The world has always been the same; and there is always as much good fortune as bad in it.

No one should therefore fear that he cannot accomplish what others have accomplished, for, men are born, live, and die in quite the same way they always have.

The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.

A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.

One should never risk one's whole fortune unless supported by one's entire forces.

The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.

A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savor of it. Let him act like the clever archers who, designing to hit the mark which yet appears too far distant, and knowing the limits to which the strength of their bow attains, take aim much higher than the mark, not to reach by their strength or arrow to so great a height, but to be able with the aid of so high an aim to hit the mark they wish to reach.