No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune.

Good fortune will elevate even petty minds, and give them the appearance of a certain greatness and stateliness, as from their high place they look down upon the world; but the truly noble and resolved spirit raises itself, and becomes more conspicuous in times of disaster and ill fortune.

Of all the disorders in the soul, envy is the only one no one confesses to.

As soft wax is apt to take the stamp of the seal, so are the minds of young children to receive the instruction imprinted on them.

Demosthenes, when taunted by Pytheas that all his arguments "smelled of the lamp," replied, "Yes, but your lamp and mine, my friend, do not witness the same labours.

The wildest colts make the best horses.

It does not follow, that because a particular work of art succeeds in charming us, its creator also deserves our admiration.