To the eye of enmity virtue appears the ugliest blemish.
Were the diver to think on the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl.
A little beauty is preferable to much wealth.
Poverty snatches the reins out of the hand of piety.
If a piece of worthless stone can bruise a cup of gold, its worth is not increased, nor that of the gold diminished.
To use the hands in making quicklime into mortar is better than to cross them on the breast in attendance on a prince.