Every noble acquisition is attended with its risks; he who fears to encounter the one must not expect to obtain the other.

It is the just decree of Heaven that a traitor never sees his danger till his ruin is at hand.

Sharp and fell remorse, the offspring of my sin! Why do you, O God, lacerate my heart so late? Why, O boding cries, that scream so close to me,--why do I listen to you now, and never heard you before?

The aged oak upon the steep stands more firm and secure if assailed by angry winds; for if the winter bares its head, the more strongly it strikes its roots into the ground, acquiring strength as it loses beauty.

If our inward griefs were seen written on our brow, how many would be pitied who are now envied! [It., Se a ciascun l'interno affanno Si leggesse in fronte scritto, Quanti mai, che invidia fanno, Ci farebbero pieta!].

High birth is an accident, not a virtue.

The bee and the serpent often sip from the selfsame flower.