowadays is not what is, but what others can be convinced of; just as we call "money" not only that which is legal, but also any counterfeit that will pass.

We wake sleeping, and sleep waking. I do not see so clearly in my sleep; but as to my being awake, I never found it clear enough and free from clouds.

I walk firmer and more secure uphill than down.