Virtue dwells at the head of a river, to which we cannot get but by rowing against the stream.
Owen FelthamTo go to law is for two persons to kindle a fire, at their own cost, to warm others and singe themselves to cinders; and because they cannot agree as to what is truth and equity, they will both agree to unplume themselves that others may be decorated with their feathers.
Owen FelthamI love the man that is modestly valiant; that stirs not till he most needs, and then to purpose. A continued patience I commend not.
Owen FelthamHe that despairs degrades the Deity, and seems to intimate that He is insufficient, or not just to His word; and in vain hath read the scriptures, the world, and man.
Owen FelthamIrresolution is a worse vice than rashness. He that shoots best may sometimes miss the mark; but he that shoots not at all can never hit it. Irresolution loosens all the joints of a state; like an ague, it shakes not this nor that limb, but all the body is at once in a fit. The irresolute man is lifted from one place to another; so hatcheth nothing, but addles all his actions.
Owen Feltham