Legions and fleets are not such sure bulwarks of imperial power as a numerous family
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges.
Noble character is best appreciated in those ages in which it can most readily develop.
The love of fame is a love that even the wisest of men are reluctant to forgo.
The sciences throw an inexpressible grace over our compositions, even where they are not immediately concerned; as their effects are discernible where we least expect to find them.
So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most precarious hearsays, others turn facts into falsehood; and both are exaggerated by posterity.